Membership of the Galveston County Master Gardeners Association are over 150 trained and certified Texas Master Gardeners. Our Extension Master volunteers share their knowledge, training and passion for gardening with our local and regional communities.
Interested in becoming a Texas Master Gardener? We host an annual training program consisting of 11 weeks of valuable in-person class instruction.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is a unique education agency that provides programs, tools and resources on a local and statewide level which teach people improved agriculture and food production, advanced health practices, environmental protection, economic and youth programs.
The Texas Master Gardener program is an educational volunteer program conducted by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service of the Texas A&M University System. Extension Master Gardeners (EMGs) are members of the local community who take an active interest in their lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and gardens. They are enthusiastic, willing to learn and help others and able to communicate with diverse groups of people. What really sets Master Gardeners apart from other home gardeners is their special training in horticulture. In exchange for their training, persons who become Master Gardeners contribute time as volunteers, working through their county’s Texas AgriLife Extension office to provide horticultural-related information to their communities.
Note: Extension Master Gardeners are representatives of Texas AgriLife Extension. In all volunteer work related to the program, EMG’s follow the research-based recommendations of Texas AgriLife Extension. The title “Texas Master Gardener” can be used by volunteers only when engaged in Extension-sponsored activities.
- To increase the gardening knowledge of its members and the general public.
- To support and assist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension by providing the community with information on good gardening practices through news articles, workshops, presentations, school programs and other community groups, by telephone and digital media.
MISSION: The mission of the Extension Master Gardener Program is to provide quality and relevant horticulture education to the people of Texas.
- Organize gardening education programs, including high-quality Gulf Coast Gardening Series seminars;
- Maintain an active Speakers Bureau and outreach events;
- Support Texas Master Gardener certification training course;
- Manage youth gardening projects and education;
- Manage the Discovery Garden, a 4.5 acre education and research demonstration garden;
- Gardening Help Desk answering service, providing plant diagnosis and advice about best practices ;
- Monthly chapter meetings with occasional educational speakers for continued education and training;
- Conduct plant, tree and fruit tree sales and simultaneously provide educational material and advice.
GCMGA is a voluntary, nonprofit, educational, literary and charitable association organized to support Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. GCMGA is not affiliated with any commercial enterprises. We serve Galveston County, Texas, in cooperation with the counties’ Texas A&M AgriLife Extension offices. Each Texas Master Gardener chapter is associated with its county Extension Agent. The Galveston County Master Gardener Association is a chapter of the Texas Master Gardener program serving county and regional residents through education programs.
GCMGA MOTTO: Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost