Master gardeners are the way that we are able to expand our reach of our Extension program when it comes to home horticulture.

We have a few, regional extension agents that serve our counties across the state.

And we also have extension specialists, which are faculty within our college that also serve the state.

But when you think about the fact that home horticulture has the potential to reach every person in the state of Alabama, whether they have a backyard home garden or a flower pot on their front porch, you have, the ability to to reach out and help these folks.

So with the Master Gardener program, these people are trained volunteers that are able to just really help us meet that need.

I was a master gardener, first in New York state.

And, we, went in 1978.

I took my training, and every week on a Friday, we would drive up to Cornell And we would drive up there and have our lessons.

And then in the afternoon we would drive home.

So I became a master gardener in 1978. a lovely lady, Mary Lou.

She moved to Huntsville, and she had just participated in the Master Gardener program offered by Cornell University in New York.

So she walked in my office one day and said, Master Gardener is a great program.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You should do one here.

I said I knew a little bit about the Master Gardener program.

It hadn't come to Alabama yet, but a few states offered it.

So I said, okay, we'll do it if you will help me.

So, okay.

She did.

We started planning it and realized it was going to be a lot of work, and we was going to need a lot of resources.

So we said, well, we've got a land grant university here in Huntsville, Alabama A&M University.

Let's go out there and talk to them.

They've got a good plant science department.

So Mary Lou and I went out, to Alabama A&M, met with Dr.

Govid Sharma head of the plant science department at Alabama A&M.

He said, I'd love to partner with you.

This is a great program.

So, and he said, not only that, I'll help you, but I'll volunteer two of my, faculty to help with it, too.

So he volunteered Dr.

Caula Beyl who was a professor in his department, and Robin Chambers, who was a graduate assistant working on her master's degree in landscape design there.

So that was the group of five myself, Mary Lou, Dr.

Sharma, Caula Beyl, and Robin Chambers, who planned conducted the first Master Gardener program in Alabama.

And so, on that basis, Eloise was one of those who volunteered, wanted to be a part of this first class was to be taught in the spring of 1981.

And so, there were, 31 or, I believe, 30 or 31 people.

And, so we trained that group the first year, the course in Alabama was in 1981.

So I'm really pleased that now it is all over the state.

It's a great gratification to me.

It was an interesting just because we were starting from scratch.

But as we got into it and got the curriculum designed and the program ready to and ready to offer and, and started, taking applications for the Master Gardener classes.

I like Master Gardener because it gave me a chance to spend a long period of time with a group of people and really go into detail about plant science and all aspects of horticulture.

So that's one thing I liked about the Master Gardener program.

Plus, Master Gardener program is a volunteer training program.

So we we taught them the horticulture quite in-depth.

And then, they went out and shared that information out in the community, helping us achieve our extension mission to university, land grant, university, achieve their land grant mission.

And they helped the community do a lot of community projects.

it was in the paper, which we had a real written paper at that time, that they were going to have this free class and all we had to do was do 40, 40 hours, which is 50 now, but 40 hours of help with somebody else.

Well, I was already boy scouting and Girl Scouting and school and church and all of that.

So that didn't seem like that didn't stop me at all.

So I went ahead and signed up.

I didn't think I'd get it.

We had to make a real rule, you know, tell us, tell them why it was important to us.

And, so I didn't expect to get it at all, but I was one of the 30, 30 or 35 people, and it was wonderful.

And it still is.

It's it's really has not changed a lot.

The soil doesn't change.

The rain doesn't change.

The plants don't change a lot.

Yes, we get new, newer varieties, but they grow the same way.

So.

We've actually trained over 10,000 people in Alabama in those years.

2000 are active.

And of course, some have passed and that sort of thing.

But it's really an amazing group all across the state.

So if somebody is interested in becoming a master gardener, there are several ways you can do that.

The first thing is you can go to our website.

It's Alabama Cooperative Extension System or ACS, ACES.edu and you can look up information there for how to apply.

You can also talk to folks in your local county extension office.

We have an office in all of our 67 counties, and the folks in those offices can help you get that information so that you can sign up.

And also, if you have a relationship or know your regional extension agent that is a home horticulture agent, they can also help you get that information.

And the nice thing is, is because those home horticulture agents really help facilitate these trainings at the local level.

You're not going to have to travel to Auburn or Alabama A&M to to get this education.

We they move it around across to different regions, across the different counties to make it accessible to everyone as much as possible.

