During the 2024 GMGA Conference held October 4-5, 2024, in Griffin, program coordinators had opportunity to share what they are doing in their local programs. They were invited to create a poster to share about a great project or a special program coordination effort in their county program. Posters were printed and displayed in the Mule Barn Café during the conference. In total, fiver posters were shared. UGA’s Center for Urban Agriculture joined in the fun by reviewing and scoring the posters. The Center also offered prizes to the top-scoring posters. This was the first time such an opportunity was offered to coordinators. Here are all of the entries and their abstracts. By reading them, you may inspired to try something new!
Program Coordination Insights
Coordinators were asked to share a success story or something that worked well in their program for coordinating volunteers, like a mentor program, training success, or volunteer engagement secrets.
1st Place: “MGEV Training Component Supplies Articles and Blogs Throughout the Year,” Gabrielle LaTora, James Herrin, and Norlethia Harris, UGA Extension , Fulton County
ABSTRACT: A need for UGA Extension Fulton County heading into our 2024 MGEV training was for volunteers to contribute written media for Extension platforms. As one component of the final exam grade, trainees were asked to 1) draft an article on a horticultural topic of their choice for publication on UGA Extension Fulton County’s ANR blog and/or in local newspapers or 2) draft a series of 3-5 social media posts for UGA Extension Fulton County’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. Ninety-two percent of the trainees submitted an article or social media posts at the final exam. Of these submissions, 22% were social media posts and 78% were articles. To date, 15 submissions have been reviewed and approved by ANR agents, three articles have been posted on the blog, and five posts have been published on social media channels. Five articles are in the pipeline to be published in Garden Buzz, a bi-weekly column in Appen Media newspapers, which is coordinated by the North Fulton Master Gardeners organization. The process of editing, approving, and publishing trainees’ written media is ongoing, and we anticipate that their submissions will continue to provide content for our social media and blog sites until early 2025.
2nd Place: “Encouraging Master Gardeners to Increase Outreach in the Community,” Christen Thomas and Mary Carol Sheffield, UGA Extension, Paulding County
ABSTRACT: Following the pause in outreach programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paulding County Master Gardeners were faced with a unique situation. Master Gardeners had lost touch with their mission to serve the public, and instead, were recording twice the amount of volunteer time maintaining demonstration gardens, with no plan for use in community programming. (Figure 1) Yet at the same time, there was increased public interest in gardening, following the pandemic. Given this data ANR Agent, MG Coordinator and MGEV leadership worked together to create a plan to increase outreach performed by Master Gardeners in the following year (2023). MG Coordinator developed outreach teams to share garden information with a variety of groups within the community. MG Coordinator also encouraged team members to take part in 2 Advanced Trainings addressing outreach and the MGEV skill set. The result was an increase in outreach hours logged by volunteers in the following year, and a tight knit working group of leaders among volunteers. This approach to a team building process will be significant to the recruitment and onboarding process for future Paulding County Master Gardener Volunteers.
Projects to Be Proud Of
Coordinators were asked to tell us about project of which they are proud and why.
1st Place: “Supporting our Flying Furry Friends: Bat Outreach and Education,” Laura Ney and Victoria Clendenning, UGA Extension, Athens-Clarke County
ABSTRACT: Georgia is home to 16 species of bats. Bats are a valuable and fascinating part of Georgia’s natural heritage. They provide a beneficial service by foraging on flying insects, many of which are pests. A single bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes in one hour. They also eat large numbers of moths and beetles that cause agricultural damage. Despite the benefits that bats provide to their local ecosystems and to humans, they are misunderstood and undervalued members of our local wildlife. Bats in GA are facing threats from habitat loss, diminished food resources and disease pressure. In an effort to educate the public about the importance of bats and the struggles that bats are facing in our state, the Athens-Clarke County Extension office partnered with the county sustainability office to apply for a Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Viewing Grant. This grant enabled the Clarke County Extension office to erect three bat houses, and create an education and viewing area. The Clarke County Extension bat populations and accompanying viewing area will be used for public bat education programming, coordinated with expert partners from DNR, the University of Georgia and Bat Conservation International.
2nd Place: “Feeding Bodies and Minds at the Gardens at Brookdale,” Karol Kelley, Kathy Hensley, and Susan Fisher, UGA Extension Macon-Bibb County
ABSTRACT: The Gardens at Brookdale were announced in April 2023 thanks to a partnership between Bibb Extension, Macon-Bibb County and United Way. With the mayor’s vision, commitment of community partners and donors, aided by the leadership of Bibb County Master Gardener Volunteers, 50 raised beds were constructed and planted. Through mid-August 2024, over 7,000 pounds of produce, including peas, beans, okra, peppers, tomatoes, corn, squash, watermelons and sweet potatoes were harvested and prepared for the homeless residents of Brookdale Resource Center. Bibb County Master Gardeners volunteer in the garden regularly. They teach and facilitate educational programs open to the community, lead individual volunteers and groups, and assist with special projects, as needed. These programs and hands-on opportunities have created a great deal of excitement around this project. As a result, residents in need have access to fresh, local produce and the community has learned how to grow their own gardens.
A Success Story of Southwest Georgia Master Gardeners Resurrecting a Native Plants Garden and Pollinator Habitat,” Vivek Bist, Jimmy Lindsey, Albert Sanders, Elaine Gurley, UGA Extension, Dougherty County
ABSTRACT: In February 2021, a group of master gardener extension volunteers adopted a neglected local garden at Chehaw Park & Zoo in Albany, Georgia with a mission to resurrect it into a beautiful native plants demonstration garden and pollinator habitat. After more than 300 volunteer hours of consistent care and maintenance, the garden today stands as a beautiful display of native plants and pollinators. Master gardeners also utilize the garden as an important educational resource to educate the local communities about the importance of biodiversity conservation in urban and suburban landscapes of Georgia. Recognizing its success, the garden was recently awarded the “Connect to Protect” certificate from the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and was also featured in Georgia Native Plant Society website. The success of this exemplary volunteering project demonstrates the impact of Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteers (MGEVs) in fostering environmental stewardship and promoting the value of landscapes in local communities of Georgia.
