Overview of Master Gardener Program
In this section you learn how the Master Gardener Program developed and how it operates in Wisconsin.
Yesterday
The Extension Master Gardener program started in 1972 in King and Pierce counties in Washington State by local horticultural Extension agents, David Gibby and Bill Scheer, in response to the overwhelming amount of gardening questions coming into their office each day. To address this, they took a very novel approach of utilizing well-trained volunteers to answer these gardening questions. Two-hundred hand selected volunteers received the inaugural training. Sessions were to be held eight hours per day, one day a week, for five weeks. At the end of the training, volunteers were required to pass subject matter exams.
Since these volunteers went through significant training, they deserved an appropriate and distinguished title. As both Gibby and Scheer had worked in Germany acquiring language proficiency and understanding of the culture, they knew that Germans bestow titles for hard‐earned proficiency levels in various crafts. The top proficiency level in horticulture is denoted by “Gartenmeister,” which they anglicized as “Master Gardener.”
In the following decades, this unique volunteer program has become internationally recognized and is often duplicated as a model for other volunteer programs.
The Wisconsin Master Gardener Program started in the late 1970’s in Brown, Dane, and Milwaukee counties, under the University of Wisconsin-Extension.
Today
Since its start, the program has grown into something bigger. The program now exists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Canada and South Korea have their versions of the program, and other countries attempt to duplicate it.
Master Gardener Volunteers continue to answer gardening questions. They play an important role in sharing information with the public through educational programs. Master Gardener Volunteers also garden in communities to maintain public green space and help prevent hunger.
You, as a Master Gardener Volunteer in Wisconsin, answer gardening questions, educate others, and garden through approved projects focused on our educational themes:
- Supporting healthy and safe food systems
- Protecting valued natural resources
- Creating healthy and vibrant communities
- Improving human well-being
You can look at our Annual Report to see some of what’s going on across the state and near you. Our Annual Impact Report is the annual culmination of select efforts by Master Gardener Volunteers from across the state.
The program is funded at the state and local levels through a combination of support from counties, UW-Madison, the USDA Smith-Lever Act Capacity Grant, fees for services, grants, local fundraising, and donations.
Learn more
👀 Watch this short video from Dr. Tom Bewick, USDA NIFA Horticulture Program Leader, as he kicks off our Extension Master Gardener Coordinator Conference [Madison 2018]. This should continue to give you a sense of our present day program.
More information: