University of Wisconsin - Extension

Last summer, University of Wisconsin-Extension trained Master Gardeners of Barron County - some 15 to 20 gardeners - estimate they grew and gave away almost 1,700 pounds of fresh vegetables to poor families, nursing homes, food pantries and senior centers. That's an average of about 100 pounds for each gardener.

In Portage County, Master Gardener volunteers planted 105,000 hills of potatoes, along with other vegetables, using seed potatoes and growing advice from the UW experts at Hancock Research Station. The volunteers made weekly deliveries of potatoes and other fresh produce to the local food pantry. In urban Racine and Kenosha counties, gardeners produced and donated more than 2,000 pounds of food.

"People who garden always give a lot of food away, but until we started keeping records, no one knew how much it really was," said Catherine Walther, Master Gardener volunteer coordinator and assistant to Barron County's agriculture agent Don Drost.

"In exchange for their training, Extension Master Gardeners contribute thousands of hours each year to community service." explained Susan Mahr, UW-Extension's Master Gardener Coordinator. In addition to donating food directly, the Master Gardeners also provide opportunities for low-income families to grow some of their own food. They help these families find garden sites and teach them how to start seeds and transplant seedlings.

The work and generosity of these volunteers represent a remarkable achievement, and a major contribution to the fight to end hunger in the state. Master Gardeners also donate volunteer time to other community projects -answering home gardeners questions at the local UW-Extension office, organizing major community beautification projects, and organizing community garden plots.

Last year, UW-Extension trained more than 600 new Master Gardeners; the number of active Master Gardeners was about 1,100 statewide. These volunteers contributed 74,725 hours to service projects in 2001.

University of Wisconsin-Extension and the Agriculture and Natural Resources Horticulture Team have trained thousands of Master Gardeners since the program began in 1980. Any Wisconsin resident, 18 years old or older can become a Master Gardener. You'll get 36 hours of in-depth classroom training and agree to perform another 36 hours of volunteer community service.

Here are just a few of the volunteer service opportunities:

• Help clients who visit or phone the Extension office for information.

• Participate in design and operation of horticultural exhibits, displays or demonstrations.

• Organize school activities such as Arbor Day, Earth Day and horticulture tours.

• Help plant a special display in a local park garden or other public area.

• Reestablish a prairie on public lands.

• Help an environmental preservation group with its annual cleanup of public or private lands.

For more information about the Extension Master Gardener program, contact your county UW-Extension office or visit the Master Gardener website at http://www.hort.wisc.edu/mastergardener/.