Join

Do you enjoy gardening? Appreciate the environment? Enjoy helping others?

Consider joining the local class session for the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Master Gardener Program!

Depending on the format, classes either meet in-person twice per week or are offered digitally with in-person lab workshops during the first half of the year. In-person sessions alternate around the five counties in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener unit: Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Page, and Shenandoah. The 2020 class is offered digitally.  See our flyer for more information or download an application for the 2020 class. Class size is limited. Completing an application does not guarantee acceptance into the VCE Master Gardener program.

Bring completed application to one of our six 2020 information/registration sessions (click link to see Facebook event link):

You can also sign up for our email list, and you’ll receive an email in September about the next class.

More about the VCE Master Gardener Program

If you join the VCE Master Gardener Program, you’ll meet others with similar interests, update your current knowledge, and help the community through your volunteering at education events and programs.

Becoming a Certified VCE Master Gardener Volunteer begins with a trainee course of a minimum of 50 hours of education. Training covers many topics, including landscape design, botany, pruning, pest management, soils, insects, and various types of plants. After training, trainees graduate to interns.

Interns must complete 50 hours of hands-on training during their first year by volunteering time back to the community at educational activities and programs available throughout the Valley. A variety of projects is available for students to meet their hands-on training commitment. After completion of the course and the hands-on training, students become VCE Master Gardener Volunteers, with a yearly requirement of 20 hours of volunteer service.

The cost for each year’s class is announced on the class flyer. That cost covers training materials, supplies, speakers, lab leaders, a VCE Master Gardener Handbook, and a one-year membership in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association.

Continuing Education

All VCE Master Gardener Volunteers are required to complete 8 hours of yearly continuing education. This can be done through approved talks, webinars, and courses. In addition, all active VCE Master Gardener Volunteers are invited to participate in Master Gardener College, an annual advanced training program. 2020 VCE Master Gardener College is in Blacksburg, Virginia, at Virginia Tech. Additional training in arboriculture to become certified Tree Stewards or in water quality to become certified Water Stewards is periodically available as well.

Application

If you are interested in becoming certified as an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer or you have further questions, download an informational flyer or class application.  If you sign up for our email list, you’ll receive this information in your inbox. Sign up at You can also contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Frederick office, at 540-665-5699 or via email to mark.sutphin@vt.edu.

More about Association Membership

The class cost includes the first year’s membership in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association, or NSVMGA. The Association supports its members in the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren. NSVMGA provides additional opportunities for camaraderie, volunteering, and continuing education.

To continue membership into the following year, the annual dues as of 2019 are a modest $20 per person or $25 per couple. Social time, business meetings, and educational sessions are held 8 – 12 times per year. Additional periodic educational offerings are sponsored by NSVMGA.