“The Master Gardner experience has been exciting and positive from the beginning. Our training was the best, introducing us to smart new people and smart new ideas. We were reminded to base advice on research, and we are still receiving that “in spades”. In retirement I have honed my leadership skills serving in various positions in the organization, and I continue to expand my involvement in the community. Gardening is fun when you are with people you enjoy, as we are in our native plants and pollinators garden at Chehaw Park. When asked if I recommend the Master Gardener program, I always answer, “Oh MG, Yes! Master Gardeners are the best.”
– Jimmy Lindsey, SOWEGA Master Gardener Secretary
Dougherty County Extension Office is looking for interested candidates who would like the opportunity to become Master Gardener Extension Volunteers and serve their communities with other garden enthusiasts. Training for certification as a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer will be offered through the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office in Dougherty County.
The Master Gardener Extension Volunteer program is designed to train volunteers to assist UGA Cooperative Extension Agents in providing unbiased, researched-based horticulture education to the public. The prospective master gardener agrees to volunteer a minimum of 50 hours, within a year following the completion of training, in exchange for 42 hours of horticultural training by Extension professionals. Activities in a volunteer program may include, but are not limited to, native plants gardening and landscape designs, plant clinics, newsletters, news articles, community gardens, beautification projects, civic or garden club presentations, youth programs, homeowner visits and phone consultations from home or the Extension Office and information booths at fairs and festivals.
The cost of the program is $200.00 which includes a Master Gardener textbook, a name badge, one-year membership in the Georgia Master Gardener Association and all other training materials and supplies.
Classes will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. beginning February 11, 2025, and concluding on April 08, 2025, at the Dougherty County Extension Office located at 125 Pine Ave., Suite 100, Albany, GA 31701.
Topics of discussion will range from ornamental and landscape plants, turf management, vegetable gardening, organic gardening to basic entomology, weeds, diseases and insect pests of ornamentals and vegetables and their integrated pest management.
If you feel that this program is of interest to you, please contact the Dougherty County Cooperative Extension Office to obtain the application, the volunteer role description and the volunteer agreement. Please complete the packet and submit it back to the Dougherty County Extension office no later than 5:00 p.m. on December 20, 2024. Once your application has been received and reviewed, you will be notified of your acceptance into the program in January 2025. The selected trainees must provide a check for $ 200.00, payable to Dougherty County Extension / 4-H before 5:00 pm on February 05, 2025.
For more information or questions regarding the upcoming Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Training Program in Dougherty County, please contact UGA Dougherty County ANR Extension Agent Vivek Bist at (229) 436-7216 or vivek.bist@uga.edu.