Paulding County MGEVs have talents and resources that are critical to a successful outreach program. They help homeowners by making research-based recommendations to solve and prevent gardening problems. They help protect our environment and encourage a sense of community through gardening projects. MGEVs also develop communication, management and leadership skills through their outreach programming.
You can see and feel the great work of MGEVs all around Paulding County: They teach gardening classes year round for our community, work with 4-H and local schools to provide gardening opportunities for youth, and maintain demonstration gardens, donating fresh produce to Helping Hands Food Bank every year during the growing season! Several MGEVs are found each week in the Master Gardener Demonstration Gardens at the Extension Office in Dallas. These volunteers provide information on vegetable gardening, teach interested folks about how to plant and harvest vegetables, and how to prevent gardening problems.

Paulding County Extension is Looking for a Crop of Volunteers!
Is becoming a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer (MGEV) for you?
Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want to learn more about plants, growing things, and gardening?
• Am I eager to participate in a practical and intensive training program?
• Do I look forward to sharing my knowledge with people in my community?
• Do I have enough time to attend the training & complete my volunteer work?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, then this is your opportunity! Statewide there are more than 2000 active MGEVs in 73 counties. They use their title only when performing unpaid volunteer work. They are not a workforce for beautification projects. They are primarily educators who organize and facilitate gardening programs and projects. However, they can often be found digging in the dirt!

Paulding County Extension is accepting applications for new Master Gardener Extension Volunteers for the 2016 training class The purpose of the Georgia Master Gardener® Extension Volunteer program is to assist UGA Extension by training volunteers to provide current horticultural information through community service and educational gardening projects using applied research and the resources of the University of Georgia. Classes for the 2016 Master Gardener Extension Volunteer Training will be held at the North Metro Campus of Chattahoochee Technical College in Acworth. Classes will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm from February 15 through March 23, 2016.
Applications are now available at our office and on our webpage, www.ugaextension.com/paulding, and will be accepted until 5:00pm on December 15, 2015. Class details, volunteer commitment specifications and fees are included in the application materials. Applicants who are accepted as MGEV Trainees will receive 40 hours of horticultural training from Extension Specialists, Agents, local horticulturists, and veteran MGEVs. Core classes include basic botany, plant physiology, soils, basic entomology, weed identification and control and a variety of other horticulture related topics.
The author of this article, Mary Carol Sheffield, is the Paulding County Extension Coordinator and Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. She is an expert in the area of horticulture and provides education to professionals and homeowners on horticulture, sustainable landscaping, and environmentally friendly gardening practices using unbiased, research-based information from the University of Georgia. For more information on gardening in Paulding, contact the Paulding County UGA Extension Office at 770-443-7616 or check us out online at www.ugaextension.com/paulding.