Register for Master Gardeners
January 10, 2024
University of Idaho Extension educators in eastern Idaho will offer the popular Idaho Master Gardener Program virtually this winter via the web-based teaching platform Canvas, making the program more flexible and accessible to horticulture enthusiasts statewide.
Gardeners who reside in a county that doesn’t offer the program are invited to contact UI Extension, Bonneville County and register for the virtual course, organized by educator Ron Patterson, who serves Bonneville County, and Reed Findlay, an Extension educator serving Bingham and Bannock counties. Participants from outside of eastern Idaho will work with their local Extension educator to complete the program’s required community service hours.
Registration for the virtual program will be open through the end of January, with the course beginning Feb. 14 and running through May 1. Participation fees vary by county.
“One of the big pushes why I’m doing this is to make it so people anywhere in the state can still go through the Master Gardener Program and get certification,” Patterson said. “We’ll handle anybody in the state who doesn’t have a program in their county.”
Thirty-two of the state’s 44 counties offer the Idaho Master Gardener Program in some form, and most of the counties either start their programs soon or are running them currently.
Patterson and Findlay switched from in-person instruction to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued to operate virtually due to the convenience for both faculty and participants. U of I uses Canvas as its course-management tool. By moving Master Gardener content to Canvas this season, Patterson and Findlay will be able to offer asynchronous lessons — pre-recorded videos that students will watch at their own pace, according to their own schedule.
Canvas will document which videos participants have watched. Participants will also take quizzes based on course material using Canvas.
Last season, participants met by Zoom every Wednesday night for three-hour sessions. This season, they’ll view videos on their own time and log on for an hour every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to hear an in-depth presentation led by Extension faculty on a chosen topic, such as insects or soil health. They’ll also participate in a half-hour question-and-answer session.
Extension educators in surrounding counties are invited to contribute videos or participate in the question-and-answer sessions.
The eastern Idaho program requires 36 hours of class instruction and 40 hours of volunteer service for certification. Service hours must be approved by a local county Extension educator. Projects may include tending to a community garden, raising produce for a food bank, staffing Extension diagnostic clinics for gardeners, work on a demonstration garden or staffing an information booth about the program at a state fair, for example.
“Most people who take the class really want to learn about all things gardening, but the purpose of the program is to develop volunteers for our programs so we can help more people with their gardening questions,” said UI Extension Educator Tom Jacobsen, based in Fremont County. “They’re also going to be able to serve other people around them, and I think that’s a pretty important thing.”
Andy West, a UI Extension educator serving Twin Falls County, is offering a separate Master Gardener program in Magic Valley using a hybrid of Zoom and in-person instruction. His program will start Jan. 25, convening on Wednesdays from 6-9 p.m. He’ll also record sessions so those who miss them can watch them later. People in his county told him they wanted to resume some in-person instruction following the COVID-19 pandemic, but he’s referred many people from other counties seeking a virtual option to the eastern Idaho program.
Having a Twin Falls program also enables him to gear curriculum according to the Magic Valley growing zone. He will, nonetheless, use some of the eastern Idaho videos to supplement his own program, and he assists the eastern Idaho educators, as well.
Extension Educator Grant Loomis, of Blaine County, plans to make the eastern Idaho program’s content and quizzes available to residents of his county who have expressed an interest in the information but aren’t necessarily interested in completing the volunteer hours to become certified. Others in Blaine County will commute to Twin Falls.
Blaine, Valley and Teton counties, which are part of the same growing zone, will host their own hour-long calls on Thursdays at noon using Canvas or Master Gardener-related discussions. Valley and Teton counties will also host hands-on Master Gardener activities.
Contact your local county office for more information on the Idaho Master Gardener Program.
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho, home of the Vandals, is Idaho’s land-grant, national research university. From its residential campus in Moscow, U of I serves the state of Idaho through educational centers in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Idaho Falls, nine research and Extension centers, plus Extension offices in 42 counties. Home to nearly 11,000 students statewide, U of I is a leader in student-centered learning and excels at interdisciplinary research, service to businesses and communities, and in advancing diversity, citizenship and global outreach. U of I competes in the Big Sky and Western Athletic conferences. Learn more at uidaho.edu.