Impact Report
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Title | Marion County Master Gardener Program 03-5106X and 03-5107X
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Impact Summary
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Participants in the Marion County Master Gardener Program increased their understanding of proper lawn and garden practices by 41 percent. Master Gardeners volunteered over 8000 hours educating others and beautifying communities during the past year. The dollar value of time contributed by the volunteers amounted to over $133,000.
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Issue
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Gardening is a popular activity for many Americans. An estimated 79 percent of U.S. households (2002) participate in some type of indoor or outdoor lawn and garden activity. This means over 278,000 households in Marion County are involved in gardening related activities. The large volume of horticulture questions to Extension educators indicates that many of these people need accurate, environmentally responsible information to better understand and practice proper lawn and garden management.
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What was done
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Four new Master Gardener training programs were planned, organized, promoted, implemented and evaluated in Marion County during the past year. Participants in each class received 50 hours of training in 18 sessions on a wide variety of gardening topics including plant science, soil science, pests, pesticide use and safety, plant problem diagnosis, landscape design, landscape plant selection and maintenance, vegetables, fruits, lawns and indoor plants. A tour at a local public garden provided participants with additional hands-on learning. Examinations were conducted before and after each training program to measure the increase in subject matter knowledge. Participants were required to pass a final comprehensive exam as the first step in Master Gardener certification. This allows them to become Master Gardener "interns" who are required to give 50 hours of volunteer service to help educate others in gardening or to help beautify the community. Master Gardener certification occurs when the 50 volunteer hours are completed.
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Impact
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(03-5106X and 03-5107X) There were 134 adults trained through 4 Marion County Master Gardener programs. Based on examinations from 127 people, conducted before and after each training program, participants increased their understanding of proper lawn and garden practices by 41 percent. All the adults exceeded the passing grade of 70 percent on the final exam. Participants in the Master Gardener program became better gardeners according to class evaluations conducted at the end of each Master Gardener training program. In fact, 100 percent of the participants that returned evaluations stated they had become better gardeners as a result of the program. Comments from evaluations included: "Pruning-I read stuff in books but never really 'got it' until this class." "I have a better feel for landscape design." "My lawn care is revolutionized." "The whole class was an eye-opener, it dispelled so many myths and taught me how to landscape and manage the landscape to the nth degree." The evaluations also indicated that participants increased in their knowledge of environmental stewardship and put it to practice. One person said the class "made me more aware of my environment." Based on returned evaluations, 94 percent of the participants indicated they became a better environmental steward as a result of the Master Gardener program. Reasons listed by those who indicated they became a better environmental steward included proper pesticide use (68 percent), composting (39 percent) and the recycling of lawn grass clippings (27 percent). Comments from evaluations included: "I am more aware of the impacts of pesticide, fertilizer and general chemical use." "I am composting my shredded leaves." "I am now aware of why my compost pile failed and that grass clippings should remain on the lawn." The Master Gardener program also helped people save money. Thirty-five percent stated the program helped them save money during the period of time the class was held. Another 48 percent indicated they felt the program would save them money in the future. Seventeen percent suggested they would not save money. Some people became so enthusiastic about gardening they started spending more money on plants and supplies. Comments from evaluations included: "Yes, it will help me save in the future." "Due to better usage of fertilizers and chemicals, (I) will save money." "I think that it has given me the knowledge to prevent many costly landscaping mistakes." Participants changed their gardening practices as a result of the Master Gardener program. During the 3-month training period, 73 percent stated they already adopted a better landscape or garden management practice. Another 26 percent suggested they did not make a change yet but intended to do so in the future. Comments included: "I cleaned up my gardens better so diseases could not overwinter." I am "cutting my grass on a higher setting." "I had my soil tested." "I have always hauled everything away, and as a result of the class have a huge compost pile." Instruction on how to find reliable information for gardening questions and problems using the Internet had a great impact on many students. Evaluation comments included: "Thank you for requiring the website homework. What a wealth of info there is out there. WOW!" "Web site identification will (and already has) proven to be extremely helpful." "Guided to websites with excellent advice, FREE!" "The biggest thing that I learned was how to access the needed info using the internet." The program helps participants to help others grow. One person stated the class had "Good, thoughtful information I'll use for many years to help myself and others." Marion County Master Gardeners volunteered 8,051 hours educating others and beautifying communities during the past year. They provided individual lawn and garden advice to 2537 people by telephone and 838 people via e-mail. The dollar value of time contributed by Master Gardener volunteers amounted to $133,163.54.
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