Behind every expert gardening tip our volunteers share is a deep commitment to research-based horticultural science.

In 2025, NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers completed more than 58,300 hours of continuing education. They converted this knowledge into accurate, up-to-date and locally relevant sustainable gardening guidance that they in turn extend to the public through hands-on workshops, presentations, educational outreach and other volunteer activities. Gardeners across North Carolina will benefit from following this expertise well into the future, seeing their landscapes improve and thrive.

Master Gardener volunteers also do their best to make their educational content accessible to people with various abilities. For example, a dedicated team of volunteers provides accurate captions for the video content we create, which you can view and learn from on our YouTube channel. Other volunteers create digital content such as research articles, newsletters, blog and social media posts for online education that include alt text and other elements that make this content accessible to low or no vision learners using an e-reader.

Read Growing Knowledge, Strengthening Communities in our online Annual Report to learn more about the impact Extension Master Gardener volunteers make when they convert their learning into public education.