2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Extension Master Gardener Volunteer (EMGV) Programs have been in existence in the United States since 1972, in Canada since 1985, and in South Korea since 2011. The program was developed as a tool to enhance and increase Extension’s ability to respond to consumer-based horticulture inquiries. Researchers have established an evolution of EMG volunteer roles in the first 25 years of the program’s history. Early Master Gardeners were primarily “volunteers with gardening answers.” By the mid-1990s, EMGs were offering programs to improve the environment and communities.

As the EMG program enters its fifth decade, emphasis is increasingly placed on program impact. It is mission-critical to assess and re-evaluate educational programming priorities. Educational programming is the combination of horticultural content and delivery strategy extended to the public in response to identified need. In addition to understanding priorities at the state and national level, it is also important to determine whether or not programming priorities are consistent among volunteers and local and state coordinators.

To assess educational programming priorities, a national survey was conducted in the fall of 2016, reaching Extension Master Gardener volunteers, and local and state program coordinators. Respondents were asked to indicate the importance of six educational programming priorities for their state’s Extension Master Gardener program. Results of the study are compared among the five Extension regions. For a historical perspective, results are also compared to a previously reported state-level study. Understanding the perceived importance of programming priorities for EMG programs and whether or not priorities are consistent among volunteers and local and state coordinators is important to Extension program coordinators nationwide as well as to informing the progress of the Evaluation and Reporting Taskforce of the EMG National Program Committee.