.M. Zajicek, J.M. 2002 The Master Gardener program: Do benefits of the program go beyond improving the horticultural knowledge of the participants? HortTechnology 12 432 436 10.21273/HORTTECH.12.3.432 Chun, J. Lee, J. Ye, L. Eitenmiller, R.R. 2002 Effects of
“Yard wastes comprise 25% of the average person's garbage,” according to the King County (Washington) Solid Waste Division. In an effort to reduce the strain on landfills, municipalities are encouraging their citizens to compost yard wastes. Several communities in Washington State have organized Master Composter programs. Patterned after the successful Master Gardener program, volunteers receive intensive training in comporting. In return, they deliver this information to the public through lectures, demonstrations, brochures, and composing demonstration gardens.
Georgia has about 6000 Master Gardeners in the state. Although the initial training received by these volunteers was excellent, there was a need for more in-depth, updated, specialty training. Advanced Master Gardener Training was developed to provide a higher level of educational training to veteran Master Gardeners. Thirteen specialty topics were developed to enhance volunteer knowledge in areas such as envionmental horticulture, turf grass, or xeriscape. Over 600 Master Gardeners have now gone through advanced training and have been certified. Pre- and post-testing has shown a significant increase in knowledge gained at these trainings. Master Gardeners are required to attend five specialty trainings and pass the post-test before they are certified as “Advanced Master Gardeners.” In return for the training, Master Gardeners are required to serve as resources in the topics of the programs they attend. They may be asked to write news articles, teach programs, or assist with future advanced training. A “second level” advanced training is being planned for 2001 with a stronger emphasis on water quality and envionmental horticulture.
A survey was conducted of current and former Missouri Master Gardeners to identify the demographics of volunteers and to determine if Master Gardeners fit the demographic pattern of volunteers in general. Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents were active in the program, while 32% were inactive. Females accounted for 65% of respondents and males 35%. Nearly 60% of Missouri Master Gardeners were 50 years old or older; however, those in their 40s comprised the largest demographic group. The majority of Missouri Master Gardeners were married with children. Over 50% had at least a college degree, while 22% had post-graduate work. One-third had household incomes of $60,000 or greater; in addition, just under one-quarter had household incomes between $40,000 and $60,000. The largest occupational group was retired persons, at 26.9%; the second largest category was homemakers at 14.6%. Missouri Master Gardeners are more likely to be from small towns or rural areas than from medium or large cities. They tend to be long-term residents of their communities; 57.2% had lived at their current residence for more than 10 years. Missouri Master Gardener volunteer demographics fit the pattern of volunteers in general, but demographic data proved to be a poor predictor of intent to continue volunteering in the Master Gardener program.
The main objective of this study was to determine the effects of a vocational horticulture program on the self-development of female inmates in a federal prison camp (FPC) in Bryan, Texas. Subjects were sampled from the inmate population of FPC-Bryan and assigned to two groups. Group A was comprised of 36 inmates participating in the Master Gardener program and Group B, the control group, was comprised of 26 inmates who were not participants in the Master Gardener program. A confidential 55-item survey was administered in a pretest-posttest fashion and contained questions from Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Control of Reinforcement Scale and the Multidimensional IE Scale (Gurin et al., 1969), Pugh's (1992) Prison Locus of Control Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965), and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985). No significant differences were found between the pre- or post-tests of the Master Gardener and control groups. In addition, no significant differences were found for generalized internal-external locus of control and situation specific internal-external locus of control when pretest and posttest mean scores were compared within each group. However, Master Gardener and control participants significantly increased their self-esteem and global life satisfaction scores between the pre- and post-tests. Due to the high occurrence of research subjects reporting a history of drug or alcohol abuse, the pre- and posttest mean scores of drug or alcohol abusers and nonabusers participating in the Master Gardener program were compared. No significant differences as a result of participation in the Master Gardener program were found for nonabusers for all variables tested and for generalized internal-external locus of control and global self-esteem for drug or alcohol abusers. Substance abusers did significantly increase their situation specific internal-external locus of control and their global life satisfaction while participating in the Master Gardener program.
