Continuing Education

Why Continuing Education?

Continuing education is an integral part of the Master Gardener Program. For Master Gardeners to properly serve their client base, they must stay current on all horticultural matters which includes new plant species, cultural practices and chemicals and their proper usage.

For this reason Oklahoma State University requires that all Master Gardener programs have a defined continuing education element. To insure the maximum benefit and currency for continuing education, each County Master Gardener Coordinator determines the appropriate continuing education element, as it best serves and relates to the constituency, the local program serves. To quote Brian Jervis, Tulsa County Coordinator "technology, plant materials, cultural practices and the use of chemicals has dramatically changed in horticulture. Only if we constantly update and increase our knowledge can we provide the best possible service to our clients."

To remain on the active Master Gardener roster, all Master Gardeners must fulfill the continuing education element each year, in addition to the public service hours that each Master Gardener must also contribute.

David Hillock, State Master Gardener Coordinator treads carefully on the stepping stones of the Oklahoma Today Japanese Garden during a field trip to OSU's campus.

Current Requirements:

All Master Gardeners actively pursue continuing education, but it hasn't always been documented and recorded.

Brian Jervis has established 10 documented hours as the minimum requirement for The Tulsa Master Gardener Program. This minimum is for the year 2003 and will be reviewed yearly.

Master Gardeners will almost certainly acquire more than 10 hours continuing education each year, because their reasons for becoming a Master Gardener involved a desire to learn more about plants, how to grow them, and how to use them.

Types of Continuing Education:

Master Gardeners meet monthly for both a business meeting and to acquire horticultural knowledge. It is planned that each monthly meeting will include several hours of lecture, focused on timely horticultural problems.

For example an early Spring meeting, might cover Turf Grasses, just in time to plan turf programs for the growing season. While most gardeners won't be actively working on their yards in early Spring, the users of Master Gardener services will start calling in with questions about pre-emergents, fertilizing, seeding, etc.

Another Spring meeting might be focused on growing vegetables, again timed to give Master Gardeners the information they need before our clients start asking for help.

Another type of continuing education that Master Gardeners can utilize is any program in which OSU participates in a horticultural capacity. The requirement that it be OSU-related is to insure that as representatives of OSU Cooperative Extension Service, we are only making recommendations based on OSU approved information.

Master Gardeners listen intently as David Hillock, State Master Gardener Coordinator explains the use of plant materials in a woodland garden.

Continuing Education Opportunities:

Oklahoma State University and the OSU Cooperative Extension Service conducts and sponsors many workshops and demonstrations. They also participate in many jointly-sponsored horticultural workshops and sessions. Check with any County Extension Office for upcoming opportunities. Extension Service sponsored field trips also count as continuing education.