The El Paso Master Gardener program offers 12 weeks of intensive horticulture training on such topics as herb and vegetable gardening, trees and pruning, xeriscaping, soils, fertilizers, plant pests and more. After successful completion of the course, participants are required to volunteer time, sharing with the community what they have learned through a number of educational related projects.
For this year’s class, we will be selecting approximately 25 participants. After your application has been received, you will be called for an interview with the County Extension faculty. Although it is helpful for participants to have some basic knowledge about gardening and other plant-related topics, the selection process will be based more on willingness to become an active volunteer in an elite corps of El Paso County gardeners. If you are selected for the program, you will be given an intensive horticulture training that will serve as the foundation for the much broader knowledge that you will gain after having served as a volunteer (everyone who completes the program remarks that it is during the volunteer service of the program that they actually begin to retain the knowledge gained in the course).
After successful completion of the course, you will be asked to perform at least 60 hours of community service on approved projects during the following year. These volunteer hours will be served under the direction of the County Extension Agent and will involve answering questions from the public, working with other Master Gardeners in our research and demonstration gardens, designing and delivering gardening presentations, and various other fun projects throughout the year. Although only 60 hours of volunteer service are required to complete the program and become a certified Master Gardener, it is hoped that you will volunteer many more hours in your community. In order to retain your certification as a Master Gardener, you must perform volunteer hours and go through continuing education classes every year. Many opportunities exist for advanced training courses, which are only taught to certified Master Gardeners.
The fee for the course is $165.00 ($220.00 for applicants working in a commercial industry related in any way to the field of horticulture). Each participant will be provided the Texas Master Gardener Handbook (a comprehensive horticultural text) as well as various other handouts on topics covered in each class. The course is set to begin September 6 with a two-hour orientation. Classes will begin on September 8 and continue through November 17, 2011. Classes will meet every Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m and will be held at the El Paso Garden Center, 3105 Grant Ave. (on the west-side of Memorial Park, near Piedras), and will be taught by professionals from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, as well as other local horticulture experts.
The deadline for application is August 23, 2011 so please return the following two application pages and your essay as soon as possible. Please do not send any money with your application. The course fee will be due at the time of registration, after an orientation to the program and its requirements (September 6).
To view the application, please, click here.
