All programs in the Division of Extension, including the Wisconsin Master Gardener Program, focus our work on identified themes. Volunteer projects can address:

• Supporting healthy and safe food systems
• Protecting valued natural resources
• Creating healthy and vibrant communities
• Improving human well-being

Within each of these themes, we apply the latest unbiased university research-based information to understand and address the situation. Extension also evaluates if and how volunteers make a difference through their activities around these themes.

Supporting healthy and safe food systems

Rates of food insecurity are generally below the national average in the Midwest, including Wisconsin. In the period from 2014-2016, 10.7% of Wisconsin households were food insecure, meaning they lacked assured access to safe, affordable foods. While the Wisconsin food insecurity rate fairs better than the nation as a whole (13.0%), the overall state food insecurity rate masks considerable regional and subpopulation variation. Households at greatest risk for food insecurity are poor, single headed households, households of color, and households with children (USDA ERS, 2017). Food insecurity has a negative impact on health and nutrition and has been associated with nutrient deficiencies, increased rates of chronic disease, and chronic stress (FRAC, 2018).

Our Response: Master Gardener Volunteer activities can improve the motivation and knowledge of participating individuals in activities related to the selection, growing, management, pest control, and harvesting of fruits and vegetables.

Types of Activities:

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Protecting valued natural resources

The people of Wisconsin love the outdoors! Extension is one of several state groups and agencies that works to protect our natural resources. Many native plants cannot reproduce without pollinators. Many native insects, birds and other wildlife need native plants as a food source. Invasive plants decrease the diversity of native plants, and this in turn limits habitat availability for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. Invasive plants can also adversely impact human health, such as wild parsnip sap causing burns and Japanese barberry infestations hosting higher populations of Lyme-infected deer ticks.

Our Response: Master Gardener Volunteer activities can improve the motivation and knowledge of participating individuals in the following subjects.

• Pollinator protection: activities related to protecting bees, butterflies, and other pollinator insects
• Invasive/native animals and insects: activities related to invasive and native animals and insects (not pollinators)
• Invasive/native plants: activities related to invasive and native plants
• Resource protection (water, soil, land etc.): activities related to sustainability topics
• Gardening for changing climate: activities related to weather and climate change

Types of Activities:

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Creating healthy and vibrant communities

Cared-for plants and green spaces in our communities have positive social, economic, and environmental benefits, such as aiding in creating walkable streets, attracting shoppers to downtown business areas, and mitigating urban heat islands. These Master Gardener Volunteer projects utilize a Placemaking framework combined with the latest interdisciplinary research on the benefits of plants in order to do meaningful work in communities.

Our Response: Master Gardener Volunteer activities can improve the motivation and knowledge of participating individuals in the following subjects.

• Managing woody plants: Trees and shrubs, when properly cared for, provide environmental, social, and economic benefits to our communities.
• Selecting the right plant for the right place: Proper plant selection for the environment they are to be grown in can reduce chemical inputs for pest management as well as allow for maximum environmental, social, and economic benefits to our communities.

Types of Activities:

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Improving human well-being

Increased exposure to nature, including plants and gardening activities, can improve the mental, physical, social, and emotional well-being of participating individuals. Nature deficit disorder is a term created to describe the psychological, physical and cognitive costs of human alienation from nature.

Our Response: Master Gardener Volunteer activities can improve the motivation of targeted audiences to go outside and/or improve their interactions with plants.

Types of Activities:

👨🏾‍💻 Click on each section to learn more.