Tending to the Community
Master Gardener volunteers in Watauga County
By D’Lyn Ford Master Gardener volunteers in Burke County were almost ready to plant the community garden when the pandemic hit last spring. On the heels of that shock, the volunteers learned that the land on loan for the garden had been unexpectedly sold. In Watauga County, which has one of the state’s highest poverty rates, the pandemic increased the need for food donations—especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
In Wake County, while the usual in-person Extension Master Gardener events had been canceled, interest in gardening was spiking and vegetable seeds were in short supply. These challenges were no match for the fertile imaginations of volunteers with the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program, which has groups in 84 counties across North Carolina.
