Arkansas Master Gardener program turns 20

By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Contact)

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The Arkansas Master Gardener program is 20 years old this month, as Janet Carson reports in Saturday’s HomeStyle section.

The first class of 25 volunteers from four central Arkansas counties graduated Oct. 13, 1988, at the Arkansas 4-H Center and paved the way for one of the most successful volunteer programs of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. On Monday, they celebrate their anniversary.

Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who agree to provide horticulture-related volunteer service to their local counties in return for 40 hours of horticulture training. The program officially began in Washington state in 1972 to help county agents meet the demand of horticulture work in their offices. It spread nationally and now is available in all states and several provinces in Canada.

Master Gardeners are usually affiliated with local land grant colleges and cooperative extension services in their states. In Arkansas, they are a part of the extension service. In Arkansas, what started out as a pilot program in Garland, Jefferson, Pulaski and Saline counties has spread to more than 50 counties.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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This article was published Friday, October 10, 2008.

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