Go ahead and do it.

It's a lot of fun.

You build a great network of people, and you can learn from every single one of them every single day.

Well, a lot of I like plants and stuff in hand from working in the state parks for 25 years, and, and, some of the people I went to church with, a lady said, you ought to want to try out being in the Master Gardener program and stuff.

You'd probably like that, and I thought, well I'll check it out And so I called the extension agent and signed up.

I was on sabbatical, and I had met some master gardeners at a fair.

They seemed really interesting people.

And I thought while I was writing, this would be a good thing to do, you know, kind of switch up on things and took the class at Blount County.

Love the people.

Absolutely love the people.

The subject matter, what they were doing.

What I saw was the significance of it.

And, I was, certified as a master gardener in 2005 and now in Advanced Master Gardener.

I think that our Alabama extension master Gardener program connects science based information to the public in two ways.

The first way is through the training of the Master Gardeners themselves.

So when a person wants to become a master gardener and they enter into our intern program, they take an intensive multi-week course that's taught by our regional extension agents and our extension faculty from Auburn or Alabama A&M.

They learn the technical information in the classroom setting, so they learn so much that maybe cram from a college class into a very short period of time, but then they also have the neat opportunity to apply that in the labs that are associated with the class.

So they really get that hands on learning opportunity.

So then they're able to take the second way that that information gets out to the public.

Then as they are trained in that, with that information, the extension Master Gardeners themselves give that information to the public.

They serve again, is that that volunteer arm of our our programing and they're able to get that same information out to the public, I was looking at the Master gardeners working at the Prattvillage Garden, which is a gorgeous downtown garden that we work every Tuesday.

And I have never been a gardener.

I my parents were never gardeners.

And, so in seeing them out there working this beautiful little plot of land, I said, you know, I need to find out.

I had recently retired, and so I started the course, which is a 16 week course.

And after you take the 16 week course, then you do volunteer work.

You might do volunteer work at the Prattvillage garden, at the demonstration garden, which is our vegetable garden, all of which goes to, feed the needy, here in Autauga county.

And we also work at the, the governor's mansion in Montgomery.

So these three places, you know, you get a lot of different, action.

And I learned a lot about vegetables, which I'd never planted a tomato in my life.

So, tried that.

And then working with the ornamentals.

Really, gave me a lot of inspiration to then go home and create some beautiful garden beds of my own.

So it's a wonderful organization.

The people we have about, 90 members here in Autauga County and, we enjoy doing things, educating people about please grow something, plant something, enjoy things that grow.

And we do educational resource, talks not only at schools but also at community events.

We are involved with the forestry department giving away trees for Arbor Day.

So it it's been a something that I didn't know I was interested in, but it sure did grab my attention.

And now I'm really heavily involved.

We work with the community.

We, help people in their home gardens.

We have a master gardener helpline, of course, and statewide.

And so if anyone has a question, if they have a rocky area or a shaded area too sunny, things aren't growing.

They have, plant that the leaves are dying.

They can call and we'll help them.

We have community projects in our area.

We have one just recently where we worked with the local humane shelter, and they had some flower beds and wanted to spruce the place up and didn't know what to plant there.

So some of our master gardeners went out and helped them select some plants that were appropriate for the area the sun, the shade, and then they can continue to maintain it.

I mean, the sheer number of volunteer hours that these master gardeners put in.

I don't know, there's a yearly report.

It's over 200,000 hours of volunteer time with the Master Gardeners.

put in.

The interesting thing about Master Gardeners, not only do they do the 40 hours that is required once they do the course, but they want to continue their education and their volunteer activities.

So they form the Master Gardener Association, and they continue to meet, as a group of alumni, Master gardeners have educational speakers come in and they also take on volunteer projects.

So it's just it's amazing that they're so interested in the program that they will continue beyond what really is required of them.

This is considered to be a mentoring process, and I think the thing that I found when we did a survey of our local members is that a lot of times, master Gardeners, because they know how much they don't know, because I sat through classes and like, you know, it was just like overwhelming amount of information.

I would say to a master gardener, take what you do know, work with other people who have other strengths and, you know, making a community or a committee that has, builds on each other's strengths makes it where it's not overwhelming.

Understand that not only do you learn facts, but you also learn resources.

And for those questions that you don't know the answer to, and there are people you can reach out to to get the answers.

And that's the wonderful thing about going through the classes.

