Master Gardener from 1996

C.W. Carpenter became a certified Master Gardener (MG) in 1996. In the 14 years that he has been certified, he has completed 2017.25 hours of volunteer service. He. moved to Corpus Christi in 1950, straight from college, to work for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. In 1970, he was appointed the garden editor for the Corpus Christi Caller Times and used this platform to help educate South Texas on all matters related to gardening . In addition, C.W. has shared his knowledge and love of gardening through a wide variety of activities such as: Served as co-editor and a major contributor to the The Garden Book for Corpus Christi and South Texas published in 1992. When he retired and The Garden Book project was in limbo, C.W. took on the role of co-editor, learned how to use a computer and Pagemaker and finished this project. The Garden Book is the authoritative gardening resource for the Coastal Bend area. He continues to serve as the unofficial distributor for the book and is working with others to try and launch a new edition of this popular resource.

Since the mid 1990’s has worked through the Nueces MG Learning to Grow Program at Calk Elementary School. He has faithfully taught children how to grow vegetables and tend to the eight beds there. He is still pleasantly surprised to run into teenagers and young adults who recall with pleasure their Calk gardening experiences. He has also served as a mentor to Master Gardener Interns who aspire to work in the Learning to Grow Program. In addition, C.W. has been the “keeper of the trees” at Calk. To replace several unhealthy Chinese tallow trees, he started an oak tree planting project. Beginning trees from seedlings, he nurtured and then planted 30 trees on the Calk campus. They are now 12-15 feet tall.

Was active with the Corpus Christi Tree Awareness Council, helping city residents to raise money and then plant trees in identified neighborhoods in the city. He has participated in a variety of mass tree planting projects throughout the last many years. Helped to maintain the city’s Xeriscape Garden at the Museum of Science and History for several years. This display garden helps to inform residents about plants with lower water requirements. In addition, C.W. worked with the city’s Master Composting project which taught residents how to reduce the amount of compostable materials going into the landfill. In 2008, C.W. Carpenter received Nueces Master Gardener’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of all the years of gardening support that he has provided the residents of Nueces County over the years. We believe that he is truly deserving of Texas Master Gardener Emeritus status as well.