Master Gardener Volunteers Help Grow Online Gardening Courses

(Updated: Feb. 15, 2022, 8:54 a.m.)
People enjoying plants in different settings
NC State Extension offers a growing number of self-paced, non-credit online courses in plant identification and therapeutic horticulture. Master Gardener volunteers supported the development and launch of these courses by piloting, editing, and evaluating them, as well as serving as teaching assistants.

Plant ID Courses

The plant identification courses explore the fundamental language of botany and key identification features that are used to describe plants. Each course focuses on a specific plant group, such as perennials and annuals, trees and shrubs, vegetables and fruits, or houseplants. There is also an introduction to botany course that introduces the language needed to describe and identify plants.

Therapeutic Horticulture Classes

In Introduction to Therapeutic Horticulture, students explore how therapeutic horticulture supports human health & wellness, including physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual needs. A second course, Therapeutic Horticulture: Program Development, was recently added. It will equip students with the ability to design therapeutic horticulture treatments for a wide variety of sites and participants.

Check out all the Extension Gardener online classes.


Learn more about how you can be part of the NC State Extension Master Gardener program!

2021 Snapshot of EMGV activity. 3808 volunteers. 158,634 volunteer hours valued at $4.1 million. 77,371 residents reached.

See the 2021 Annual Report to explore more examples of how volunteers with the Extension Master Gardener℠ program share their knowledge to help North Carolinians learn and grow.