When comparing states with population percentages residing in major cities, Nevada is considered the third most urban state in the nation. It also has the distinction of being the driest, with less than 4 inches of precipitation annually in the Las Vegas Valley. Nevada is using 280,000 acre-feet of water from its 300,000 acre-feet allotment from the Colorado River annually. Approximately 60% of this is used for urban landscaping. With average water use at >300 gallons per person per day in the past, Las Vegans have been criticized as “water-wasters.” Rising water prices and an active research and extension education program begun in 1985 and supported by the local water utility has helped to contribute to changing water use patterns and a reduction in water use. Research, educational programs for commercial landscapers, and home horticulture programs conducted through Master Gardeners have helped to reduce water use in the Las Vegas Valley while providing information on sound horticultural practices.
The Center for Plasticulture's High Tunnel Research and Education Facility was established at Pennsylvania State University in 1999. Since its inception, applied research has been conducted at this facility by a team of researchers and extension specialists on the development of a new high tunnel design. The development of crop production recommendations for vegetables, small fruits, tree fruits and cut flowers grown in high tunnels has been a priority. To complement the applied research program, an aggressive extension education program was developed to extend information on the technology of high tunnels to county extension personnel, growers, industry representatives, students, master gardeners and the general public. The extension programming effort consisting of demonstration high tunnels, field days, tours, in-service training, publications and presentations made at winter meetings will be discussed in the report below.
A cooperative project between Turtle Mountain Tribal Community College and Southern Illinois University (SIU) completed a master plan for the Anishinabe Culture and Wellness Center in Belcourt, N.D. The project involved four SIUC undergraduate landscape horticulture students and the researcher visiting the 100-acre site, students and faculty of the Community College, as well as residents of the reservation. The purpose of the project was to: 1) explore developing a distance learning landscape horticulture program as a model project; 2) offer hands-on learning experience for the undergraduates; and 3) develop a master plan for a cultural, wellness, and environmental educational center. Developing the master plan involved four stages conducted by SIUC and Turtle Mountain participants. This included an inventory of the site and surrounding area, visiting classes at Turtle Mountain Tribal College, and interviewing numerous people from the reservation. An analysis was completed to review desired activities, such as a native plant garden, medicine wheel garden, pow wow site, and an outdoor kitchen, in relation to physical and observed features of the site. Environmental concerns, including water quality of the lake, were also addressed in the analysis. A master plan was completed after design concepts were explored. Future goals to complete the Anishinabe project include educational workshops and seeking funds to implement the master plan. Participants felt that the learning exercise for this model project was rewarding and successful. Therefore, SIUC and Turtle Mountain will continue to develop distance learning opportunities for students and potentially invite other tribal colleges with an interest in landscape horticulture to be involved.
Gardening in the Mojave requires different skills from those needed elsewhere. Southern Nevada's population explosion greatly increased requests for appropriate horticultural information. This placed a large demand on Cooperative Extension. To meet the need, volunteers receive extensive training on topics of interest to residents. Those who complete training and meet other requirements are titled “Master Gardeners”. Two hundred volunteers staff a help-line 5 days per week and participate in 20 community projects designed and led by Master Gardeners under UNCE supervision. About 50 people annually attend a 70 hour session (daytime or evening). The evening session was added to give people with day jobs the chance to learn gardening information in order to contribute to the community. Extension faculty and other professionals teach the classes. Topics include horticulture and plant nutrition, soils, irrigation, pruning, plant diseases and insects, and desert ecology. Students evaluate each class. Attendees come to the program through mass media and word of mouth. Most Master Gardeners are white, but active recruitment has increased the number of participants of color. For certification, one must complete training, pass a comprehensive final exam, and give a minimum of 50 hours—15 hours at the help desk and another 35 hours either at the help desk or a project. Volunteers are recertified each year if they contribute at least 35 hours at projects or the help desk and spend 15 hours in continuing education. Those who cannot meet the requirements are placed on inactive status. Adding an orientation session introducing Cooperative Extension, the MG program and its volunteer requirement has improved the ratio of attendees to those who later become certified.
The Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Advanced Master Gardener-Tree Steward (AMGTS) program provides advanced training in leadership development and arboriculture to MG volunteer educators so they may expand the influence of extension through leadership in community forestry. A statewide survey of agents, MGs, and foresters served as the basis for developing the training package, which was funded in part by the Virginia Department of Forestry. According to a statewide survey, 70% of VCE MGs and extension agents with MG programs would like to be involved in community tree programming, while only 26% was currently involved. Typically, agents cited limited staff and volunteer resources as the primary factors in restricting program expansion. Furthermore, 90% of municipal foresters indicated they would like to work with trained volunteers. The AMGTS program simultaneously answers the desire of MGs to expand their role in the community landscape and the need of VCE to expand its outreach with increasingly limited resources. AMGTS training, guided by a 10-unit resource book, integrates technical and program management expertise to foster volunteer pride and self-sufficiency. This allows MG tree stewards to coordinate much of their own training and recruit and manage non-MG volunteers to whom they can provide limited training for specific projects, thus allowing program expansion without additional staff. The training is designed for delivery by knowledgeable professionals in the local community, such as arborists, horticulturists, college professors, extension specialists, MGs, and others who can provide quality training following the program guidelines.
