About Us
Extension Master Gardeners — part of Virginia Cooperative Extension
Cooperative Extension serves as a link between land-grant universities and the community. Extension provides outreach to the average citizen and works to disseminate the latest information and research. Virginia Cooperative Extension puts university knowledge into the hands of people. Credible experts and educators provide information, education, and tools that farmers, nurseries, and local gardeners can use every day. The Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose volunteers provide research-based horticultural information to home gardeners in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Our Mission
Virginia Cooperative Extension helps lead the engagement mission of Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, the commonwealth’s land-grant universities. Building local relationships and collaborative partnerships, we help people put scientific knowledge to work through learning experiences that improve economic, environmental, and social well-being.
We know our constituents and understand the unique challenges and opportunities that exist within our community. From this frame of reference, we put Virginia Tech and Virginia State University knowledge into action and find real solutions. We provide research-based horticultural information, tips, techniques and advice to home gardeners in the community. We do this through several programs.
- Plant Clinics held in various locations throughout the Fairfax County from May through September.
- VCE Horticultural Helpline
- Let’s Grow, our school-based instructional program for children
- Home Turf, a Virginia Healthy Lawns Program – Master Gardener house calls to help with lawn problems
- Speakers Bureau – expert speakers for garden clubs or other organization.
The Master Gardener program is funded by annual fees paid by our members. While we receive training materials and technical support from VCE, no federal, state or local government funding is provided to Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, Inc. We wish to acknowledge and thank The Merrifield Garden Center for hosting our classes and diagnostic laboratory, and providing other valuable assistance.
Joining
You must be a Fairfax County resident to enroll in our program. Volunteers receive training and oversight from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. New volunteers attend 33 hours of training per year for three years and provide 24 volunteer service hours each year. Master Gardener certification is usually achieved at the end of the third year. After that, certification is maintained through ongoing continuing education and volunteer service.
For more information, send a message to Enrollment@FairfaxGardening.org.