Master Gardener Program

Tennessee Extension Master Gardener Program

What is the Mission of the TN Extension Master Gardener Program?

Improve the lives of Tennesseans through horticulture education delivered by a dedicated and skilled volunteer network.

175,778 hours of service and educational outreach in 2016!

The Breakdown:

2,364 Volunteers reporting

31,872 Continuing education hours

671 Interns trained

1 State and 2 regional conferences

See all the details here:

2016TEMGYearinReview

Representing a value to Tennessee of $3,677,275.76 in 2016!

To become an Extension Master Gardener:

Contact your local county Extension office to complete:

Application

40 hours of basic horticulture classes

Volunteer service and continuing education hours (required for certification)

Information sheet with additional details about TEMG
SP- 635.pdf

Benefits for Extension Master Gardeners:

Forming friendships and having fun

Expanding your gardening skills

Sharing your gardening knowledge

Being involved in your local community

Making a difference in Tennessee

What exactly are volunteer opportunities?

Extension Master Gardeners support the UT Extension residential and consumer horticulture program in their county. They coordinate and teach plant clinics and garden seminars, answer horticulture questions and write articles or newsletters. Master Gardeners share what they enjoy with the general public.

Interested in hearing perspectives on the Tennessee Master Gardener program?

Hear Drs. Chris Cooper & Natalie Bumgarner discuss the program on

'The Family Plot'.

http://video.wkno.org/video/2365559014/

National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture!

#Findyourniche

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) creates a unified voice to promote the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out.

This movement nurtures a passion and appreciation for plants and increases the demand for gardening, from horticultural grants at universities to attendance at public gardens to foot traffic in garden centers.

Mission:

Growing a healthy world through plants, gardens, and landscapes.

Vision:

Use stakeholder partnerships to increase the percentage of U.S. households participating in Consumer Horticulture to 90% by 2025!

For more information check out the full website!

https://consumerhort.org/

Need to record your amazing volunteer hours?

Click the link below!

http://mastergardener.tennessee.edu/tmg_resources/tmg_login.asp

TEMG 2017 Regional Workshops

June 8th in Crossville- hosted by CCMGA

Our Eastern region workshop was a beautiful day at the Plateau Research and Education Center and UT Gardens- Crossville: Plateau Discoery Garden where over 100 volunteers and Extension personnel enjoyed excellent sessions on ornamentals, photography, demonstration garden and youth outreach (KinderGarden pictured above), research opportunities, garden IPM, and managing home ponds.

June 22nd in Murfreesboro

A little rain was no match for the dedication and passion of our TEMG team. Our central region workshop saw over 90 volunteers and Extension folks enjoy inspiring tours of Ellington Ag Center (Davidson Co), Cedars of Lebanon state park butterfly garden and the arboretum in Fiddlers Grove (Wilson Co) as well as Lane Agri-Park (Rutherford Co). We then enjoyed some interactive afternoon workshops on ‘help with your helpline’ and working with youth.

October 12th in Memphis

(Western Region- hosted by MAMG)

Highlights include tours of the Memphis Botanical Gardens and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Stay tuned- registration will be starting in early August!

Workshops are not limited to TEMG's in that area- Feel free to attend any workshop of interest.

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Digital Networking Sessions for 2017!

These video conference meetings will provide TEMG's from around the state the opportunity to visit and share about important organizational and leadership topics.

January 13th - Introduction and discussion for new (and not so new) officers

February 3rd - Learning to answer horticulture questions from citizens

June 2nd - Mentoring to retain interns and engage experinced TEMG's

November 3rd - Speakers bureaus

All networking meetings will be held at 11 am EST and 10am CST. Your county coordinator and leaders will be sent details on connecting. Materials and recording can be found under the Program Handbooks link under MG resources.