Wendy's Wanderings
April 8, 2021
You Might Be a Master Gardener Volunteer If...
April is volunteer appreciation month and at the University of Florida we do truly appreciate our Master Gardener Volunteers. We could not serve the tens of thousands of Floridians with the best researched-based horticultural information without our dedicated team of 4,500 MG volunteers.
The past year has been a challenge for the Florida Master Gardener Volunteers; we have seen plant sales canceled, demonstration garden maintenance stopped, green house propagation put on hold, and school and community gardening volunteering paused. Our Master Gardener Volunteer meetings went to virtual platforms and our trainings were all done through webinars.
Yet we persisted, we pivoted, and we found a way to volunteer and stay connected because that is what strong volunteer programs do. We ran plant clinics from our home offices, we wrote articles and blog posts, we made videos and social media posts, and we stayed educated. We clocked in over 60,000 hours of continuing education credits in 2020 — that's a lot of learning. We connected with each other via Zoom coffee hours and lunch chats, just so we could see each other's faces and find out how our gardens were growing. Thank you to all the Master Gardener Volunteers for your sincere dedication and your contributions over the last year — we really couldn't have made it through without you.
Are You a Florida MGV?
For a little fun, see if you can see yourself in any of these statements:
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you enter the home improvement store through the garden center even if it is raining.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you find yourself identifying plants to strangers that didn't even ask.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have a more than 20 plants that you have purchased with every intention to plant but have yet to get them in the ground.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you keep clippers, bags, and shovels in your vehicle "just in case."
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have ever plucked seeds or taken a plant cutting by moonlight from a public place.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have exceeded the holding capacity of your car with mulch, soil, bricks, or plants.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have loose slow-release fertilizer and soil on your floor mats or in your car trunk from hauling plants.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you carry UF/IFAS horticulture factsheets and soil testing bags with you wherever you go.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you plan your vacations around where the best botanical gardens and nurseries are.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you read Southern Living, Martha Stewart, and Garden & Gun for the plant info more than the other articles.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you work harder at the Extension office garden, green house, and landscape than you do in your own yard.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... one of your most cherished possessions is your Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ yard recognition sign.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have ever received a composter, rain barrel, load of mulch, or manure as a birthday present.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you were one of the 700 new Florida Master Gardener Volunteers trained in 2020.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you contributed to the 186,000 volunteer hours contributed to the state of Florida in 2020 despite the pandemic.
You might be a Master Gardener Volunteer if... you have realized the true enjoyment of gardening is sharing your passion with others.
-- Wendy Wilber
