- Author: Sophie Loeb
UCCE Master Gardener Coordinator, Leslie Parent, has a firmly rooted legacy in landscapes, plants, and gardens. What began as a childhood joy of watching and helping her mom landscape the yard morphed into a curiosity to know plant names and gardening ways, and eventually into a career. Parent, too, has always been interested in artwork, and so, to combine her love for nature and art, she transferred from UC Santa Cruz to UC Berkeley in 1979 in order to pursue a major in Landscape Architecture and “put it all together in some sort of aesthetic”. Working with her landscape architecture clients, Parent found that while everything looked beautiful on paper, there was a pattern of things “not quite working out” in practice.
“I needed long term knowledge of the landscape and what you need to maintain it. In 2006, I saw a flyer for the Master Gardener program. Sustainable gardening and science, I thought- that would be a good enhancement to my landscape architecture background,” commented Parent.
The Master Gardener program of San Mateo and San Francisco counties was a late bloomer; some of the surrounding counties had supported the program for 30 years when Leslie first joined. Leslie's movement in the young organization, then, was initially out of need for leaders. Parent co-managed volunteer work in the greenhouse and helped raise the program's first 5,000 tomato seedlings. She noted: “what happens when you do something like that, you get noticed and put on the list.”
Though she herself could not have predicted being in the role she is in today, those around Parent, including the Master Gardener president at the time, saw her leadership skills, background, and training as obvious qualifications for the coordinator post. Parent says her success in understanding the intricacies of what volunteers accomplish in the program stems from having been involved from the beginning, and from having held multiple positions: helper, co-chair, and president.
Parent's values her work at the Cooperative Extension because it relies on a community serviced based model and connects the UC system with the public. Her first exposure to the Cooperative Extension dates back to the 80's when Parent was working in a landscape architecture office and called the Cooperative Extension advisor for support. Now, Parent is the one fielding phone calls about pests, plant diseases, and gardening tips.
At times, the balance between being both a Master Gardener and a UCCE representative, a community and an academic role, respectively, can be challenging for Parent, though she has found support from the cooperative tool: coordinators from around the state, who provide valuable resources and feedback on materials disseminated to the public. The statewide Master Gardener office has also been invaluable in keeping the Master Gardener messaging in San Mateo and San Francisco counties consistent with UC Agriculture and Natural Resource (UCANR) division, current UC research, and policies.
“Since there so many specialized areas among our volunteers and in the office, I don't feel lacking in expertise in any area… I am more of a generalist in my work,” added Parent.
On a day-to-day basis, Parent works with a range of people- garden novices and experts, volunteers, researchers, and academics- and never fails to appreciate the challenges that sprout in her office. Many residential gardeners enjoy having a space to talk through some of their gardening conundrums, though Parent notes that most are their own teachers, informed of what to do without professional assistance. For cases involving beginning home gardeners, Parent and her colleagues generally suggest workshops in the area to alleviate dense phone helpline conversations.
Much like the sustainable landscapes and gardens she works so diligently on, Parent is constantly cultivating her role into the most sustainable position for future coordinators. It is Parent's can-do spirit that brought her to UCCE in the first place, and it is her humility, adaptability, and engagement, that keep her thriving.