Shelley Siuts said she always has loved gardening, but for some unknown reason all her houseplants seemed to wither away. At the urging of some friends, Siuts joined the UI Master Gardeners program. Siuts, an information technology specialist in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, began the online training course in January and soon solved the mystery about why her houseplants were withering: the water-softener salt in her tap water was toxic to them and she needed to rotate the pots around the house to vary their exposure to sunlight.
Begun in 1972, the Illinois Master Gardener program now has more than 3,475 active master gardeners around the state, and more than 600 people go through the training annually.
To achieve the designation master gardener, participants undergo 60 hours of training by UI Extension staff or university faculty and staff members, a noncredit course that covers all facets of horticulture – such as botany, soils, diseases and landscape design. The training is offered January – May each year and rotates to sites around the state. The online program, begun in 2002, covers the same material, but enables students to complete the course from home. The Junior Master Gardener program offers horticulture and environmental science education activities for youth as well. Both programs require that the gardeners share their expertise through community service activities.
Monica David, Illinois master gardener coordinator and an Extension specialist in the department of natural resources and environmental sciences, administers the state program by overseeing 78 local program coordinators, teaches the online curriculum and assists with plant pathology education.
“I think the real importance of the program is what the master gardeners give back to the community,” David said. “A common misconception is that they’re just people who know a lot about gardening, and they have beautiful gardens in their homes. That really isn’t the case. Their greatest love is sharing their knowledge. Our motto is: ‘Helping Others Learn to Grow.’ ”
Once they graduate from the course, participants serve 60-hour internships performing community service, and they share their expertise in myriad ways, including writing newsletters and speaking on radio and television programs or giving talks to clubs and scout troops. They also answer consumers’ questions at Extension offices or at community events. Last year, the master gardeners fielded nearly 50,000 consumer questions, David said.
A familiar face to Central Illinois television viewers is that of Extension educator Sandra Mason, who heads the Champaign County Master Gardeners chapter.
Program participants share the palliative powers of gardening by coordinating therapy gardens or horticultural activities in nursing homes and correctional facilities. They also lead after-school programs, judge 4-H exhibits and tend a number of demonstration gardens around the state, such as the Idea Garden at the southeast corner of Lincoln and Florida avenues on the Urbana campus, and the Chicago Botanical Garden in Glencoe.
