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Trained and supervised by Virginia Cooperative Extension
and the land grant university of Virginia Tech, Master Gardeners are the
homeowners arm of the extension office. With offices in the Lancaster Court
House; Lancaster County, Heathsville; Northumberland County, Richmond and
Westmoreland County, they cover a large area. Master Gardeners are a breed unto themselves and the
Northern Neck Master Gardeners are standouts! Eighty- four strong, with
10,627 volunteer hours and 29,064 contacts made during the year, they
continue to amaze. In this economically difficult time, their time is valued
at a savings to the taxpayer of $215,196.75 for the year 2008. Master Gardeners are a permanent organization in the
community, existing nationwide since 1972 and in the Northern Neck since
1989. In the area of youth activities, they act under the supervision of the
4-H Agent and the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent. |
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The Master Gardeners are available to provide
research-based gardening and horticultural information through the Lancaster,
Northumberland and Westmoreland Extension offices. They man the phones at
help desks April through October. Plant clinics are run through the Irvington Farmers
Market the 1st Saturday of each month and Heathsville Farmers Market the 3rd
Saturday of each month, April through October. They are the authors of Gardening in the Northern
Neck, a book full of information pertaining to the specifics of gardening in
this part of the world. The Master Gardeners hold an annual seminar, Gardening
in the Northern Neck, in March. Topics covered are shoreline preservation,
growing and buying local, bayscaping and plants that belong in your garden.
These seminars are complete with excellent speakers, topic appropriate
vendors, and are very well attended. This ambitious, energetic and well-educated group draws
from all over the nation. They share their love of grubbing in the dirt,
educating, learning and this place called the Northern Neck. It is impossible to list everything they are involved
with, but the following is a good cross section.
Childrens
Education
SUMS and the ABC Garden
SUMS (Students Using
Math and Science) is an after school program for 3rd graders at Lancaster
Elementary School. NNMGs meet with about 20 children to study horticulture
for one hour on Wednesday afternoons from October through May. SUMS began in
2000 by a third grade teacher Joan Gravatt, supported by a grant from
Dominion Power. Master Gardeners acted as consultants to activities organized
by teachers. It evolved into the Master Gardeners volunteering to plan and
conduct the program. In 2003, to explore horticulture outdoors, the children
began planting flowerbeds next to the third grade wing of the school. Over
several years, 4 beds increased to 8 beds. A berm was added to control
rainwater. A set of outdoor benches and a table was given by the PTA to act
as an outdoor classroom, and a pergola added to the space. The NNMGs created
a teaching garden called A Backyard Classroom (ABC) Garden, largely created
from community donations. This garden now has herb and vegetable beds, perennial
beds, fruit trees and a grape arbor. There are trees offering shade,
producing fruit and growing. Teachers and students in all classes at the primary
school use this garden for educational activities. There is a communication mailbox
encouraging notes between the Master Gardeners and the teachers and students
using the space. Currently, plans are underway to explore the possibility
of adding a rain garden with the help of the Soil and Water Conservation
Board. Twice a year, teachers, staff and parents, get an ABC
Garden newsletter, featuring new developments, growth and ideas in the
garden. Yearly the students and Master Gardeners host parents at
a garden open house. Each child mans a station in the garden and eagerly
explains its contents. Sue Lindsey, early developer of the garden, says, You
can teach/learn anything in a garden.
3rd Grade Science
Program
Twice during the school year, NNMGs present science programs to
third grade students at both Lancaster and Northumberland Elementary Schools.
The programs focus on soils and on shoreline ecology. These programs give the
children opportunities to investigate the S.O.L. (standard of learning)
objectives with their hands as well as their minds, while having fun. The day long programs feature learning stations focusing
on composting, littering, pollution, food chains, erosion, and many varieties
of marine animals.
Earth/Arbor Day
As part of the annual
Earth Day/Arbor Day celebrations in both Lancaster and Northumberland
Elementary Schools, NNMGs conduct an educational activity, have a tree
planting ceremony, and give every child and teacher a tree sapling to take
home and plant.
Invasive Aliens
Ted Munns has been a
Master Gardener Volunteer since 2004 when he completed his training at Green
Spring Gardens Park in Fairfax County. He has always had an interest in
growing things, but after retiring from a career with the Federal Government,
now had the time and opportunity to spend with this passion. He wanted to learn
more about the technical aspects of horticulture, botany, garden design and
landscaping so he enrolled in the local community college to help round out
his education. After three years, he was awarded an Associates Degree in
Horticultural Technology. His interest in teaching and the scourge of
invasive alien plants has allowed him to offer a program that educates the
public on good landscaping practices. Some plants that began benignly in our
gardens escaped into our roadsides, woods and parks. The coastal plain of
Virginia offers a moderate climate that encourages homeowners to select a
wide variety of must have plants that often escape from their yards. These
plants, usually natives of Europe or Asia, choke off and smother our native
flora to the detriment of our native insect pollinators, birds, and
vertebrates. Nothing grows in the thick tangles of kudzu, English
ivy, or wisteria, and some plants like the tree-of-heaven exude a sap that
kills other plants and can be caustic to the skin. The Northern Neck Master
gardener volunteers offer educational programs to teach residents of the
long-term problems of some common declining populations of butterflies,
nocturnal moths, nesting birds, and wet land amphibians which are a direct
result of lack of host plants for these creatures to feed upon. The more we
know about eradicating exotic alien plants and encouraging native plantings,
the more we will be able to stem this decline.
Horticultural
Therapy
The Horticultural Association defines Horticultural Therapy
(HT) as The engagement of a client in gardening related activities,
facilitated by a trained therapist to achieve specific goals. HT is a
process using plants and garden activities to improve the body, mind and
spirit of people. HT is practiced throughout the world in hospitals,
rehabilitation facilities, hospice vocational facilities, nursing homes,
senior and community centers, schools and prisons. Volunteer HT, for example Master Gardeners, are
knowledgeable trained gardeners that are currently involved in HT in
Kilmarnock at Rappahannock Westminster Canterbury and in Warsaw at The
Orchard. Volunteer HT was originated and championed by Diane Rolf
from Virginia Tech. Horticulture has been identified as the number one
leisure pursuit of older Americans. Gardening is a therapeutic activity that
enhances physical and mental health. Studies have found that 85–90% of
nursing care residents has been engaged in some sort of gardening in their
lifetime. The benefits include enhanced cognitive, social, and physical
functioning. Part of the training of MGs includes developing a
project within one of the approved programs. Three MGs developed written
guidelines for the implementation of HT that could be used in multiple
settings as a reference for those choosing to participate in HT in the
future. The Orchard HT group has completed the institutions
orientation requirements. They meet the third Friday of the month.
Participants come from all three levels of care and the activity is adjusted
based on the individuals capabilities. They consistently see 10-12
residents. They introduce the project with appropriate history, assist with
completion and follow up with a write up of the activity for future
reference. A copy is given to the Activity Director for use in their planning
meetings.
Northern Neck Master Gardener Tips
Gardening
tips written by Bryan Kennedy, Marybeth Sisson and Kathy Powell, Master
Gardeners of the most recent graduating class, was begun as a class project.
This article is submitted monthly to the Rappahannock Record, Northern Neck
News and the Northumberland Echo. It is also published in a quarterly
newsletter and distributed at the farmers markets and public events. And thats not all!! There are annual pruning clinics,
establishment of the gardens at Dream Fields, the gardens at the Lancaster
High Schooland the list goes on. So the next time you are in the Northern Neck and you
notice a whirl of dust look carefully, it may be a Master Gardener. |
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