2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Changes in technology, information culture and individuals’ expectations have prompted Extension to provide research-based answers to home owners' gardening questions in ways that fit current lifestyles. Ask an Expert (AaE), an online question-answer tool hosted and supported by National Cooperative Extension (eXtension.org) and state university Extension colleges, serves as an efficient way for Extension to help citizens get answers. It is also is a powerful tool that strengthens Extension’s relevancy and value to a certain audience segment, connecting them to the University of Minnesota, its research, and its people. Part of the larger eXtension.org Horticulture community of practice, the Minnesota Yard & Garden Group is comprised of two Extension educators and 30 Master Gardener volunteers. We field home horticulture questions ranging from basic plant identification to more complex explanations of landscape best practices and managing invasive species. An eXtension.org exit survey of AaE users confirms the user experience is positive: 80.1% of 5,366 respondents indicate they are “satisfied” or “completely satisfied” with the answer they received from us. Behavior change is also anticipated based on advice we provided as the Minnesota Yard & Garden group. Of 5,278 respondents, 18% (963) were considering a change in behavior or practice, 25% (1,329) were planning to change a behavior or practice, and 21% (1131) confirmed they had already made changes in their behavior or practices. Master Gardeners self-select to train and participate in AaE. They receive questions via email alerts that are filtered per their question preferences indicated, research solutions and respond directly to the submitter within 48 hours via the AaE system. In 2016, volunteers answered 6,188 questions with a majority of questions in spring and summer. Of our Master Gardeners surveyed, 72% of respondents ranked the experience of answering questions as a 4 or higher on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best. Mentoring is provided by more experienced Master Gardener colleagues, and group members assist each other with more challenging questions via a private listserv hosted by eXtension.org. Extension educators also assist with questions as well as provide training and resources. We developed an AaE Google Site for volunteers with directions on establishing their AaE eXtension account, tips on writing high quality answers, and a list of research-based resources including a collection of standardized answers to some frequently asked questions and links to additional AaE training at eXtension.org. We hosted a training event for Master Gardeners called "Building Your Community Engagement Toolkit" at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (10 February, 2017). One hundred-sixteen Master Gardeners from 18 Minnesota counties attended this five hour event. In addition to AaE, Master Gardeners learn best practices in public speaking as well as answering questions.