You say, okay, well, I know this person knows more about that topic.

And so when I have an insect problem, I can call them, or a disease problem, or I just don't know what's wrong with those plants.

You know, I can call somebody and get the answer that I don't know.

I think it's the connections that we make, the connections that we make with each other, with the work that we're doing with us as a team, with the plants that we're working with, with nature.

It's all those interactions and the joy that we bring to it and celebrating what we achieve.

And then also being there for each other for when things happen that we don't want to happen, and just supporting each other.

Well, I volunteer here at Hobson City Gardens.

I'm one of the newer Master gardeners, and, I am learning, along with, the volunteers in the community about all of these plants.

I haven't really been a vegetable grower.

I'm more of a flower person.

So this is a learning process for me.

And helping the community is what I love to do.

This is a wonderful project.

The lady that starrted it, she had a vision for this garden, and she was so excited about it.

I said, oh, wait, I'll help.

I'll help.

I'll make a flier for you, and I can make signs and get it out into the community.

And that's what I did.

And we worked on the garden for, several years, This garden has been a project over several years.

It got started.

Met Sharon Thomas at our grass roots meeting for our advisory.

And she was there on, another event or, program she was working on, and, and we started talking about community gardens, and she's like, I'd like to see that in Hobson City.

And that's where it all started.

So it's been a been a wonderful time to see how it's advanced over the years.

The Master Gardeners have had a fantastic impact on this this garden.

Because after our lead person became ill, then it fell to me.

And I knew nothing beyond mud pies.

And so I have learned a lot from the Master Gardeners.

And I have been able to, help organize and get people to come out I love working in this community.

It's full of wonderful people.

We've had a good working relationship, and I know Sharon Thomas has been, she she's so thorough and she's organized.

She makes it easy.

She keeps up with all the stuff I have a hard time keeping up with.

And she measures all the produce.

They weigh it.

We know how much.

And, so we've been writing grants together and getting, you know, grants to help build the garden.

everything, everything we're here is being purchased with grant money.

The building of the beds.

the, the storage house, the tools and everything.

I put out that our work day is on Tuesday, and we are here about 7-7:30 in the morning and on Tuesday, but everybody can't come.

We have people that work in the afternoon so they come in the afternoon.

And so one of the things that will be to make that possible is that we put combination locks on the gates So you have a combination and you can come in and they usually text me to let me know when they come in and what they've done.

So I can try to keep a record of everybody's hours and everything.

We were able to impact about 85 families in the community.

And, we picked over 625 pounds of produce, and that's just what we what we weighed and measured.

we have had a tremendous, amount of help with making this garden what it is today, because we know that, you know, if you get in a conversation, it doesn't take long for people to start talking about their diabetes, high blood pressure and all of the other illnesses that they have.

And a lot of this can be helped, you know, with good, nutritious food.

If we have our fresh vegetables and our fruits and, you know, do those other things that we need to do, we can get these numbers down and we can be a healthy community.

And that's the whole concept behind this.

So it's it's been an adventure and a wonderful thing.

And I'm so thankful for the county extension and the Master Gardeners for coming into to help us learn.

And so as I learn, I take it out to the community.

I take it to the Boys and Girls Club, to the Learning Center, to the headstart, and to the senior center.

And so this is what we started We just start digging in dirt.

Sharon has done a really good job, and she can tell you that this year is so much better than last year.

She's got more volunteers from the local area.

So you've got more people who know about it who are coming.

It's so close to the senior citizen center, senior Citizen Center that they can bring their bus over.

And my first experience in this garden was senior citizens picking the the turnip greens and collard greens before we turned over the soil to plant the spring garden.

I love it because it gives me, gives us something to do.

I'm the manager of the senior citizen center of Hobson City So I bring the seniors up here and they work in the garden.

So they give them an activity to do when we have to do activities that keep them from sitting around.

And so when they have something to do, I bring them up here and they pick, they work in the garden.

They pick the vegetables and everything.

It's really good for Hobson City to get people exercise and good, nutritious food, because we need a balanced diet and this is a good fit for the community.

It gives them something to do, some food to eat.

With the cost of groceries nowadays it's very important that we get out here and do something to survive on Well, I have my favorite.

My cucumbers.

And then I have, tomatoes and peppers and the hot peppers to make some chacha I come out here, once a week, usually once a week, but again, my knee is not working well.

So, I just come out here and do what I want to, and I like to pick stuff.

