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Become a Master Gardener Brochure (pdf)
To become a Master Gardener, you first must enroll and be accepted in your local county Extension program. Contact your county Extension office. Upon acceptance in your home county, you then take the Master Gardener Core Course (see below), taught in the winter.
Master Gardeners are required to volunteer 50 hours the first year and 25 hours annually thereafter. Active volunteers are also asked to participate in continuing education of 5-12 hours per year, depending on the county in which they volunteer.
Some activities of Master Gardeners include:
- teaching classes and workshops
- answering phone inquiries concerning home horticulture
- assisting with county Horticulture Days
- guiding and supervising community plantings and school gardens
- teaching and judging youth horticulture projects
- media interviews and articles on horticulture topics
- speaking to schools and youth groups on gardening topics
- holding plant clinics at garden centers and farmers' markets
- representing the program at county and state fair exhibits
Many Master Gardeners are also involved with horticulture therapy for both children and adults, teaching horticulture in hospitals, nursing homes, and retirement centers.
To illustrate the impact of the University of Minnesota Master Gardener Program, if each Master Gardener contacts 5 people directly per hour of volunteer work (a conservative estimate): 2200 active Master Gardeners x 25 hours volunteered per year x 5 people served = 275,000 people are receiving information each year through the program.
2008 Core Course
University of Minnesota |
Olmsted County Extension Office |
Brown County License Bureau |
Kandiyohi Health & Human Services |
INTERNET TV Instruction MN West Community & Technical College
Registration Deadline: January 29, 2008 (No refunds after February 5, 2008) |
Online Class |