Submitted by Diane Stephens, Master Gardener Houston County
Below are an article and picture which highlight the event in which Houston County Master Gardeners celebrated Georgia Master Gardener Daywith Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders.
This article was written by Alline Kent. It appeared in The Telegraph, Macon, Georgia, on March 16, 2007, page 2F. Permission has been granted for the reprinting of this article.
Picture caption: Georgia Master Gardener Day Houston County Master Gardeners symbolic check presentation to Commission Chairman Ned Sanders. Pictured left to right Myrtle Russell, Andy Rodriquez, Diane Stephens, Phillis Szczepaniak, Willie Chance, Extension Agent Houston County, Houston County Commissioner Ned Sanders, Sandy Lee and Ed Lusk holding the Georgia Master Gardener Proclamation.
MASTER GARDENERS OUTSTANDING IN THEIR FIELD
In the world of Master Gardeners – tomorrow is another day. Another day of volunteering, assisting and educating the pubic on horticultural issues.
But tomorrow, tomorrow is The Day.
By proclamation of Governor Sonny Perdue, March 17th is Master Gardener Day in Georgia.
To help celebrate Georgia Master Gardener Day, members of the Houston County Master Gardeners presented a symbolic check to Houston County Commission Chairman Ned Sanders in the amount of 86,571.00 – which reflected the monetary value of the group’s service to Houston County during the 2006 calendar year.
The 2006 calculation brings the total estimated value of the Houston County Master Gardeners Program since 1995 to more than half a million dollars.
“It is a privilege to serve,” said Diane Stephens, one of the Master Gardeners on hand to present the check.
There are 51 trained and active Master Gardeners reporting their hours, and there are currently 17 new Master Gardeners in training.
Master Gardeners volunteer in a wide array of projects from assisting in the local Cooperative Extensive office to assisting with community and school projects.
“I want to thank the Master Gardeners for your dedicated service to Houston County,” Sanders said. “The evidence shows up for the public to enjoy.”
The Master Gardener Program was started in Georgia back in 1979, as a way of increasing the educational outreach of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service.
To become a certified Master Gardener, an individual takes an extensive educational program in horticulture that is offered through the county extension service office.
Individuals that participate in the Master Gardener program do so not only to gain knowledge about their own gardens but to service the community.
After attending the Master Gardener course, an individual must contribute 50 hours of service work in the community in their initial year. After that, a Master Gardener must contribute 25 hours a year to retain the certified status. Hours are reported once a year.
Master Gardeners earn these hours in many ways. Master Gardeners assist their local county agents with different projects including answering questions and giving advice to homeowners about problems they might encounter in their own yard.
Master Gardeners volunteer at schools by helping to build outdoor classrooms or butterfly gardens. They support organizations like NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) that use greenhouses and the process of growing things as therapy for their clients or help maintain gardens at nursing homes.
The Central Georgia Master Gardeners also have projects they support as a group such as the native plant garden on the campus at Wesleyan college and Junior Master Gardner programs for children in Houston County.
Along with the physical labor that Master Gardeners produce in service hours, they are involved in many educational efforts.
“They help make things beautiful,” said Willie Chance, Houston County extension service, “but they are also the bedrock of horticultural education.”
One such project is Green Up where Master Gardeners assist UGA Extension service agents with providing educational seminars to commercial agriculture and landscape businesses. Seminars include pest management, stewardship of the land and water and prevention of water pollution.
At the Georgia National Fair, Master Gardeners assist by answering questions on Georgia grown products and gardening, from lawn maintenance to growing vegetables.
For more information about the Master Gardeners program, contact your local county extension office.