For me, I enjoy it because I. I live alone, and I've got all these people around me.

it provides opportunities as a senior citizen, to come out, the library's right there, next to it if you want to know more, you can do research.

And that's great because rather than just sitting in there, it provides opportunities.

As I say, you learn something new every day.

I've learned a lot walking around out here about gardening.

So this to this community, it offers another outlook and a way for them to grow greater and smarter as we grow older.

And Master Gardeners are to be be commended for the work you've done and the other volunteers to be able to come to Hobson City I can see that there's some skillful work.

And so master, people have have accomplished this.

And this is great, I would like to see it just thrive and and just grow to be even more and more so that people would be able to come here and know that theres gong to be some food here They're going to be some fresh produce and, we have been receiving donations.

We have a donation of seed and what -- and dirt and things that we have access to.

So the only thing that it costs you is sweat equity.

We need sweat equity.

Well, my connection with gardening started, actually in New York City when I was living there, and I became involved with some public gardening programs in Bryant Park and also Central Park.

And I realized that you could make a difference through gardening for people that were extremely busy and preoccupied with their lives, because so many people would stop and say, thank you for doing this.

This makes such a difference to me when I'm on my way to work or whatever.

And you realize that for every person that stops and says something, there's a lot that don't.

So there was a ripple in a pond that, extended far beyond what I knew.

And plus it was good for me.

So it seemed like a win win.

And it was a skill that I seem to have that not everyone had, and they valued it.

So I wanted to take it to the next level.

So after I retired, as a professor of English and administrator for Pensacola State I went into the master gardening program with the idea of doing school gardens.

And I didn't expect, though, to become a elementary science and math teacher, which is what we do a lot of in the garden.

But it's it's wonderful.

I've learned so much from it.

And the, students give me so much.

So it's it's a good fit.

And I'm really excited about not only what we're doing, but what we're going to do.

by being able to, take those skills of gardening, combined with my passion for teaching was a win win for me.

And so I approached a local school, which was elementary school K four through six.

And they were interested and we started there.

And we're now in our sixth growing season.

We do a fall in a spring season.

And here in Repton, they saw the garden, which was in Casselberry, and asked if we could replicate it at their school.

And so now we have two, serving about 200 students and 50 staff, because we work with both staff and students.

I chose raised planter boxes because they're portable and school budgets and priorities are always changing.

So if we need to move our garden, it's easy, you know, unlike if you have it in the ground or you have the very large raised beds which are difficult to move.

We can we can move and sort if we have to.

So that determines a little bit what we grow as well.

But it also is an opportunity for the community to kind of see ways that they can have a garden, because even though we're in a rural part of the state, very few people have land on which to grow.

So like for us to have a a bucket garden or to have a small planter raised planter box for them, that's a way to to begin to grow.

And then with the produce we grow here.

But the students don't taste test and enjoy.

We donate that to, local food ministries, principally church food ministries.

And we've now given away over 500 pounds of fresh produce, which is, a real benefit to folks that need it, because most of food banks can't stock fresh produce due to its new lack of shelf life.

But this is a way that we can deliver it and people can get it the same day.

we have a set garden day, per week.

And then usually we have an activity, in addition to a STEM lesson.

And so as part of the activity, they get a little homework, which might be a worksheet of some kind.

We did one recently with pollinators.

So we have a little worksheet called B is for Bumblebee.

And it was something that could color.

But also we had facts about bees which they really got into puzzles they could do and things they could match.

And I was absolutely amazed that even the youngest kids, as well as the oldest kids, they all 101, took it home.

So we try to provide something, outside of, the actual activity and lesson that we do that kind of keeps the learning going they're excited about everything.

You know, I'd hear a blood curdling scream, think someone's injured, come over a caterpillar.

You know, it's so they're they're into it completely.

And that I found that so rejuvenating and refreshing.

And that has been a real big motivator for for keeping going.

For me personally.

I see too, that one thing we're experiencing together, like with that shriek over at caterpillar, is we're experiencing wonder and I noticed that things seem different after that.

So I looked into like, if anybody has anybody researched this and lo and behold, they have.

And apparently when you're experiencing wonder like in the garden or something, we just, you know, as we say, takes our breath away.

It changes you.

Your perspective for a moment changes.

So your problems suddenly have a perspective for kids.

It also, they are going to leave the garden with, less, sense of conflict and they're going to be more critical thinkers as well.

