Did you know that the week of April 19th through the 25th was National Volunteer Week?  Everyone here at University of Illinois Extension would like to extend an big thank you to both our local and statewide Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist Volunteers for all the amazing work they do in our communities!

The University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalist Programs for Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall and Putnam counties contain a dedicated group of over 60 active volunteers. The Mission of the Master Gardener Program is "Helping Others Learn to Grow." The Master Gardener Program educates people about environmentally sound horticulture and gardening practices, provides educational programming when requested, and assists the general public with questions related to horticultural practices through a network of volunteers trained and managed by University of Illinois faculty and staff.

The mission of the University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalist Program is to provide science-based educational opportunities that connect people with nature and help them become engaged environmental stewards, to ensure that our planet is “Fit for the Future”. The program educates and trains adult volunteers so they are better equipped to share natural resource information with others in their communities, and to assist with environmental conservation and restoration activities.

At the conclusion of 2019, the Bureau, LaSalle, Marshall and Putnam county Master Gardener volunteers logged over 2,333 volunteer hours, while our Master Naturalist volunteers logged over 895 volunteer hours. These hours are a value of over $82,107 to the communities within our four county Unit.

Statewide in 2019, over 2,700 Master Gardener volunteers contributed 189,302 service hours in Illinois. That's a total time value of $6,094,877 donated to local Illinois communities. Over 900 Master Naturalists statewide in 2019 contributed 61,460 service hours in Illinois with a total time value of $1,650,000 donated to local Illinois communities. Their service is making a large and positive impact to the communities, partners, and residents within our state.

We greatly thank all of our local and state volunteers for helping the University of Illinois Extension reach more Illinois residents, and to help them learn to grow and become our State’s next generation of Illinois’ natural resource stewards!

If you would like to learn more about how the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener and Master Naturalists can serve in your community, or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Meg E. Overocker at 815-224-0889, or by email at meo@illinois.edu.