A $114,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon revive the Oregon State University Extension Service in Lane County, funding local agricultural education and certification programs for the next two years.
The USDA, through its partnership with local programs like the Lane Community College Agricultural Business Management Program, the Lane County Master Gardener Association and Rainbow Valley Design and Construction Company, will provide $114,000 in funding to the Extension Service to help offset the cost of hosting classes.
The service has provided Oregonians with research-based educational programs focusing on resource management, agriculture and community development for almost a century, with faculty located on the Corvallis campus and offices available to every Oregon county. Lane County, the only Oregon county to lose its OSU Extension Service, forfeited services on Sept. 2.
Bill Braunworth, program leader at OSU’s Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Extension Program, is glad to know the service has been revived in Lane County.
“We are pleased that Extension’s Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Program will once again have a presence in Lane County,” Braunworth said. “Our research-based education helps farmers and ranchers run successful, sustainable businesses that are important to the local economy.”
One outstanding program supported by the restored Extension Service is the Master Gardener training and certification program. Students can take the class online and receive a $100 price break if they opt to complete 40-70 hours of volunteer work at the county Extension office.
Lane Community College is offering a similar class in the winter for more hands-on participants, which requires students to complete 40 volunteer hours within a year of graduation to be certified. Upon certification, master gardeners can advise and educate other home gardeners throughout Lane County and are eligible for employment by the Lane County Extension Office.
GrassRoots Garden, located in North Eugene along Coburg Road, began in 1991 as a partnership between the Lane County Master Gardener Association and Food for Lane County, and has worked hand in hand with the Extension Service to recruit gardeners and offer workshops to students trying to become certified.
Merry Bradley, GrassRoots’ coordinator, became a Master Gardener in 1999 and values the Extension Service’s essential role in passing on the tradition of gardening and supporting local food drives.
“Lots of people here at the garden are master gardeners; some have been out here for more than 10 years,” Bradley said. “Part of what they do is pass on agricultural knowledge to interested members of the community.”
Bradley is glad that the USDA grant will make certification more affordable by offsetting the cost of class fees, which will permit a greater amount of interested prospective master gardeners to get involved.
“I think it is a great thing,” she said. “Obviously there are lots of people who would be useful and would like to get involved, but can’t because they are lower-income. I would like to see (certification) become more affordable.”
Kate Hammarback, a garden assistant at GrassRoots employed by Food for Lane County, plans on taking the Master Gardener training course at Lane Community College in the winter to become certified, building upon the ample agricultural experience she has gained while working at the garden.
“A lot of their master gardeners come out here to do their required volunteer hours; sometimes they do workshops,” Hammarback said. “I want to take the class this year because it seems like the next step, and it will be easy because I have already learned so much here.”
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