Happy New Year from the Master Gardener Program!

First, our program ended its 2025 reporting year with a new record! Our volunteers logged just over 243,000 hours between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Not only are our hours increasing, though, but so is our impact. In 2025, more hours than ever before were spent on projects such as Seed to Supper, information tables at public events, and youth education. Here are a few other exceptional stats from last year:

• Of the 252 post-evaluations received from Seed to Supper participants in 2025, 96% agreed or strongly agreed that the course helped them grow their own food, and 84% agreed or strongly agreed that it helped them eat more vegetables.
• PSEMG gardens and projects donated 40,218 pounds of produce to local food banks and communities, a 47% increase over 2024.
• 56% of 2025 MG Basic Training participants reported that they "Never" or only "Sometimes" read and followed all pesticide label instructions prior to training, which decreased to just 4% after certification.

With formal volunteerism on the decline nationwide, these numbers are outstanding. Having been with the program for almost eight years now, I believe our success stems from two key factors: our people and our enthusiasm for trying new things.

In terms of people, our county coordinators do an incredible job of inspiring their communities, both in recruiting new volunteers and engaging existing ones. For example, of the 558 new volunteers who started Basic Training, 76% successfully passed their exams and completed their initial 50 volunteer hours to become certified Penn State Extension Master Gardeners. In a one-year follow-up survey, the same trainees reported that their biggest sources of support during the training were their fellow volunteers, including both training classmates and current certified Master Gardeners. At a time when Americans are more disconnected than ever, it is amazing to see such a sense of community being fostered in our program.

As I mentioned before, this community has a wonderful enthusiasm for trying new things. In 2026, for the first time ever, we are offering the public a sneak peek into our Master Gardener Basic Training curriculum with the Dig Into Gardening Series (DIGS). This six-session, fully online program is perfect for folks who are interested in deepening their gardening knowledge but aren't ready or able to commit to becoming a Master Gardener volunteer. The series starts on January 20 – we hope you’ll consider joining us! For more details and registration, please click here.

Whether you sign up for DIGS or just continue to enjoy our Home Garden Newsletter, thank you for supporting the Penn State Extension Master Gardener program. It is a pleasure to serve you!

Cheers,

Erin Kinley
State Coordinator and Senior Manager
Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program