Still Time To Register For Spring Virtual Master Gardener Class
January 8, 2022 at 12:49 a.m.
By Staff Report-
The application deadline is Tuesday. The training wraps up May 3. An individual registration costs $180 and includes a print version of the Purdue EMG manual. The fee for two people sharing a print version of the manual is $280.
Purdue Extension specialists and educators from across Indiana teach the course. Topics include soils, fertility, pest control, invasive species, pesticide safety and alternatives, trees, vegetables, flowers, lawns and fruit.
A local connection hour will be hosted on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This time will be sent reviewing and providing supplemental information to each class.
“The Purdue Extension Master Gardener program’s main purpose is to train volunteers to assist Purdue Extension with consumer horticulture education in Indiana communities,” said John Orick, Purdue EMG state coordinator (www.hort.purdue.edu/mg).
Extension Master Gardener volunteers are required to give a minimum of 40 hours back to the community after completing initial training and passing an exam. Volunteers completed 117,000 hours in 2021, Orick said.
To strengthen connections to county Purdue EMG programs, each hosting Extension educator will hold a required one-hour weekly meeting with participants to dig deeper on how the topic of the week applies to local gardeners.
“Indiana is a long, north-south state,” said Jeff Burbrink, a Purdue Extension educator in Elkhart County who is on the team that planned the spring program. “Our climate and soils vary a great deal from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. We want to be sure that our Extension Master Gardeners can see how these concepts work in their backyard.”
Most Master Gardeners stay involved in the program for years.
If you are interested in participating in the class and would like an application, contact Kelly Heckaman at [email protected] or 574-372-2340.
The application deadline is Tuesday. The training wraps up May 3. An individual registration costs $180 and includes a print version of the Purdue EMG manual. The fee for two people sharing a print version of the manual is $280.
Purdue Extension specialists and educators from across Indiana teach the course. Topics include soils, fertility, pest control, invasive species, pesticide safety and alternatives, trees, vegetables, flowers, lawns and fruit.
A local connection hour will be hosted on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This time will be sent reviewing and providing supplemental information to each class.
“The Purdue Extension Master Gardener program’s main purpose is to train volunteers to assist Purdue Extension with consumer horticulture education in Indiana communities,” said John Orick, Purdue EMG state coordinator (www.hort.purdue.edu/mg).
Extension Master Gardener volunteers are required to give a minimum of 40 hours back to the community after completing initial training and passing an exam. Volunteers completed 117,000 hours in 2021, Orick said.
To strengthen connections to county Purdue EMG programs, each hosting Extension educator will hold a required one-hour weekly meeting with participants to dig deeper on how the topic of the week applies to local gardeners.
“Indiana is a long, north-south state,” said Jeff Burbrink, a Purdue Extension educator in Elkhart County who is on the team that planned the spring program. “Our climate and soils vary a great deal from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River. We want to be sure that our Extension Master Gardeners can see how these concepts work in their backyard.”
Most Master Gardeners stay involved in the program for years.
If you are interested in participating in the class and would like an application, contact Kelly Heckaman at [email protected] or 574-372-2340.
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