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Master Gardener Volunteer Application Deadline

• Monday, December 1, 2025, 5:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Whether you are an experienced gardener in Cayuga County or a beginner who is excited about learning more, Cornell Cooperative Extension Cayuga County invites you to apply to join its upcoming Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) Training, to be offered over several months during winter and early spring of 2026.

The Master Gardener Volunteer Training is designed to help participants become better, more knowledgeable gardeners, and to prepare them to share their gardening expertise with neighbors and others in their communities. Each class focuses on a different gardening topic including: botany, diagnosing plant diseases, entomology, soils and fertilizers, lawn care, herbs, vegetable gardening, weed identification, woody ornamentals, pruning, tree and small fruits, perennials, annuals, integrated pest management and organic gardening and composting.

New volunteers cover this information in an online course that they can complete at their own pace, and will have access to the Cornell Master Gardener manual online. Volunteers will meet in-person as a group once a month with the Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator to review the material they have covered and discuss any questions. These in-person meeting dates will be scheduled to suit the availability of the new participants.

After finishing the online portion of the training, interns complete 40 volunteer hours in their first year, working alongside experienced Master Gardener Volunteers to share their knowledge through activities such as maintaining demonstration gardens, answering gardening questions from the public (on topics such as soil testing results; plant, insect and disease identification; and how to address gardening problems) and by taking part in other community or school gardening projects.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about gardening and sharing their expertise may attend the course. Applications must be submitted online by December 1, 2025 at: https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02HmxXxI9CG0j0q. Class size is limited and no walk-ins will be allowed. While the training itself is free of charge, applicants are asked to provide a $50 deposit that will be returned to them once they complete the required volunteer hours after training.

Please direct questions to Frank Clarke, Master Gardener Coordinator & Agriculture Educator, at fc357@cornell.edu or (315) 255-1183 ext. 103. To learn more about the CCE Cayuga Master Gardener Volunteer program, visit https://ccecayuga.org/MGV.

About: Master Gardener Volunteers is a national program of trained volunteers who work in partnership with their county Cooperative Extension office to expand educational outreach throughout the community by providing home gardeners with research-based information. The first Master Gardener Volunteer program was started in Washington state in 1972 and forty-six states now offer this program.

Fee

FREE! $50 deposit refunded when volunteer hour commitment is completed

Learn More

https://ccecayuga.org/MGV

Register

https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02HmxXxI9CG0j0q

Location

CCE Cayuga County
248 Grant Avenue
Auburn, New York 13021

Last updated October 30, 2025