Sign ups being taken for 11 week Master Gardener training session

The University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) invites adults interested in helping others learn about gardening and landscaping to apply to train as a Lake Tahoe Master Gardener volunteer. UCCE Master Gardener volunteers learn University-based scientific information and then share that knowledge with the gardening community. Master Gardener volunteers are people of all ages and from all walks of life.

The training consists of core programs in botany, native plants, soils, irrigation, integrated pest management, nutrient cycling, plant diseases, and beneficial insects, promoting wildlife habitat and plant propagation. In addition, specific high elevation gardening and natural resource topics pertinent to the Lake Tahoe Basin will be covered including forestry, landscaping for defensible space, cold climate considerations and best practices to protect water quality. The Lake Tahoe program is one of the first in California to include a major emphasis in the natural environment and the protection of natural resources with gardening and landscaping at the wildland-urban interface. This program also features another first as a bi-state program serving both California and Nevada.om all walks of life with a common desire to help others learn about gardening and landscaping.

Gardeners must pass a final exam and commit to 50 hours of volunteer service to Lake Tahoe Master Gardener projects, including the Evans Family Demonstration Garden in South Lake Tahoe, the first year following certification. After completion of the Master Gardener Training Program, volunteers would join the Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe Basin.

The training fee of $185 covers costs for textbooks, reference books, class handouts and hands-on material. Class instruction, demonstrations and hands-on activities are free to those who commit to the volunteer obligation. Business owners, commercial landscape contractors, and individuals are welcome to complete the training, without volunteer obligation, for $350.

If interested you're asked to complete this survey online. Visit the UCCE website for more information.