Become A Master Gardener

A brief history . . .

Once upon a time . . . well, actually in 1972, the extension agent in King County, Seattle, was overwhelmed with phone calls from county residents demanding help with their gardening problems. He tried hiding under his desk, earplugs and working the night shift, but that didn't stop the calls, so he enlisted the aid of the extension's plant pathologist. Even doubling the forces didn't begin to solve the problem, so these two put their heads together and developed the plans for what turned into a nationwide program -- the Master Gardener program. The plans called for volunteers, trained in gardening practices, to help meet requests for gardening information.

Pennsylvania's program was initiated eight years later after the vice-president of the Clearfield County Extension Executive Committee learned about Seattle's experience in a magazine article. Knowing that the Clearfield County extension office personnel were attempting to handle a crushing number of phone calls and requests for gardening information, he immediately requested data about the program. Subsequently, the Clearfield County Extension Director proposed the Master Gardener program to Penn State University. Penn State was in favor of the idea and the first Penn State Master Gardeners finished training in 1982. Currently, there are about 2200 active Master Gardeners in 58 of Pennsylvania's counties.

Pennsylvania's Master Gardener program is broken into regions with Butler County as part of the Northwest region. A volunteer steering committee helps the state coordinator run the program. Barb Misner, a Butler County Master Gardener, represents the Northwest region on that Steering Committee. She serves on the Sustainability Committee which deals with MG program funding, both short- and long-term.

Each Master Gardener program is managed under the direction of the county's Penn State Cooperative Extension Office. Butler County's program has flourished and the Master Gardeners have formed an association, with its own officers, that manages a variety of projects throughout the county. Extension Director Donna Zang oversees the Butler County program.

Master Gardeners complete an application and interview process and then attend a series of classes that begin in the fall. Along with other Master Gardeners across Pennsylvania, Butler County Master Gardeners complete a 30-plus-hour initial training program and volunteer 50 hours the first year. In subsequent years volunteers will complete 8 hours of update training and volunteer a minimum of 20 hours.

Training for the 2010 Master Gardener class will begin in the fall of 2009. In August of 2009, look for articles in the Butler Eagle and visit this website for details on the class and an application.