Master Gardeners Make Life More Fr BETH MILLER Cumberland Co. Correspondent KINGS GAP (Cumberland Co.) When visitors come to admire the wonderful herb gardens at this state park, they should leave thanking Cumberland County’s Master Gardeners. The local people who volunteer for the program not only get their hands dirty, they get their minds stimulated as well. Ten of those volunteers were recognized for their green thumbs and their dedication to making life a little more pleasant and a little more fragrant during the 76th annual meeting of the Cumberland County Cooperative Extension. Those people honored were Michael Dau, Karen Olson, Joan Baker, Marcia Thompson, Kathryn Grabowski, Ralph Ncgley, and Frank Kenski. They are just a few of the peo ple who have participated in the Master Gardener Program in this county since it was founded in 1988. Kathy Wolfe, who runs the Master Gardener Program in the extension office, said the volun teers make a big commitment and devote a lot of hours to get their program certificate. Before they are accepted into the program, volunteers are pre LESTER BUILDING SYSTEMS A Division of Butler Manufacturing Company Vew EYconstruct,on ' ,nc 2722 Valley View Road MORGANTOWN, PA 19543 CALL (215) 286-5407 OR (215) 445-8317 tested and must answer a certain number of gardening questions properly, Wolfe said. Also, they must go through an interview with an extension agent, she said. “Usually we try to select enough people according to the number of projects that are started and the new ones that are being planned,” said Wolfe. After they are accepted into the program, the volunteers must receive SO hours of training in classes taught by extension agents, specialists from Penn State University, and other Master Gar deners. she said. Each week in those classes, she said, the participants study a diffe rent gardening topic. The topics include propogation. plant dis eases, pruning, lawn care, care of ornamental plants, and similar knowledge. Some of the study sessions have hands-on workshops, Wolfe said. After the educational program is completed, Wolfe said, the par ticipants must give SO hours of service back to the community. That service has to pertain to something they have learned in the course, she said. The gardens at Kings Gap are perhaps the most evident contribu tion the Master gardeners have made so far in the program. The Kings Gap project is really ! * I DAYS && ttma NEW HOLLAND PLANT STORE ■HI 403 South Custer Avenue New Hollend, PA • (717) 354-5600 Monday thru Thursday 8 a.m. • 6 p.m Friday 8 a.m. • 9 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. • 5 p.m. Twi MARINATED CHICKEN BREAST FILLETS | for the | • Boneless/Sklnless • 2 Lb. Bag pM • Plain, lemon/ PHILLY GOURMET HOMESTTLE BURGERS • 100% Pure Beef • 3 Lb. Box Cumberland County Master Gardener Kathryn Grabowski works In the culinary herb garden the Master Gardener volunteers have made at the Kings Gap Environ* mental Education Center. a big teaching garden. The Master Gardeners planted the herbs in four separate and spe cialized gardens in a circular area, said Master Gardeners Marcia Thompson and Kathryn Grabowski. One garden is a fragrance gar den, they said. They said the other gardens are a medicinal garden, a culinary garden and a garden filled with herbs that are used to make dyes. Grabowski and Thompson said they hope to make the Kings Gap project even more attractive this year by placing a sundial in the center of the gardens. Each of the gardens is taken care of by some of the Master Gar deners who already have gra duated from the program and by partiepants who are just going through the program, they said. Other projects the Master Gar deners are working on at Kings Gap are a compost demonstration course for home gardeners and the construction of a native and a wildlife garden. Another new project they have irvt tl 4.99 planned is a Plant Clinic to be held at the West Shore Library in Camp Hill. At that clinic people will be able to bring in plants that have diseases for advice and the Master Gardeners will answer gardening questions. In the past year. Master Garden ers also presented more than 30 educational talks on wildflowers, perennials, herbs, water gardens, bonsai, pruning, plant problems and composting. They helped youths in the coun ty by judging in the botany divi sion of the Capital Area Science Fair and by judging at the 4-H Fair. They also helped pilot the 4-H “Meet the Plants” project for fourth graders in two elementary schools in (he Cumberland Valley School District Wolfe said there are about 30 volunteers in the program to dale. The volunteers come from all walks of life and all age groups, she said. There are homemakers, teachers and doctors in the prog rams, she said, adding that all you need is a little knowledge of gar- LANCASTER mmm OUTLET STORE ■■ 1941 Lincoln Hwy. Ea«t Lancaster, PA 17602 • (717) 392-0635 Monday thru Wednesday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Thursday thru Saturday 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. TNeaver JwvvvwM . CHICKEN FRANKS /buyone^ %5E T ONE? X STEAK SALE )Ribeye Steaks, Short Ribs, T-Bones Case Lots, Limited Quantities ijvyer Peppeeidde Farm, *a- 2.59^ « Asst, varieties Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 15,1993-B9 * dcning and a lot of enthusiasm. Wolfe said Cumberland County has an “extremely good’’ retention rate for people who become involved in the Master Gardener Program. Approximately 90 percent return for more work after com pleting the program, she said. Once a Master Gardener is cer tified they undergo an additional eight hours of training with the requirement of giving back another 20 hours of volunteer work to the community, Wolfe said. Master Gardeners who return for the second year of the program have found their “niche” in the program and the projects that their fellow gardeners have planned, she said. Their rewards for continuing in the program, Wolfe said, are that they gain more in-depth know ledge of a subject they love while they give a contribution back to their community and share their common interest with their fellow gardening enthusiasts. EPHRATA OUTLET 290 S. Reading Rd. (Rt. 272) Ephrata, PA • (717) 738-3095 Monday thru Thursday 9 a.m. • 6 p.m Friday 9 a.m. • 9 p.m. , Saturday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. S rs • We Accept Food Stamps H Em ant Hat