STERLING, Ill-The University of Illinois Extension is pleased to announce our newest Master Gardener interns for Whiteside County.  LuAnn Meyer and Paula Reid graduated from the Master Gardener program on November 19. This year’s fall class was held as a flipped classroom style. For 12 weeks, trainees were given a reading assignment and 2-4 videos to watch at their own pace before meeting online via zoom with the section instructor once a week.

Coursework covered botany, soils and fertility, woody ornamentals/pruning, organic gardening, vegetables, annuals & perennials, fruits, insect identification and control, turf management, disease diagnosis and control, U of I resources, and more!

Once training is completed, participants join the existing Master Gardener volunteers in their county and serve the community, fulfilling the Master Gardner mission “Helping others learn to grow.” As volunteers, Master Gardeners make a difference in the community.

A new hybrid Master Gardener Training starts February 16. Participants will study online each week and then attend a weekly live webinar session on Tuesday mornings from 9:15-10:30 a.m. for 12 weeks. An orientation interview will be conducted with participants in advance of the class. Registration for the training is $175 to cover the cost of the manual. If interested in taking the winter online class register online at:  go.illinois.edu/CLWmgtraining or call the Whiteside County Extension office at 815-632-3611.

WRITER: Susan O’Connor, Marketing Coordinator, University of Illinois Extension

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