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The Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Program is a 4-H youth gardening program that was started by the Texas Cooperative Extension Service to build youth leaders by utilizing environmental science as a vehicle to develop academic skills, character education, and service learning. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System partnered in 2002 with the Texas

Cooperative Extension Service to bring this program to Alabama. Shane Harris, County Extension Agent in Tallapoosa County, was appointed as the state JMG coordinator.

Pilot programs were established in 15 counties in November 2002 to introduce and implement the program. Approximately 85 County Extension agents, schoolteachers, master gardeners, and 4-H volunteers from these pilot counties attended a statewide training workshop in Birmingham.

Approximately 700 Teachers, 4-H volunteers, Master Gardeners and Extension Agents from across Alabama have attended training work shops sponsored by Bonnie Plant Farm to get introduced to the Junior Master Gardener Program.

In 2003, efforts began to expand the JMG program statewide. Bonnie Plant Farm, a division of Alabama Farmers Cooperative (AFC), became the exclusive state sponsor for the Alabama JMG program and provided the necessary funding to introduce and train teachers.

In October and November 2003, two state training workshops were held, one in Birmingham and one in Troy, with efforts to help implement the program in other counties. Approximately 150 participated in the two workshops.

In the spring of 2004, a major campaign to furtherintroduce JMG to teachers and leaders across the state of Alabama was begun. Fifteen

teacher/leader training workshops, courtesy of Bonnie Plant Farm, were held in early 2004. These fifteen workshops were competitively awarded to Extension agents that applied for the funding to host a workshop. These workshops were conducted on the local level and consisted of one to three counties. Three hundred eleven teachers, Extension agents, master gardeners, and 4-H volunteers attended.

In 2005, the Alabama Junior Master Gardener program again received funding from Bonnie Plant Farm to host 10 local JMG teacher training workshops, and support the local JMG programs across Alabama. Also in 2005, the Alabama JMG program and Bonnie Plant Farm together created and initiated a new 4-H contest – the Giant Cabbage Growing contest. This contest was open to all 4-Hers and JMG groups in Alabama and was held in conjunction with Bonnie Plant Farm’s 3rd grade cabbage giveaway program.

The JMG program is supported by a curriculum that contains both individual independent study activities for youth and group activities for the JMG teacher or

At the Dallas County JMG workshop, teachers decorate their "Plant People", a JMG activity and hands-on approach of teaching children what elements seeds need in order to germinate and grow.

leader to use with their group. The program offers horticultural/environmental science education and leadership and life skill development through fun and creative activities. The program utilizes schools, volunteers, Cooperative Extension networks, and other youth organizations to educate these young gardeners. In addition, the JMG program incorporates service learning and volunteerism enabling young people to make a positive contribution to their home, community, and country. The curriculum is made up of 8 chapters including plant growth and development, soils and water, ecology and environment horticulture, insects and diseases, landscape horticulture, fruits and nuts, vegetables and herbs, and life skills/career exploration.

Nationwide, the JMG program currently has over 12, 218 registered youth in

Shane Harris, Alabama Coordinator for the Junior Master Gardener Program, speaks with a group of teachers in Morgan County about the importance of the Program to the youth of Alabama.

public/private/home/ schools, after-school programs, summer camps, and other organizations in all 50 states and 10 countries. As of May 2005, since the Alabama Junior Master Gardener Program was initiated in 2002, a total of 24 workshops have been conducted with an attendance of about 700 people. There are currently about 115 registered JMG groups in Alabama representing approximately 4,000 youth in 29 counties.

For more information on the Junior Master Gardener Program contact: Shane Harris, State JMG Coordinator, 125 N. Broadnax Street, Room 23, Dadeville, Alabama 36853; Phone: (256) 825-1050; Email: aharris@aces.edu.