Virginia Cooperative Extension's (VCE) Master Gardener volunteer program in available in 73 of 102 unit offices. The unit programs are managed by MG coordinators who currently include 10 locally funded agents, eight locally funded non-agents, and 26 volunteers. In 1998, the VCE Master Gardener Coordinator Manual was developed for use by coordinators in managing the local MG program. The 12-unit resource book was developed cooperatively with teams of MGs, coordinators, and agents to enhance coordinators' skills. The manual was the basis of four local MG coordinator training sessions conducted in 1998. Before MG coordinator training, local coordinators were asked to complete an eight-page survey about MG program management practices used locally. In addition to basic questions about coordinator status and length of time with VCE, the survey asked about techniques used in recruitment and training; motivation, retention, and recognition; individual and local MG program evaluation; and other topics. Two months after the last training, all coordinators were asked to evaluate the usefulness of the VCE Master Gardener Coordinator Manual, which was the base text for the training. Finally, 6 months following the final training session, MG coordinators were asked to again complete the eight-page survey about management practices used locally. The results of the survey information have indicated areas in which the management of MG programs are strong and can be strengthened in order to provide enthusiastic, qualified volunteer staff to assist VCE in implementing horticultural educational programs in local communities. The results of the survey are helpful in focusing the work of the state Master Gardener coordinator to provide adequate and appropriate training and other resources for local coordinators. The results of the evaluation survey have assisted the finalization of the VCE Master Gardener Coordinator Manual, a useful resource to any state's Master Gardener program management effort.
An effort has been made to minimize the time involved in production of consumer horticulture radio television, and newspaper columns on a state level, while maximizing quality and utilization. The production of The Virginia Gardener weekly radio program is an annual 4-day marathon ofrecording interviews with subject matter experts. The weekly Virginia Gardener vegetable gardening video series, originally produced for commercial television stations, has been re-issued for cable stations and re-edited for Master Gardener training. The weekly Virginia Gardener newspaper column is written from a computer data bank of press releases prepared in previous years for use by agents in local extension programs.
A survey of Virginia Master Gardeners (N = 188) indicates that answering individual questions and providing educational programs designed to change individuals' behavior were equally important and ranked as number 1 priority for volunteer activity. In terms of training and management, local training programs had the highest importance ranking, with participation in local associations ranking second in importance. Social activities had the lowest importance. Annual training was viewed as primarily the agents' responsibility. However, daily man-agement, record keeping, and related activities were viewed as Master Gardener responsibilities in cooperation with agents.
An interdisciplinary team of Clemson Univ. faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students partnered with the South Carolina Botanical Garden staff and children from the “Sprouting Wings” after-school garden program to plan and design a 2.5-acre Children's Garden. Imaginative and educational, the plans call for a series of outdoor theme gardens. Proposals for 13 theme gardens include a “Dinosaur Dig”, a “Food for Thought Garden”, a “Hide-and-Seek Garden”, a “Terraced Sitting Garden”, an “Ethnobotany Garden”, a “Wonders of Water Garden”, a “Learning from Nature Outdoor Classroom”, a “Carolina Fence Garden”, a “Cottage Garden”, a “Bold View Butterfly Garden”, a “Woodland Wonderland”, a “Playful Plaza Garden,” and an “Arbored Entrance and Exit Garden.” Project methodology included research, case studies, site analysis, program development, preliminary plans, master plan, and individual garden designs with plan views, elevation drawings, detail drawings, and plant lists. Using an experiential learning pedagogy, a design class of 15 students contributed an estimated 2,000 hours of work while learning about landscape design. Results included 30 drawing boards depicting research, analysis, and design proposals, which were presented to the South Carolina Botanical Garden Staff for approval in Fall 2003. Note: This material is based upon work supported by the cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 2002-38411-122122. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
Two xeriscape gardens have been designed for the purpose of educating the public about the importance of water conservation through xeriscaping. One was designed and implemented for a temporary exhibit at the South Carolina State Fair in October of 1991. The exhibit was cosponsored by the Clemson University Extension Service and Master Gardener programs.
The second garden has been designed for the Clemson University Botanical Garden. This will be a permanant addition to the botanical garden soley for display purposes. It is designed to be a model for students, professors, and the general public to observe and study principles associated with water conservation in the landscape.