Another year has come to an end for the UF/IFAS Extension Clay County Master Gardeners and what an amazing year it has been. Ou

r volunteers donated over 7,300 hours, attended 999 hours of Continuing Education Unit class, and made over 16,000 educational contacts within the county. If you know any of our volunteers, be sure to let them know how much they are appreciated!

The program includes a staffed plant clinic, displays and educational booths at local events and festivals, demonstration gardens, school programs at Oakleaf High School and Bannerman Learning Center, soil testing services, an annual plant sale, and educational programs taught by volunteers. Some highlights of 2017 are the new herb garden, expanded hummingbird gardens, implementation of new raised vegetable beds and hydroponics at Bannerman Learning Center, blueberry production at Oakleaf High School, new soil testing equipment, and an engraving machine project working to label all of the plants we currently have on our grounds.

In addition to these highlights, we held our annual awards dinner on November 16th, 2017 where we gave out several awards:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Don Clark

Master Gardener of the Year: Jean Watson

Lee Henry Educator of the Year: Glenn Thigpen

Demonstration Gardens Committee Volunteer of the Year: Bill Jacobs

Clay County Fair Volunteer of the Year: Cotton Morlock

Early Florida Garden Volunteer of the Year: Ron Diamond

Most CEU’s: Joy Elrod (30)

Most Volunteer Hours: Barbara Beyerl (350)

A big thank you goes out to all of the Master Gardeners for their continued support of UF/IFAS programming in Clay County and their strong outreach into our community.

If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, please visit http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/

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