2017 Master Gardener Interns Complete Training

​2017 Master Gardener Interns (acting a little silly after passing their exam...)
 
2017 MG Interns: Back row (L-R)
Estelle Strydom, Sue Rhodes, Simon WIlhoit, Susan Pezanowski, Beverly Barnett, Jane Karuschkat, Joe Brown, Todd Long, Gayle Hottinger, Steve Mallory, Casey Nicholson; Front Row: Elizabeth Ferguson & Pat Mullins

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​UT Extension concluded training of the seventh Master Gardener class on May 17, 2017.  Thirteen additional volunteers were trained in sixteen intensive classes to become members of the Big Spring Master Gardener Association of Greene County.  Because of these training classes, in conjunction with 40 hours of volunteer hours given back to the county, the participants each received intern status as a Master Gardener Volunteer. This will further increase program capabilities focused on Horticulture education in Greene County.
 
Tennessee Master Gardeners (TMGs) are trained volunteers that help horticultural experts in University of Tennessee Extension and the Tennessee State Extension Program. They help share the latest and greatest gardening information. The program's main goals are to increase the availability of horticultural information and to improve the quality of life with community gardening and landscape programs. Master Gardeners help by answering phone requests for horticultural information in the UT Extension Master Gardener Lab; establishing and maintaining demonstration gardens throughout the county; working with the youth, the elderly, and other special groups; and designing and implementing community involvement projects.
                 
Master Gardener organizations across the state have been involved in recession-related gardening, geared at teaching people how to grow their own vegetables, teaching people how to be green and save money and time when landscaping, and sharing water and soil conservation tips. 
 
The Big Spring Master Gardener Association (BSMGA) of Greene County has been very active in numerous projects and events throughout Greene County during 2017.  Master Gardeners greatly impact the agricultural community.  They provide educational assistance and work with a diverse audience in the county. 
 
Projects Master Gardeners are involved with at the local level include:

• Boys and Girls Club of Greeneville and Greene County GROW Demonstration Garden
• Depot Street Farmer’s Market, Ask a MG Booth
• Dickson Williams Mansion landscape
• Farm to Fork events (Uncorked at the Capitol is coming up on June 2nd)
• Greene County Fair Booth, Display and Judging activities
• Greene County Fair Landscaping Project
• Greene County Christmas Parade Event
• Kid’s Day on the Farm held at the Research and Education Center
• Master Gardener Lab at the Extension Office
• New Hope Cemetery Beautification Project
• Spring Plant Sale
• Tabernacle Presbyterian Soup Kitchen Community Garden

 
Master Gardeners also participate in local, state, and national educational learning journeys.
 

• In accordance with our local mission statement, the Big Spring Master Gardener Association mission is: 
• To expand the capabilities of Tennessee Extension to provide residential and consumer horticultural information to individuals and groups in the community.
• To develop a Tennessee Extension Master Gardener volunteer network that works in close collaboration with local Extension personnel to meet local needs.
• To develop community programs related to horticulture. Depending on the needs of the community, these programs might include providing speakers for horticultural presentations, landscape improvement activities with civic groups, therapeutic horticulture projects, or demonstration or production gardens designed to improve access to information or produce.
• To recruit and train volunteers interested in helping area residents solve their gardening problems either by working with the residents individually or in groups, or by using print or digital outreach tools.
• To recruit and train volunteers interested in working with special groups within the community, such as garden clubs, civic organizations, children, the disabled, the elderly, the confined, minorities and low-income families.​
• To identify the administrative positions necessary to maintain the Tennessee Extension Master Gardener Program and fill these positions with capable volunteers who will carry out the activities of the program.

 
For further information about becoming a Master Gardener, please call the UT Extension Office at 423-798-1710 or visit the Big Spring Master Gardener Association website at www.bsmga.com.