Illinois Extension Champaign County Master Gardeners

We have monthly educational seminars that are free and open to the public on the 4th Tuesday of the month.  Throughout the growing season, we host a variety of workshops, garden tours and other programs that do not follow a regular frequency.

Since 1992, over 600 Champaign County residents have completed Master Gardener training and contribute more than 11,000 hours annually to Champaign County. Master Gardener volunteers sincerely desire to learn and share home horticulture information, have practical experience or knowledge of gardening, and want to impact the community positively.

If you enjoy gardening, learning, and sharing your knowledge with others, the Master Gardener program is for you!  Volunteers start by taking our Master Gardener Training class.  After successfully finishing the training, volunteers become Master Gardener Interns, and they have two years to complete 40 volunteer hours on approved Master Gardener projects.  Following the successful completions of their internship, volunteers become Certified Active Master Gardeners.

We typically offer both online, at-your-own-pace training as well as in-person training each year starting in Jan or Feb.  Online training may be completed anytime in the subsequent 6 months, whereas in-person training consists of a weekly, all-day class sessions for 10-12 weeks of instruction.

Our training course covers everything from soils and fertilizers to plant disease diagnosis and treatment, covering all forms of gardening such as vegetable gardening, ornamental gardening of container gardening to name a few.

If you are interested in joining the Master Gardeners, please fill out our  Interest Form to get your name on the list for out next training class.  Prior to class, we will reach out with additional information, but please don’t hesitate to email us with any questions at uie-garden_environment@illinois.edu.

Want to learn more about the Champaign County Master Gardeners?

Please visit our website or social media pages.