- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Reporter Susan Meeker does make one common mischaracterization, calling it the "University of California Davis, Cooperative Extension Master Gardener program," but she goes on to capture the most important aspects of UC's volunteer garden information extension organization in a 400-word article published yesterday.
"We're not experts," the story quoted program coordinator Gerry Hernandez, "but we have the university and all of its research behind us."
The...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
A reporter at the Ventura County Star, Lisa McKinnon, did some detective work recently trying to substantiate a hunch about gophers. Her theory appeared in the third paragraph of a story published today: "Landscapers and gardeners alike say the local gopher population this year is one of the biggest, and possibly the most hungry, they have seen."
Evidence included in the story:
“I’ve definitely noticed more gophers this year on the trails. It looks like Swiss cheese out there.” - volunteer UC Master Gardener Dani Brusius
“It does seem...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
An article in the Redding Record Searchlight advises Master Gardeners to "Put away the pitchforks." A rumor that the program's training session at Shasta College would be dropped is false.
According to the story, horticulture instructor Leimone Waite called current and former Master Gardeners to arms (metaphorically) a few weeks ago saying the program's training class could be eliminated along with other college programs to deal with a budget shortfall. She urged supporters of the Master Gardener program to share their thoughts with college officials.
Shasta College...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The San Jose Mercury-News ran a story this week about Santa Clara County UC Cooperative Extension's new Master Gardener coordinator, Carole Frost. Frost earned a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Pennsylvania State University in 1987 and worked as a horticulture educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension program, never intending to leave her hometown of Hershey, Penn.
However, her husband took a job with the Air National Guard at Moffet Field, and the family moved west. The UC job, she told reporter Holly Hayes, "was like a dream come true."
"I will again have the best of both worlds — working with plant...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, an article in the Sacramento Bee may be making UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners feel a little puffed up. The story said the Sacramento Tree Foundation is copying the successful Master Gardener model, in which knowledgeable plant enthusiasts are trained and, in return, asked to give back community service hours.
The new program calls its volunteers "LEAF stewards." LEAF stands for Leading Education Awareness in Urban Forestry. LEAF stewards will conduct workshops, write articles about Sacramento Tree Foundation work and lead tree tours in the area, the story said.