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Supervisor Ranalli recommending the Board:
1) Receive and file presentation provided by Tracy Celio, University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Master Gardener Program Coordinator, recognizing the community volunteers who dedicate their time and knowledge to support the UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County Program; and
2) Approve and authorize all five Board members to sign Proclamations recognizing these volunteers for their service. (Est. Time: 20 Min.)
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The University of California Cooperative Extension Central Sierra serves El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties. The University of California Cooperative Extension (U.C.C.E.) Master Gardeners of El Dorado County began in 1981, just one year after the program launched in California. The Mission of the Central Sierra Master Gardeners, a volunteer arm of the U.C.C.E. is to meet the horticulture needs of our county's gardeners through the development and implementation of programs that transfer research-based knowledge and information, using volunteers who receive training and certification from U.C.C.E., to the community. In El Dorado County there are currently 140 volunteers who dedicate their time and knowledge to support this program and assist local residents.
U.C.C.E. Master Gardeners are community volunteers who have been trained through an intensive 15 week horticulture training course and are certified under the direction of the University of California Cooperative Extension. In addition, Master Gardeners receive year-round training on topics such as horticulture, soils, water, entomology, plant pathology, integrated pest management, plant problem diagnosis, sustainable landscape management practices, and plant propagation.
Master Gardeners are available Tuesday through Friday to answer the public's gardening questions at the U.C.C.E. office, located at the Bethell-Delfino Agriculture Building at 311 Fair Lane in Placerville. Master Gardeners research and respond to questions by phone, email or drop-in. Master Gardeners staff information booths at farmers markets across the county, at the El Dorado County Fair and also visit many civic groups, clubs and organizations as speakers.
Every month Master Gardeners teach free public education classes on topics ranging from weeds, vegetables, succulents and much, much more! Their goal is to provide residents of El Dorado County with practical, safe and sustainable options for home landscape and gardening. In addition, Master Gardeners offer open garden days, classes, youth field trips and tours in the Sherwood Demonstration Garden.
Master Gardeners opened the Sherwood Demonstration Garden in 2015 on property owned by the El Dorado County Office of Education and constructed with the help of many local groups and thousands of Master Gardener volunteer hours. The garden is a teaching tool for our entire community. Community members are invited to tour sixteen themed gardens including roses, native plants, vegetables and herbs, succulents and cacti, a rock garden, a children's garden, a butterfly garden, perennials, ornamental grasses, a shade garden, an orchard, a cottage garden, a Mediterranean garden, a marsh garden, a Japanese garden and a U.C. Arboretum All-Stars garden.
Master Gardeners keep learning. They meet regularly to share information, hear lectures, attend demonstrations, publish newsletters, and continue their gardening education.
All of the work that the U.C.C.E. does in the community is volunteer driven and it is these volunteers that allow the U.C.C.E. to continue to provide these services and opportunities to residents throughout our county.