Two interactive pruning televideoconferences were produced, each comprised of videotaped segments and in-studio pruning demonstrations. In the first televised conference, viewers received step-by-step instructions for pruning four small and tree fruits. Twelve woody ornamentals were pruned in the second conference. The “how-to-prune” segments were performed by Extension personnel and videotaped by University Electronic and Photographic Services. Each of the 2-hour conferences was broadcast live from a classroom television studio with a total of 30 in-studio participants and 178 county extension agents, Master Gardeners, and residents at downlink sites statewide. A toll-free number was available throughout the conference to encourage two-way communication. These televideoconferences culminated in the creation of a library of “how to prune” videotapes, which are available to county agents, Master Gardeners, or residents. Also, several of these segments were aired on C.U.E. Magazine, a monthly, half-hour Extension-sponsored cable television program, and on Making It Grow!, a bimonthly, hour-long Clemson Extension program that is broadcast on SC-Educational Television.
Five of the ten training sessions for Maine Master Gardeners (MGs) were taught using interactive television (ITV) in 1993. Trainees at one location participated in the sessions live; trainees at seven locations participated in the sessions from distant locations but in real time; and trainees at two locations viewed videotapes of the ITV sessions at later dates. Trainees (n = 215) were quizzed weekly to assess their level of learning and surveyed about their learning experience 6 months after completing their training. ITV distance learners' quiz scores and hours of volunteerism were equal to those of local learners. More than 90% of all respondents would enroll in a MG program again if it were conducted and taught locally, while 83.9% would enroll in a program taught half locally and half using ITV.
The Master Gardener (MG) program operates in conjunction with the cooperative extension service in most states. The training, management, and administration of these volunteers vary widely from state to state. This paper presents a 4-year analysis of the initial cost of training Minnesota MGs and their volunteer hours contributed to the Minnesota Extension Service. The average training cost was $89/person (based on the total number of volunteers certified 2 years after the training) with an average of 59 ($711 at $12/h) and 40 ($474) hours volunteered or paid back over the first and following years, respectively. In all years, hours volunteered exceeded program expectations of 50 hours the first year and 25 hours thereafter.
Over the past decade, the University of California Statewide IPM Project has been extending pest management information electronically to farmers, pest management consultants, landscapers, and home gardeners. During this session we will demonstrate the Project's web site (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu) and a CD-ROM developed to assist horticulture advisors, Master Gardeners, retail nursery personnel, and others who help gardeners manage pest problems. We will discuss considerations in using these programs for extending information, keeping the programs up-to-date, and integrating them into educational programs. The CD-ROM covers 40 vegetables and tree fruits, allowing users to specify visual symptoms, describe a situation, or look at color photos, video images, or line drawings to help identify the problem. Twenty-five to 35 different pests are included for each crop, with thousands of photo images. An ornamentals module will be added in 1998. Once the problem is identified, the system provides screens to confirm pest identity, learn about biology and damage, and choose management practices. For instance, users can view several common natural enemies for a pest, look up the relative toxicity of pesticides, or get details on how to prune to avoid stressing a tree. Choices focus on methods to reduce pesticide use. The program is being developed with cooperators at Oregon State University and Washington State University, and with guidance of end users. The UC IPM web site includes information on biology and management of hundreds of insect, pathogen, weed, and nematode pests on 35 crops and in landscapes and gardens with thousands of color photos linked through hypertext. Other databases on the site include weather databases, pesticide use data, and phenology databases for pests.
As funding directed toward research has diminished, it has become vital seek other avenues of support to maintain long term field projects. To meet this need, the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department began the Friends of Fruit (FOF) program during 2004 engaging volunteers in conducting tree fruit field research. Volunteers were graduates of the Master Gardener program and executed tasks including data collection and plot maintenance. Objectives of this study were to evaluate the experiences and benefits to the volunteers and horticulture department, and to assess the success of the FOF program in providing assistance and support to research. All volunteers and facilitators were interviewed. Interview questions were designed to understand the motivation and level of volunteer activity, determine if training and supervision was adequate, and determine if ample recognition occurred. Volunteers sought experience and knowledge with fruit crops. Costs to volunteers included time and travel, conversely benefits included knowledge, experience and fellowship. Volunteers planned to repeat the program and were pleased with the recognition they received. Facilitators noted that volunteers had basic horticultural knowledge and the desire to learn. The program did call for improved task management and increased planning time by facilitators. The program succeeded in benefiting volunteers and horticultural research. The FOF volunteers contributed to fruit research by harvesting ≈4,000 kg of fruit samples and providing >200 hours of time.