Red Dirt Master Gardeners not a garden club

Did you know our local Red Dirt Master Gardeners are not a garden club?

The Master Gardeners are actually part of the University of Wyoming, Cooperative Extension Service (CES).

The University of Wyoming (UW) is one of 106 land-grant colleges in the United States created by the Morrill Act of 1862. As a land-grant college, UW has three missions: teaching, research and extension.

The CES was authorized by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 in the states having landgrant colleges as a unique partnership among the U.S. Dept of Agriculture, the land-grant colleges, and county commissions. The CES is tasked with developing educational programs, outside the traditional classroom, to meet needs of local farmers, industrial workers and others.

For example, the Hot Springs CES website lists 4-H youth development, ‘Cent$ible’ nutrition, drought information and master gardener programs. The information provided by the CES is based on years of research and continuing education.

The education formats include group settings, community celebrations, demonstrations, one-on-one meetings and through publications, videos and news media.

In 2014, we celebrated nationwide the 100th anniversary of the CES. Wyoming had over 500 master gardener educators, assistants and volunteers in 17 of its 23 counties who help Wyomingites with trees, gardens, soils, insects, plant diseases and other horticultural areas.

The Red Dirt Master Gardeners provide local residents with the opportunity to grow vegetables in an established plot at the community gardens; personal visits to evaluate and discuss solutions to yard and garden problems; recognition to local gardeners; information, training and demonstrations on a myriad of horticultural topics; and promote the Thermopolis Farmers Market.

Attend a Master Gardener or CES-sponsored activity to learn more about how the UW Extension can help you. Please call 307-864-3421 for more information.

Cynthia Dragon, B.S., 1974

Univ. of Wyoming, College of Agriculture

and Red Dirt Master Gardener