“With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see. “Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet.

The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is reviving the mentor program that was so successful in the past to help trainees achieve Master Gardener certification.  Starting with the 2020 BMGA Training Class, certified BMGA members may volunteer to mentor a trainee. The mentor’s obligation extends from when the classroom portion of the training program begins until the mentee achieves Master Gardener certification, up to one year from graduation from the training class.

Because so much information is provided during the training class about gardening, volunteering, continuing education, the relationship with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, BMGA projects, meetings and other activities, the mentor will help usher the trainee through the program. The mentor’s role is to assist the mentee as they move through the training class, help them achieve their required 50 volunteer hours within 1-year from graduation of the training program, answer questions about the Master Gardener program and simply be a friend who shares a passion for gardening.

As BMGA is a four county Master Gardener chapter covering the large geographical area of Austin, Colorado, Fayette & Washington Counties, mentors will be matched to trainees based on county of residence.

BMGA members are asked to sign-up for this important role in connection with the 2020 Training Class. If you are interested in mentoring a new trainee, please go to the Members Only Area to sign-up as mentor.

As Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”