The Master Gardener Volunteer Program with UF/IFAS Extension Sumter County is accepting applications for its class starting this fall. Applications are due by July 15, 2025.
About Master Gardener Classes
The Master Gardener Volunteer training class in Sumter County is a comprehensive course that starts on Wednesday, September 3 and continues through December 3, meeting from 9 a.m. up to 3:30 p.m. Master Gardener Volunteer Trainees will learn about vegetable gardening, plant propagation, insects, diseases, warm season lawns, IPM and pesticides, fruit trees including citrus, and small fruits. Others include trees, native plants, landscape plants including shrubs, annuals, perennials and bulbs, landscape design, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, pesticide training, and botany. The class fee includes the manual and will include the fee for a soil test. The classes are held at the Sumter County Fairgrounds at 7620 SR 471, Ste. 2, Bushnell, FL.
This year, trainees will be able to attend a full-day Palm Training and perhaps a full-day Turf School. The final day of class is Green Industry-Best Management Practices training. It is a full day of class in areas including best management practices on irrigation, pesticides, fertilizers, lawn and landscape. You’ll take a pre-test and a post-test. One hundred percent of interns have passed and become GI-BMP Certified.
What do Master Gardener Volunteers do?
Master Gardener Volunteers are educators who impact their communities in the following ways:
- Answer horticultural questions for Sumter County residents.
- Share unbiased, research-based information from University of Florida with the public.
- Educate residents by phone, email, at plant clinics, and event booths; through writing newsletter or newspaper articles; and by developing and delivering presentations for garden clubs, civic organizations, and the Sumter Speaker Series.
- Support youth programs, garden in the award winning UF/IFAS Extension Sumter County Demonstration Garden in Bushnell and host the Spring Garden and Plant Festival.
- Attend monthly meetings, learning from experts on a variety of topics (They also have opportunities to gain knowledge through advanced educational opportunities including local, state, and international Master Gardener Volunteer conferences.).
Certified Master Gardener Volunteers annually renew their recertification by completing 35 hours of volunteer time and 12 hours of continuing education.
The First Year
The first year is designed to introduce trainees (now interns) to a variety of volunteer opportunities, which may inspire where you want to volunteer your time in the future.
- Landscape maintenance and plant volunteering in the UF/IFAS Extension Demonstration Garden.
- The Youth Garden, which educates youth after school on gardening through hands-on, but you may volunteer on days when youth are not in the garden.
- Participation in the Spring Plant and Garden Festival held at the Sumter County Fairgrounds in their pavilion each spring (The Horticulture Show is just a few weeks before the plant sale where residents and volunteers showcase their plants.).
- Educational Master Gardener Booth at the Outdoor Festival, Government Day or perhaps next year at the Water Wisdom Day.
The first year, interns volunteer 75 hours, but they can begin volunteering in some areas like the gardens and after certain classes at the Ask the Master Gardener Plant Clinics while still in class, if desired.
The best part is forming friendships with others in the class and other Master Gardener Volunteers. There are opportunities to attend regional training and state training, meeting other volunteers in other counties, and hearing inspiring speakers.
Ready to Apply?
If you have questions or want to receive more information you may call Lisa Sanderson, the Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator, with any questions at 352-569-6862, or you may email Lisa at lsanderson@ufl.edu.
This Event Story was adapted from this post.
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