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Ron Wolford
Extension Educator, Horticulture
University of Illinois Extension
10244 South Vincennes Avenue
Chicago, IL 60643
Phone: 773-233-2900
FAX: 773-233-9183
rwolford@illinois.edu

Chicago Master Gardeners

Chicago Master Gardeners

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Who We Are

Do you enjoy gardening and would like to learn more? Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge with others? The Chicago Master Gardener Program may be for you. All you need is an interest in gardening, an open mind and a willingness to share your knowledge with others.

The Chicago Master Gardener Program is for residents of the City of Chicago and nearby suburbs. Master Gardeners are required to do the volunteering in the unit that they train with. There are separate Master Gardener Programs for greater Cook County. These are in the North Cook and South Cook units.

The Master Gardener adult volunteer program is nationwide. Master Gardeners are a vital link in getting horticulture information to the public through University of Illinois Extension offices.

Instruction

The Chicago unit will be offering ONLINE Master Gardener training ONLY in 2014. Training will take place from January to April 2014. You can apply for the online training here, beginning June 15, 2013. Applications for the 2014 Online Chicago Master Gardener program will be accepted through September 15, 2013. We will not be accepting applicants after this date. The Chicago unit expects to offer an IN PERSON classroom training program January - April 2015.

Since 2010, Extension has been undergoing a multi-year reorganization in an effort to adjust to decreased funding, especially on the state level. As a result, the number of educators available for teaching the "live" training has decreased. Alternating program years will allow the Chicago unit to explore alternative training formats so that we can continue to deliver high quality training despite reductions in staff.

Over the past few years, interest in the Master Gardener program has increased dramatically and we have trained more students every year. Although the number of participants in our "live" training at Garfield remains limited due to room size, we have had more and more online trainees. Although online training does not require teaching staff, it does require administrative time to acclimate trainees to the volunteer portion of the program. Taking a year off will allow Extension staff to focus on retention of the existing 300+ Master Gardener volunteers, provide advanced training opportunities and development their potential as project leaders.

Thank you for understanding and respecting our position. Comments and/or questions can be addressed to Ron Wolford at rwolford@illinois.edu.

Training

Master Gardeners participate in more than 60 hours of training on botany, vegetables, tree and small fruits, diseases, insects, soils, fertilizers, pruning, trees and flowers and organic gardening. The sessions are taught by University of Illinois specialists and Extension educators and are coordinated by local horticulture extension educators. The emphasis of the information is practical, yet research based. Students must pass a final comprehensive exam (all open book).


Example Chicago Master Gardener Training Schedule

Date

Topic

Instructor

Jan. 9, 2013

Orientation & Botany

Batka / Pollard

Jan. 16, 2013

Soils

Phillips

Jan. 23, 2013

Woody Plants

Richard Hentschel

Jan. 30, 2013

Vegetables

Ron Wolford

Feb. 6, 2013

Plant Pathology

Richard Hentschel

Feb. 13, 2013

IPM, Tallamy's Bringing Nature Home, Organic Weed Control

Pollard

Feb. 20, 2013

Herbs & Preservation * location TBD *

D. Banks

Feb. 27, 2013

Herbaceous Plants

Greg Stack

Mar. 6, 2013

Fruits

Richard Hentschel

Mar. 13, 2013

Turf

Stack

Mar. 20, 2013

Volunteering, Risk management, Plant Clinic

Sarah Batka

Mar. 27, 2013

Final/Certificates/ Database

Sarah Batka

Apr. 3, 2013

Snow Day if Needed

TBD

Cost

The cost of training in 2014 is expected to be about $350 for the Master Gardener manual, supplemental handouts, administrative expenses and a Chicago Master Gardener t-shirt.

Hands-on Training During the Internship

In return for the training, Master Gardeners give back at least 60 hours of volunteer time to the Chicago Master Gardener Program within a year. Volunteering can take the form of answering questions from consumers at the Plant Clinic or working on special projects such as The Great Plant Escape, leading school gardens in high need areas of Chicago, providing technical assistance for community gardens, worm composting demonstrations, insect petting zoo, the Growing Connection/Earthboxes, the Lurie Garden, the Chicago Bug Bash, Smart Home Vegetable Garden, Lincoln Park Zoo and providing information at Farmer's Markets.