ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 7, 1995                   TAG: 9509070045
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JOE HUNNINGS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MASTER GARDENERS HELP AROUND STATE

Master gardeners make Virginia a better place to live by helping keep our urban and residential landscapes healthy and beautiful. Gardeners reap the pleasure and satisfaction of making a difference in their communities from their volunteer work.

In 1994, 2,000 active master gardeners volunteered in 41 Virginia Cooperative Extension offices and worked 92,000 hours, worth more than $1.5 million to the commonwealth.

The real value of the master gardener program is accomplishments that range from plant clinics and hot lines to school gardening programs.

The New River Valley Master Gardeners help their local extension offices answer hundreds of homeowners' gardening questions through phone calls, visits, and community plant clinics.

Clinics provide an alternative resource for local gardeners who can't visit the extension office during the week. Extension Master Gardener Plant Clinics are held on Saturdays in September at Lowes of Christiansburg. Individuals are welcome to bring plant samples and questions.

New River Master Gardeners teach youths in local schools and 4-H clubs about gardening and composting.

They help maintain local gardens such as those at the Montgomery Museum in Christiansburg and the Virginia Tech Horticulture Gardens.

Master gardeners lecture to local clubs and give demonstrations about pruning and yard-waste management. They help families to become more self-sufficient by teaching them to plant vegetable gardens.

This year, a new program will provide small grants to local schools to bring horticulture into the classroom. The program is the result of fund raising efforts of the New River Master Gardeners

The master-gardener program will take applications in November.

Those interested in intensive training in horticulture and in sharing knowledge with the community may call a local extension office for more information. 


 by CNB