So, you know, for teachers, those are such great qualities.

Bring your kids to the garden and they come back out better decision makers and, you know, better collaborative, students.

So I think that's just wonderful.

When we think about community, we first think of local community.

So of course, that includes the school, includes parents, so forth.

And they are vital to what we're doing, you know, with the space and the support.

Also, we couldn't do this without our local extension service, which has been phenomenal in, providing us with, support and resources.

Also, our state extension service, has been have been great supporters and helping us with questions and so forth.

But I've been really amazed that our, community has extended far beyond local.

For example, we've had, seed donations from companies in Minnesota.

We've had people go to Korea and bring us back seeds.

We've, have internet communities, that have seen postings online and they connect us with resources and information.

So it's been not only local, but now because of technology, we're we're really expanding and we're seeing input and, ability to connect outside of just our, our small town.

And, for the kids, it's pretty exciting because they, are thrilled to know that people, you know, in other parts of the state and around the country, you know, know what they're doing.

So it's a it's an incentive for them to keep up the good work as well.

If a student has a genuine interest in aptitude toward horticulture, or the environment, they can have very good careers here in Alabama and they can be our future problem solvers for some of those problems that are far beyond my comprehension or ability to deal with.

and it's like our little garden scientists, the questions that come up with absolutely amazing.

And we want to encourage that.

So yeah, some of these kids are going to make a difference somewhere one day.

In those with those big questions.

The Lovelady Center is a place of refuge and a safe place to transform.

A place of transformation.

A sanctuary for, 600 women and children.

women come out of incarceration, we help displaced women coming out of incarceration.

Substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness.

And those are serious issues all over the country.

But in, in Alabama, and, we serve women all throughout the state.

Throughout the South.

And, the need is the need is great.

It's we have a huge waiting list, and the need is, is unfortunately not only going growing, but there's a population that needs that needs a hand up and, and a not just a handout.

And we really try to equip and give them the tools they need to transition in the society to be who God created them to be.

Well, they're actually 11 raised beds up here that are about six by eight feet.

So that's big.

And what we did originally is we made some of them into vegetable gardens one through three.

We had a sensory garden, a pollinators garden, a flower garden, prayer garden, a couple of herb beds.

And we just started growing.

But as we got into this, we realized that the center had its own set of needs that weren't necessarily our needs.

They needed more fresh produce for their salad bar.

They wanted to start this value added product process.

Where they take the tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, herbs and they, make them to salsas, jams, jars.

And the women learn about business plans and work with the community.

They work with the other women in the group.

They also have an opportunity, I think, to learn some skills that may help as they move out of poverty This garden for me, at the very beginning, when the garden was first mentioned, I thought it was just you know It was actually a client who first, you know, mentioned it.

My mom loved gardens and flowers, and so she was very, she she was very enthused about it for for me, I didn't see it being impactful or, and I didn't see it being, important to to to the center.

and then, or to the women And then as I saw, when you plant something and you watch it grow, which is, you know, from a spiritual perspective is what we do every day.

And to and for the women to take to plant something in the ground and to see it go to, you know, get to, to to feed the women that, you know, other women and stuff and then just to see the the beauty in the flowers and the plants.

It was you quickly I can see the, what we're teaching them every day in class.

This was teaching you that, bringing it to reality for them.

It was very special, very sweet, and something that's just grown, literally, in more ways than one.

it's a great way, to watch plants grow from seed until grown plants to production.

We also have marketplace like that we harvest, tomatoes, for instance, to make salsa.

And cucumber for pickles and, jalapeno peppers for pepper jams.

And the ladies really enjoy coming out here to congregate.

And each Friday night, the first Friday night of the month, we have first fruit, which is like a music festival.

The ladies and the children here that our minister, puts, he produces that.

And it's just a way for congregation to and to make new friends.

And, I think it's very therapeutic.

You know, sometimes we have some hard conversations up here.

You know, some folks have had, had a hard time, and each of us have had some hard experiences.

And this place gives us an opportunity to to have those conversations, those intimate conversations, because we're surrounded by this beauty and being outside.

You feel comforted.

And I think it's really important that we're able to talk about the hard things, because through that, we can help each other, Oh, I've watched so many ladies come and go, and they establish friendships out here that are their lifelong friendships.

And it's just a beautiful experience to be out in nature under the stars at night.

When the sun rises, in the mornings and throughout the day, it's just a beautiful.

