In 1971, before Master Gardeners were even a gleam in anyone’s eye, Washington State University assigned two extension agents to the Seattle and Tacoma metro areas. Their job: to help the public with their urban and commercial horticulture questions. And did they get questions! The overworked agents put on radio and TV gardening shows, but that only drew more people to the Extension offices. The agents brainstormed how to handle the crowds. How about recruiting and training volunteers to help backyard gardeners?
Last week we talked about the origins of 4-H. Now let’s focus on 4-H chapter closer to home. In Virginia, approximately 20,000 adults and teens volunteer their time and energy annually to help more that 170,000 Virginia youth learn leadership, citizenship and life skills while discovering how to build on their own ability to make good decisions, manage resources wisely, work effectively with others and communicate successfully.