Future of Illinois Master Gardener Program to Be Determined
Published: Apr. 23, 2008
URBANA — Don Nekrosius is one of the 3,355 active Master Gardeners in Illinois. "I took the Master Gardener training in the winter of 2006 at the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences on Chicago's far south side," said Nekrosius. "I volunteer both in Chicago and at the Oak Park Conservatory, which is near my home. I've also staffed the Plant Clinic at the Garfield Park Conservatory.
"One of the little things I was able to do recently is to identify an exotic South African bulb that the Oak Park Conservatory staff was surprised had grown and bloomed," said Nekrosius.
At the Oak Park Conservatory, Nekrosius is a member of the board of directors, chairs the membership committee, and leads docent tours on the topic of plant adaptations to early primary and middle school students from Oak Park, Berwyn and Chicago. He's also on the education committee that develops tour content and focus, and serves as a mentor to docents in training.
Due to the impending rescission of state funding for University of Illinois Extension, the Master Gardener program may face deep cuts in Chicago and throughout Illinois, according to Monica David, University of Illinois Extension coordinator for the Master Gardener program.
"I have lost three program coordinators from Cook County," said David. "Those are the local folks who manage the volunteers and set up the projects. I think the public will see fewer educational programs and fewer hands-on projects such as gardening with kids, therapeutic gardening, and demonstration gardens because of the cuts. We are already looking at making serious cuts on projects in and around Chicago."
Master Gardeners like Nekrosius pledge to donate 60 service hours as interns and 30 hours per year thereafter. David calculated the equivalent financial reimbursement for the volunteer hours donated by the Illinois Master Gardeners. "For 2007, there was a total of 164,176 volunteer hours. At the value of $18.77 per hour established by the independent sector this would equal $3.081 million in service to Illinois communities."
David said that most graduates actually give much more than 30 hours. "They write newspaper columns, give talks at libraries and civic groups, host workshops, help diagnose plant diseases at walk-in plant clinics, work with youth programs in schools and with 4-H, scouting, and lots of other community programs."
Due to the intensive time commitment of one full day each week from January to April, which can be inconvenient for some people, an online course was developed in 2002.
"The online is going strong- I have 55 in the class this year," said Monica David. "It's a popular option for those who work and cannot attend face-to-face classes. And Illinois is only one of two states that offer the online option."
Nekrosius said that the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener program helps people get started with gardens and address problems in ways that do not harm them or their environment because of the program's research-based protocol. "The loss of the support systems, especially our local coordinators, seriously weakens our ability to provide these services," he said. "A lot of important work will happen less frequently because of the loss of funding." For more information about the Master Gardener program including how to apply, contact your nearest Extension office or visit www.extension.uiuc.edu/mg. For information about the online Master Gardener course, contact Monica David (217-265-5256; modavid@uiuc.edu).
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