Have you heard of the Master Gardener Volunteer program that is offered by Ohio State University Extension? If you haven’t, Master Gardeners is a volunteer program that provides an intensive training in horticulture for the experienced and inexperienced volunteer in gardening. The program was founded in 1972 in Seattle Washington by an extension agent that wanted to create a strong, garden-based group to help spread education and research-based information to the public.
Master Gardener’s must attend 50 hours of training. These training sessions are usually during the day, where we will bring highly trained individuals to help teach the program’s curriculum. After training is complete you are officially a Master Gardener Volunteer, who will work closely with the Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator to provide educational services and programs to help better your community.
Jackson County has not had a Master Gardener Volunteer program for a very long time, so we are currently in the building stages of the program. Master Gardener’s does have a fee. Participants are required to purchase training materials, which they will keep after training, as well as complete a background check (all Ohio State University Volunteers must complete a background check). If you are interested in becoming a Jackson County Master Gardener Volunteer or have additional questions, please reach out to Josh Winters, ANR Educator, at the Jackson County Extension Office at 740-286-5044.