Grow a better community through volunteering! Become a Master Gardener!
Debra of Stone Mountain says she heard me speak recently, and would like to be put on my mailing list for the next Master Gardener classes. Here is some information for anyone else who might be interested:
Every year DeKalb Extension trains a class of volunteers to become Georgia Extension Master Gardeners. We begin taking applications in September of the previous year. Anyone on the “interested” mailing list is invited to an information meeting, and if they are still interested, they can pick up an application at that time.
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The meetings are open to anyone, and the dates for this year are already set - September 2, Sept. 7, and Sept. 8 - all 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon at the DeKalb Extension office. The application process is quite competitive. Last year we had more than 50 applicants, and we were able to take 27 interns.
The Master Gardener Program is a volunteer program run through the University of Georgia’s Cooperative Extension. It is organized at a county level - almost all Georgia counties have a program – and there are more than 2,500 active Georgia Master Gardeners. It’s been going a long time! It started in 1979 in Atlanta as a means of extending the educational outreach of the UGA Cooperative Extension as urban horticulture developed.
Find out what's happening in Stone Mountain-Lithoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
What do Master Gardeners do? The main purpose of the Master Gardener Program is to educate and assist the community by providing unbiased horticultural information. They design and maintain community gardens and landscape projects.
The first of our projects in Stone Mountain was the Visitor Center gardens at the Red Caboose. These were re-designed five years ago and are routinely maintained and updated. We are fortunate in Stone Mountain to have a lot of support from the city council and public works department, and also from other city organizations, so we actually have three other sites, too.
We designed and maintain the small garden at the ART Station; we have designed a heritage shade garden at the Wells Brown House, and we maintain most of the gardens there. Our biggest project is the VFW Park Stone Mountain Community Garden, where we have a team of eight Master Gardeners who work with a wonderful group of enthusiastic gardeners of all ages. This is located behind the Stone Mountain Post Office, on Gordon Street.
Throughout the county we have more than 20 project sites, including the Tucker Butterfly Garden, sites at Dunwoody Nature Center, DeKalb Farmers Market, Fernbank Science Center, Oakhurst Community Garden, Decatur Scott Garden, and several others.
Master Gardeners also do civic and garden club presentations, work at county festivals and garden clinics, and we have a Master Gardener on duty at the main office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day during the work week, answering citizens’ gardening questions and helping them with plant disease and insect samples they bring in. So there’s always plenty to do! And all we ask, after the initial training year, is 25 hours of volunteer service to maintain your Master Gardener status.
How are Master Gardeners trained? Classes are held each January through March at the DeKalb County Extension Office located at I-285 and Memorial Drive - Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. We train with Gwinnett and Fulton counties, so there are always 80-90 trainees each year. You do need to reside in the county to which you apply, so anyone living in Gwinnett would need to apply to Gwinnett County Extension, but would still train here in DeKalb.
A registration fee covers program costs including the classes (each lecturer is an expert in the field they teach), a name badge, reference materials and the Georgia Master Gardener Handbook (the class textbook).
It is a commitment – both for the volunteering and for class attendance, but it’s a WONDERFUL program!! Gardeners are great people, and you will make long-lasting friendships!
If you are interested in being on the mailing list, please send your name and contact information (mailing address, email address, and phone number) to Averil Bonsall, DeKalb County Master Gardener Coordinator - abonsall@dekalbcountyga.gov. There is a lot of information about the program on our website - www.ugaextension.com/dekalb/ - but if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to call Averil - 404-298-4071.
And something else for your interest: Eat locally grown food!
Farmers markets area making their yearly comeback on town squares and along Georgia roadsides, reminding us the local harvest is here. Savoring fresh, delicious and nutritious Georgia-grown food - from peaches to pecans to chicken - isn’t just a healthy choice, but a good economic and environmental one, too.
A recent study by the University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development showed that if each Georgia household spent $10 weekly buying local food, nearly $2 billion would flow back into the state’s economy.
Unfortunately, 80 percent of what we spend on food comes from outside the state. It’s time to do things differently.
See AJC Article: http://www.ajc.com/opinion/eat-our-veggies-stimulate-963224.htm
