Funding Master Gardener Programs throughout Pierce County
As a land grant university, supported in part by federal grants, Washington State University is restricted in the activities it can fund. The Foundation’s Mission is to financially support the Pierce County Master Gardeners through innovative fundraising and sound financial management, now and for the future. Here are some of the programs we fund.
Ask a Master Gardener
Have a gardening question? Ask a Master Gardener at one of our in-person or on-line plant and insect diagnostic clinics. We staff a dozen clinics across the county with trained volunteers who will help you get the answers to your pesky gardening problems.
Our Foundation funds all the research materials and free handouts required to make our Ask a Master Gardener clinics a valuable – and free – gardening resource in Pierce County.
Demonstration Gardens
We operate two demonstration gardens in Pierce County. One across the street from the WSU Research Center in Puyallup and another within the boundaries of Sehmel Homestead Park in Gig Harbor. These are our living classrooms where we deliver several of our programs such as our Saturday Garden Talks and our Youth Gardening Programs. In addition, our gardens are a place where you can informally tour to pick up on gardening ideas, we demonstrate composting, raised bed gardening, flower walls and much, much more.
Our Foundation funds all the expenses it takes to run these fully functioning gardens. Everything from tools to seeds and soil, from pots to irrigation infrastructure. It takes a lot to run these gardens, but we believe that getting hands-on with gardening is the best way to learn.
Community Gardens – Local Food
It is in Community Gardens that many people get their first experience with growing their own produce. In order to speed the learning process, Master Gardeners mentor new gardeners throughout Pierce County.
Our Foundation developed a grant program to help cash strapped community gardens with garden infrastructure projects. It is named in memory of a local Master Garden, Sharon Ballard
Youth Gardening
Today’s youth are tomorrow’s gardeners. We strive to instill a passion for gardening and environmental stewardship into the youth of Pierce County. We focus on hands-on learning and fun for children ages 3-11. Our programs are run through our demonstration gardens in Puyallup and Gig Harbor and are available for free.
Our Foundation, through your generosity, provides the resources to create a youth gardening space within each demonstration garden. In addition, all the course materials are funded by your donations.
Speakers Bureau
Master Gardeners prepare and deliver presentations to Garden Clubs, the Pierce County Library System, Home Owners Associations and any organization hungry for the latest science backed developments in horticulture and environmental stewardship.
These presentations are offered for free, the expenses to develop and deliver the presentations are covered by our Foundation. (but we’re more than happy for any donation you feel is warranted!)
Washington Corrections Center for Women
Pierce County Master Gardeners help run a horticultural program for inmates of the Correctional Center in Gig Harbor. We garden side-by-side with students in the green house and garden beds, and conduct horticultural experiments. We provide speakers to present on gardening topics; help with their hydroponics system; and conduct a mock interview workshop to assist students in finding jobs in the horticulture field.
Through your donations, our Foundation provides the resources to run this program that helps give inmates a chance for a new beginning.
WSU Puyallup Scholarships
This scholarship program is the result of a successful campaign of our foundation. We help fund scholarships for graduate students attending the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center (WSU PREC). Partnering with faculty and administrators, we created an endowment to help defray the cost of higher education for graduate students studying horticulture or a related field. Since its founding, more than 15 awards of $1,000 or more have been awarded.
Plant Sale
You might know us just from our Annual Plant Sale. We spend about eight months of volunteering efforts per year just so we can create a ‘Pop-up Nursery’ on the last weekend of April. We sell thousands of plants in just those two days. People from all over the county come to shop. And the proceeds from the sale provide much of the funding for all our programs here in Pierce County. If you have shopped at a plant sale, thank you for your support. If you haven’t… mark your calendar and check back to this site for more details.
Education & Trade Shows
The Master Gardener Foundation of Pierce County annually supports our state-wide Advanced Education Conference as well as the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.
