The Alaska Master Gardener Program is a program that utilizes trained volunteers to assist home gardeners by providing information and technical data to answer their questions.

The basic training course involves forty hours of instruction and provides a broad background of horticultural subjects to the experienced gardener taking the course.

The prerequisites for becoming a Master Gardener include a familiarity with Alaska gardening conditions and a commitment to return forty hours of volunteer time by providing gardening information to others.  After the course of instruction is completed and the student has passed a final exam, the new Master Gardener is ready to become a garden educator.

Volunteer activities that a Master Gardener may participate in include garden clinics, home garden visits, teaching basic gardening classes, working with youth and adult groups interested in gardening, writing newspaper/newsletter articles, and answering telephone inquiries at the local Cooperative Extension office.  Local community needs and facilities help to determine the most effective teaching methods.

Contact the Cooperative Extension office in Anchorage (907-786-6300) or the CES in your area for information on the next Master Gardener classes.