It's a beautiful environment and tranquil environment.

it doesn't happen overnight.

Just like we tell our women when they come into the program, you know, you're going to get in this overnight and it's going to take a season to, to to work your way through it.

And when you plant something, it doesn't happen overnight.

But what happens over time is beautiful.

And it for us, it parallels that in their personal life.

so the helpline is a resource that the state of Alabama can use for anybody that has a home or a farm or anything like that.

It is growing things and they can call us with any type of question I like it because there are no dumb questions.

And sometimes as a home owner you think that, okay, I don't know what to do, but who do I call?

It's a free resource that they can use to call us and ask us questions.

And then we, as Master Gardeners is our job to actually find an answer.

And if we don't know, we actually can elevate it to an agent who has degrees because we're just volunteers to actually help them work out their problem.

Sometimes it's a garden, a vegetable garden question, and sometimes it's an ornamental garden question.

A lot of times it's a lawn problem of some kind.

And then occasionally you'll have, like, a farmer or someone in agriculture call about, issues.

And those are always directed to the extension agents.

Every Master Gardener intern is required to do eight hours of training, as part of their acquiring their Master Gardener certification.

And so, for instance, Miss Montgomery right now is doing some, it is doing the inquiries.

Autauga County is assigned to Wednesday morning.

So we come in every Wednesday morning.

Any master gardener can sign up through the portal to say that they will work for that particular time.

And and we're responsible for all questions that have come in from basically from Tuesday night until Wednesday morning.

And then, there's also some questions that have been left pending by previous Master Gardeners who have worked from, say, Baldwin County or wherever.

And then we have to follow up with those, and maybe take that report and continue.

Maybe we asked him for pictures of the disease that they have in their lawn or something.

And, so once we viewed those pictures, then we can give them more pinpoint information about what their concern is.

The help line is something that really helps extend our reach, our extension agents and our extension specialists.

They spend a lot of time answering questions, which is great.

That's what they love to do.

That's the fun part of their job, is being able to get out there and meet people, provide that extension content, that research based content to the public.

But they also have other responsibilities, such as, research projects that help answer a lot of those critical questions that folks have to help us be better stewards of the landscape.

So by having the help line in the Master Gardeners, they're able to to answer questions quickly using that science based information, because they're trained by our extension faculty.

So they're able to have that science based information and provide that good information to the public.

It is free.

Completely free.

We hope that people will use it whenever they can.

We hand out, business cards that say, Ask Master Gardener.

We, will set up at, like, Home Depot or one of the other big box stores and then offer, just little fliers that they can have the, we have, yard signs.

And so they're going to call, the Master Gardener number, or they can email, which is also available on those different, signs and things.

And then they would just fill in a form.

But usually when they call we need to know minimum name, address, email, phone number, because it comes in on a call to a call service, we have their phone number.

So we can usually call them back.

But the best thing is to have that email information so that we can provide them with links to answer their questions.

there are a lot of lunch and learn programs across the state.

It's it's pretty straightforward t is bring your lunch and learn something.

The it's set in most places, for 11-12, 12-1, something like that.

The public brings a sack lunch and, extension, provides drinks, tea, water, maybe a Little Debbie snack.

You know, something for after lunch.

And then there's a brief presentation and discussion afterwards.

And that's that's the idea because it is Drop-In and because it is really pretty casual, there is an ease about it.

There's, an element of comfort.

So I'm sitting there and it's not like I'm afraid to ask a question of this big horticulturalist or a professor or whatever the case may be.

It is another gardener I'm talking to, and I'm willing to ask a question, and it might even be a silly question, but we have sort of that sense of community where I just drop by your house or drop by the senior center or wherever we are, and engage in this conversation.

one of the recent lunch and learn, sessions were pollinators for not pollinators, but plants for butterflies and ones that they host plants for butterflies because most people don't realize and this is the sort of information you get from lunch and learn, don't realize that there are some butterflies that will only lay eggs and and essentially use as a host plant.

Only 1 or 2 plants.

A lot of people believe you got a flower.

It's good for all butterflies.

No it's not.

It may be, you know, you might get some nectar from it, but it's not a host plant.

So you're not going to get more butterflies from it.

So there was a good program on that particular plants that are host plants for particular butterflies.

If you want them in your garden, plant some of these plants.

And just a couple weeks, we're having one that is very, very different.

