The 2023 NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ annual report, celebrates the contributions of over 3900 Extension Master Gardener volunteers working under the leadership of Extension professionals in county Extension centers across North Carolina.
The report highlights the diversity of volunteer work across the state and features stories of our collective impact to help North Carolinians learn and grow sustainable gardens, landscapes, ecosystems, and communities.- Serving Communities Across North Carolina – From community gardens to plant clinics, Extension Master Gardener volunteers engage thousands of North Carolinians each year, helping them to learn and grow. Explore our most in-demand volunteer service activities and their combined reach across North Carolina.
- Growing Knowledge to Protect Pollinators – Learn how Master Gardener volunteers helped NC State experts research plant maintenance practices that maximize the pollinator habitat value of home landscapes.
- Protecting Pollinators When It Counts – Extension educators and Master Gardener volunteers teach North Carolinians about pollinator conservation through classes, workshops, educational materials, and demonstration gardens. Now, they have a new way to help protect pollinators and encourage others to get involved.
- Finding the Best Tomatoes – Master Gardener volunteers helped identify tomato varieties more likely to thrive in North Carolina gardens by trialing three new disease-resistant varieties developed by NC State plant breeders.
- Supporting Seed Libraries – Establishing and supporting seed libraries is one way Master Gardener volunteers expand access to fresh produce and increase community resilience.
- Helping Grow the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox – Master Gardener volunteers work with Extension professionals to enhance and expand the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, a free, online plant database with a wealth of information about more than 4,700 plants that grow in and around North Carolina.
- Honoring Excellence in Gardening Education – Master Gardener volunteers in Durham County received two prestigious awards at the 2023 International Master Gardener Conference in recognition of their exceptional work in gardening education and Extension outreach.
