Gardening is so much fun and can bring joy to everyone who views the garden and those who enjoy working in one. If you are one who enjoys gardening and would like to learn more about it, you might be interested in the Extension Master Gardener program. It is a great way to connect with other gardeners, learn more about gardening, and volunteer to improve community garden spaces and share your garden knowledge with others.
The Nebraska Extension Master Gardener program is a horticulture related volunteer training program based in many counties throughout the state. It has been part of Nebraska Extension since 1976. Extension Master Gardener volunteers are trained by Nebraska Extension faculty and staff who then take that knowledge gained to volunteer in their community. They contribute time as volunteers working with their local Extension office to provide horticulture-related information to their community. Participants are required to complete the new online training modules and 40 hours of volunteer service to become an Extension Master Gardener. In southeast Nebraska, the volunteer requirements can be split over a 2-year period, if desired. Extension Master Gardener volunteers retain their certification through a minimum of 10 hours of educational training and 20 hours of volunteering annually.
New Extension Master Gardener Classes The new Extension Master Gardener classes will begin soon. Classes for people who would like to join the Extension Master Gardener program are now held in the fall. These classes are provided online through zoom on Wednesdays at 1pm and will be recorded for those unable to attend all classes. They are held every other Wednesday from August 20th – October 15th and will last up to 3 hours per session. The new format for Extension Master Gardener training provides the participants with online class content to read through on their own and participate in some non-graded quizzes, then the class time is spent as a review of what was learned. The cost to become a new Extension Master Gardener is $250, that will only be the price for the first year and it is to cover the cost of the online format, a nametag, and a t-shirt.