It's, teacup fairy gardens and it is literally, sort of an exhibition or a demonstration of taking an old teacup.

May have been on a family, you know, grandma's teacup that's cracked and we can't put tea in it anymore, but, making a tiny little garden out of it, making a remembrance out of it.

Little things that you can buy to put in it, how you can set it up.

This woman did it for us last year.

Extremely popular.

And she's doing it for us again, in a couple of weeks.

So there are things like that.

Again, native bees to Alabama, native plants to Alabama.

Haven't done one yet, but I want to do one on just Alabama native Alabama azaleas they are absolutely gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous and endemic, some of them and just endemic to Alabama.

You won't find them anywhere else.

Lunch and Learn is promoted, first of all, in extension newsletters.

It is promoted on our, Facebook page.

But the Blount Countian the county newspaper is very good about printing our schedule.

Chamber of Commerce helps us by printing the schedule.

Because we go around the state if we're going to Sneed or for going to, Hayden, then that community center publicizes it because it's an activity that's taking place at their community center.

So it's a pretty wide, a wide range of interested people who will help promote us.

They get that word out.

and programs like this, we can encourage people.

Or demonstrate for people how they can grow tomatoes in a five gallon bucket.

How you can grow something that you can eat, how you can teach your children that they can grow some of the food that they eat.

We can talk about, raised bed gardens.

You know, if you think you can't garden because you've got a small area, what can you do?

I think all of those things are important, but maybe the most important thing is people have a tendency, of course, to Google a question.

You got a question?

Google it.

What do you get?

Very often you get very bad information.

Very bad information.

So programs such as lunch and learn where you're, talking with, discussing with the public.

What they're getting is research based information.

It's reliable.

It's been thought through researched.

It is to the extent that anything is true.

Now, that doesn't mean that we may not change things.

Science changes as it learns new things, but it's reliable information.

And that's one of the good things about programs by lunch, about lunch and learn.

Because if a question comes up in the process of a discussion, we can encourage people to call an agent or encourage them to go to the hotline.

And again, you can get good research based information.

when I came to Baldwin County and I did my first, talk about monarch butterfly and the science behind the monarch butterfly, I got a really good feedback in that little group it started growing and growing and those master gardeners really show a very big passion with science, especially being involved in real science and not it's not just doing a small experiment in your backyard for two weeks is more being involved for 2 to 3 years.

in concept.

Real science is very methodology follow a really strict protocol and master gardeners in Baldwin county, they really want to get involved on that and took this responsibility in their own.

Foley was named the first Alabama, official butterfly city and this garden really contributed to that because we are getting, data from the garden that is going to improve the population of the butterfly, especially when they are just, belong to this area, but also they want they're beneficial for this area.

So our dream, as a community, because we are part of this community, is to improve and make this, Alabama butterfly City better and a point of attraction for the other people.

The rest of Alabama.

And they come here to learn from this area and from the Master Gardeners.

the garden that we're here, we review those seeds, for example.

And the same here with grand hotels in Pelican, case in Grand Press Center and Gulf Eco Center.

Those garden they are part of the native milk weed the Alabama project where we are studying 5 to 7 different species of native milk weed to see how they grow, to see how they behave in this area.

They're also part of the, native milk weed, pollinator census, which we're counting the bees, and they are attracted to milk weed And also they're going to be part of the Alabama southeast pollinator.

And August 22nd and 23rd.

So this garden and the other four garden are really the center of, different study right now.

So the data that we're going to be collecting in these gardens and the other gardens are going to be able to tell the public, especially in Baldwin County area, where are the best plants to put in their garden.

And they are native plants, not just to attract a monarch butterfly and other butterflies, but also to benefit, their pollinators like a bees.

They're extremely, essential.

And they are in a really dangerous level right now.

for the community to take the study and make in their on the also, the community needs to participate and the master gardeners they belong to this area to Baldwin County, taking that information and also later on, they're going to be able to pass that information to the community.

And we should make it really a synergy explosion of, education.

Alabama extension Master Gardeners do a lot to promote sustainability across the state.

Part of it comes from what they learn in their coursework.

They learn the importance of understanding soils and doing a soils test on on before you ever do anything with the garden.

But but understanding what's going on with their soils, because that's the basis of everything when it comes to growing things in your garden.

They understand the proper and safe use of of chemicals, whether it be a herbicide or a pesticide.

They also learn techniques so that you can use, cultivars or plants that are most well-suited to your part of the state.

