Master Gardeners

The Georgia Master Gardener Program® is an Extension volunteer training program offered through county offices of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Through this program, individuals are trained and certified in home horticulture, gardening, and related areas.

These individuals, in turn, volunteer their expertise and services, under the direction of their County Extension Agent, to help others through educational projects that benefit the community. Master Gardener Extension Volunteers bring the latest horticultural information and practices from the world of research to their communities’ landscapes and gardens; making life better for Georgians.

Mission Statement:

To assist Cooperative Extension in providing unbiased horticultural information through volunteer community service and educational gardening projects using applied research and the resources of the University of Georgia.

The Master Gardener Program is designed to develop highly skilled volunteers that agree to volunteer a minimum of 50 hours of service in exchange for 40 hours of horticultural training by Cooperative Extension professionals.  After the initial year of service, 25 hours of volunteer service is required to remain active in the program. Typical volunteer activities include:

• Gardening Demonstrations
• Plant Clinics
• Phone Consultations
• Newsletter Production
• Youth Gardening
• Community or Education Gardening
• Information Booths at Fairs & Festivals
• Research & writing Projects
• Teach Adult Classes
• Newspaper or Magazine Articles

Become a Master Gardener

To be added to our interest list for future trainings, please contact our office to be added to our interest list @ 770-278-7373.

_{* Master Gardener Volunteers deliver educational programming to our 4-H youth members, at schools and community events.  Applicants must therefore pass a University of Georgia Volunteer background check and follow UGA Extension policies and procedures.}

Additional links:

• Georgia Master Gardener
  
  
• MGLOG

2021 Officers:

President –Paco Candal
Vice President - Isabel Wagner
Treasurer - Judy Abell
Corresponding Sec. - Mary Carter
Recording Sec. - Karen Fitzpatrick
Historian - TBD
3-year Director - Bobbie Hicks
2-year Director - Dot Rascoe
1-year Director - Candy Ayers
Past President - Cesare Matrundola

Rockdale County Signature Projects 

Memorial Arboretum

One  creates  a  living  memorial  by dedicating  a  tree  within  the  Arboretum. You are invited to make your dedication by either adopting an existing tree or purchasing and planting a tree from the approved list.

How to dedicate a tree: Application

PARH Garden & Pollinator Garden

The Plant-A-Row for the Hungry Garden (PARH) in Rockdale County is a community service project run by Master Gardener Extension Volunteers (MGEVs).  Volunteers spend countless hours preparing the site, planting, harvesting, and managing the garden to support residents in need in Rockdale County.  The fresh produce from the PARH garden is donated to Rockdale Emergency Relief.

Project Leader, Ronnie Peden, MGEV's and GA Power retirees, Lee Cronan and Charlie Bleakley have dedicated countless hours to making this garden successful by producing 9,637 pounds of fresh produce in the past five years.  Altogether, the MGEV’s and GA Power retirees have volunteered over 1,400 hours of work in the garden producing tomatoes, corn, okra, bell peppers, squash, cucumber, eggplant and hot peppers during the summer and cabbage, collards, turnips, kale, broccoli and sweet potatoes in the fall garden.

The PARH Garden is located near the tennis courts on Parker Road in Conyers.  Residents who enjoy the Olde Town Conyers walking trails on Parker Road or play tennis will be able to see the garden grow and the great work the MGEV’s are doing for the community. 

Master Gardeners are currently planting a mini-pollinator garden outside the garden fence to attract the bees and butterflies which will then do nature’s work and pollinate the vegetable garden as well as add color and beauty to the landscape.