Colorado Master Gardener Volunteers assist CSU Cooperative Extension in a variety of methods, including the following:
- Telephone Service – Assist phone and walk-in clients with gardening questions and plant diagnosis at CSU Cooperative Extension Office. Front Range counties process 15,000 calls annually.
- Plant Clinics – Assist clients with gardening questions and plant diagnosis at plant clinics local at garden centers, farmers’ markets, fairs and community events
- Gardening Classes
- Mass Media – In most CMG counties, CMG volunteers write weekly articles for local newspapers from March to October.
- Electronic Media – Some county CMG programs maintain a CMG web site.
- Youth Gardening -- Mentoring youth gardening groups and community gardening projects
- Demonstration Gardens – Work on a team to develop and maintain demonstration gardens and assist CSU Department of Horticulture and LA with research at PERC.
Actual projects vary from county to county in response to local needs and resources.
Colorado Master Gardener services are intended for non-commercial, home gardeners only.
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Colorado Master Gardener, CMG, Volunteers thrive on gardening activities, enjoy learning about the latest gardening techniques, and enjoy sharing their gardening knowledge in a two-way learning atmosphere.
As volunteer staff for CSU Cooperative Extension, CMG volunteers strive to foster successful gardening. Many volunteers prefer outreach efforts that provide knowledge-based information to help gardeners protect and enhance the home landscape environment. Other volunteers flourish with outreach efforts that use gardening as a tool to develop individuals, strengthen families, and build communities.
Educational messages focus on timely gardening issues, including the following:
- Irrigation management and water-wise gardening
- Pest management alternatives
- Home food production
- Plant Health Care
Volunteer Commitment: To become a Colorado Master Gardener requires 50 hours/year minimum volunteer service. CMG volunteers participate in 60 hours of classroom training. To continue in the program requires 24 hours/year minimum volunteer service per year. CMG volunteers participate in a variety of continuing education opportunities.
Since 1997, the number of CMG volunteers increased from 1,000 to 1,700 with the number of volunteer hours more than doubling.
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