You know, our state's very diverse.

North Alabama is a very different growing condition than south Alabama.

So understanding what plants are going to do well, where and how to to use those to optimize your growth and your your production potential.

And then and also limit the amount of chemicals that you might have to use.

Our conservation team has tried to incorporate some conservation plants in here, some native plants, and we have a few that are specific to Chilton County and Autauga, the cambria pitcher plant, the owlside ginger, that's a plant that we have new little baby seeds and little plants, and we're trying to incorporate them in our beds to teach people about native plants and how native plants help your environment.

They are easier to grow because if you buy a plant that came from the rainforest, you're going to have to baby it a little bit.

So our conservation team likes to bring in native plants and teach the public about that so that we can expand our pollinators and learn more about our environment in that way.

I read in Jan Midgleys wildflower book and she said that native plants to her were plants that were here already here when the pilgrims came.

There's a lot of plants we got here that's not native.

They become naturalized because the Europeans, us, our ancestors brought them over from England and Europe and stuff.

But native plants, like, grew up here in the environment, in the soils and the climate, the droughts, the hot, the cold, whatever.

And they and they have stood the test of time about being disease resistant, drought resistant and survival of the fittest, because theyve been through all that And so and they are good for our ecology birds.

pollinators.

They help our water stay clean and stuff so theyre real important.

I had started working on it, and, 2003, after we had all the pines cut from the pine beetle infestation and got it cleaned up.

And the Master Gardeners have already started working on putting native plant stuff between where this is now and the road there.

And, I just cleaned it up and just one thing after another started to happen, and then I worked on it, and then afterI became a master gardener I decided, well, I'm going to lay out a plan for a walking path.

And so that's what we did.

People just don't know about them.

I don't think is what it is.

And we find that when we're having our plants sales talking to people.

They just don't know much about it because it's, you know, we I guess we don't educate people enough on some of these things.

But that's what our role as Master Gardeners is for the state of Alabama was to educate the public on growing native plants and how you can incorporate them into your landscape.

A lot of people don't think about making a blueberry into a shrub.

You can make a blueberry into a shrub close to your house as a foundation planting, and you can eat it, and it has beautiful fall foliage.

So that's that's the kind of stuff we tell people Master Gardeners as a group are a very diverse group of people.

They come from different walks of life, different professions.

They have a lot of different experiences that they bring but one thing that they all have in common is they love growing plants, I think of it almost more as an impact in creation, nature.

The existence that we're going to have in the future if we don't be, if we don't provide plants for pollinators, if we don't provide pollinators for plants.

There's a lot that is there that is to be lost if we don't do that.

And that worries me.

one of the legacies I hope that we will have is will get children to have a life beyond the screen.

You know, I'm astonished when I hear that Americans now spend 90% of their time in doors.

So getting students outside, I have seen the benefit of it.

And they see the benefit too.

So it's giving them some real authenticity.

Also collaboration.

You know, we have a loneliness epidemic right now, and gardening is really good procuring that because you have to work with other people.

You can't work on your own quite so much.

And, so I hope that that will that benefit to their, their live process will be part of our legacy.

And also, of course, they're going to learn some things here that they will actually imitate.

They'll they'll become gardeners, they'll help others.

They'll they'll share what we've learned.

And then all the different community members that we've mentioned will also have an opportunity to take things away with them to improve their life.

I always say it takes a fire soul you got to find someone that wants to see a garden happen, and without that fire soul in a community, I've learned, you can't go in and just create a garden.

And I've always said a community garden is 10% garden and 90% community.

It's all about the people in that community and how they work together.

And it just happens to be they work around growing things.

you know, we're we're cultivating plants, but we're cultivating people too.

And I think that's the real reward when you see the the person that that is growing through the garden experience, You don't have to be hungry.

You don't have to be hungry.

Put a seed in the ground and look from a seed in the ground.

And it.

You know, God never ceases to amaze me that with everything that's going on.

And so not only getting fresh produce, but also if you look around, you see people talking and laughing.

They're meeting up with each other.

And so, my focus is to bring it together, you know, to have a new unity in the community over something that will be beneficial for everyone We planted a small seedling of a master gardener program in Huntsville in 1981, and to be able to watch that grow, guided and directed by a lot of different people over the years to watch that little seedling that we planted in Huntsville grow into one of the best statewide master Gardener programs in the country.

Yeah, I'd say it was worth it.