About
Volunteer Master Gardeners offer food growing advice to local people and communities.
Volunteers are fully trained and supported by Garden Organic, the UK’s leading organic growing charity. This three-year pilot programme is funded by the Big Lottery Fund’s Local Food scheme, Sheepdrove Trust and local authorities in four areas: Warwickshire, Islington, South London and Norfolk.
We aim to develop and sustain these programme areas and more nationally to follow the success of Garden Organic’s Master Composter network. Please see our future areas pages and contact us for information about starting a network of volunteer Master Gardeners near you.
Click here to read how we’ve helped nearly 10,000 grow their own food since May 2010.
New! We’ve extended the programme by six months. Read the story here.
We’ve also launched a new programme supported in Lincolnshire Heath and Wellbeing Fund and local partners. It’s very exciting. Please click here for details.
Find out more
Click image to get involved
Programme aims
Sowing demonstrations by local Master Gardeners
- Recruit Master Gardeners to promote the benefits and skills of growing your own food to their local communities and households
- Actively train and support our valuable volunteers with local co-ordinators offering guidance and resources
- Reach over 4,000 households and 20,000 people, as well as community growing groups (three year Local Food targets from September 2009)
- Work closely with our local partners to exceed their aims and develop the Master Gardener model to expand nationally
Programme inspiration
Master Composters reported questions about food growing
Master Gardeners was inspired by the success of Garden Organic’s Master Composter Programme. This has over 500 volunteers nationally with twelve local authority partners.
Master Composters reported a surge of interest in food growing – as did Garden Organic through their research.
The public’s demand for allotments, advice, and support has now rocketed thanks to high profile campaigns, food and health concerns, community growing networks, and a changing society intent on learning how to grow their own local, organic produce.
Master Composters in training
The Master Gardener programme, like Master Composters, works by cascade learning – or train the trainer, where people benefit from each other’s knowledge and are influenced by those around them, such as friends, neighbours, family, and work colleagues.
This approach has been shown to trigger and support behavioural change – in our case, more own food growing.
Click here to visit the Master Composter website
More programme details
Visit our other programme websites
Follow Garden Organic on Twitter
Visit the Garden Organic fan page on Facebook
