Dear Gardening Friend: 

Thank you for your interest in the Master Gardener program.  The Winter/Spring 2008 training will begin on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 and run through late May.  You can find a tentative list of topics in the Master Gardener calendar.

Classes will be held Tuesday evenings from 6 - 9 PM at the Anderson Learning Center at 21 Bradeen Street, Springvale. There will be 4 scheduled Saturday dates including Maine Garden Day, and our York County Master Gardener Annual meeting. The training will be interactive with lecture and hands on learning. The cost of the training is $90, which includes an extensive training manual, and many other handouts and resources.  There is an additional $40 fee for Maine Garden Day Registration, a required part of the training. Please do not send any payment with your application. 

Participants in the 2008 Master Gardener Program will receive more than 50 hours of in depth training on horticulture and being a community Master Gardener Volunteer. The focus on the training this year will be on Fruits and Vegetables (next year the focus will be on Ornamental Horticulture). After successful completion of the training program, each Master Gardener Trainee is required to serve a 40 hour volunteer internship in order to complete the program and become a "certified" Master Gardener Volunteer. Becoming a "certified" Master Gardener Volunteer entitles you to continue to participate in advanced learning and to sit in on next year's ornamental horticulture topics that won't be covered this year.

The 40-hours of volunteer time outside the training internship is really the most important aspect of the program. This is why University of Maine Cooperative Extension invests so much in volunteers. We have reached thousands of people in York County with educational information through the outreach efforts of trained Master Gardener volunteers. This is a big commitment, so if you think your life this year may be too busy to volunteer, please consider applying another time.

Class is limited to 30 participants.  We do have an application screening process.  This is not a first come first serve application process. What we primarily look for in successful applicants is enthusiasm and experience in gardening and volunteer community service.  Please give serious consideration to your application. You will hear back from us as to whether or not you have been accepted into the 2008 Master Gardener Volunteer Program within a week after the application deadline.

Deadline for receiving applications is December 20, 2007, no exceptions.

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