Ainsley Olsen, U of I Extension’s horticulture program coordinator, is pictured during the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Master Gardeners program. (Photo by Tim Alexander/for Chronicle Media)

The University of Illinois Extension’s Master Gardener program is marking five decades of impact with a series of special regional gardening celebrations, including a July 22 “Golden Garden Days” event held at OSF St. Ann’s Garden of Hope in south Peoria.

Attended by scores of Master Gardeners from Extension’s west-central Illinois sector, the Tuesday morning celebration was enlivened by the presence of around 20 youthful volunteers from Peoria’s Dream Center who turned out to help tend the urban community garden.

“This is a very busy day and a great day for a celebration of Master Gardeners and this community garden, which is a project we find valuable to pour into because it puts so much food back out into the community surrounding us,” said Ainsley Olsen, horticulture program coordinator for the Extension unit serving Peoria, Tazewell, Fulton and Mason counties.

Olsen, who works out of Lewiston, explained that there is a lot more to today’s Master Gardeners program than poinsettias, pansies and philodendron.
“Master Gardeners is an important resource that most people are not aware even exists,” she said. “It touches on so many topics, from food insecurity, the safety of pollinators to education in our schools. Master Gardeners is about giving back to the community and taking care of the earth that is providing for us.”

With another round of new Master Gardener training sessions coming up on the calendar, Olsen explained just what it takes to join the ranks of the most respected “green thumbs” in the state of Illinois.

“We offer a core horticultural education training opportunity, which this year will be Sept. 29 through Oct. 3 (from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) for new Master Gardeners,” she said. “These are held at various locations throughout our unit and offer hands-on training on things like how to prune grape vines or how to harvest vegetables. They’ll also learn about topics such as soil health and plant diseases.”

OSF St. Ann’s Garden of Hope, located on Peoria’s south side, spans two city blocks and provides 15,000 pounds of annual produce for free distribution each year. (Photo by Tim Alexander/for Chronicle Media)

Once new recruits finish the initial stage of training, they are placed in an internship for two years, during which are mentored by a certified Master Gardener for at least 40 hours. This is followed by a minimum of 20 hours of volunteerism and 10 hours of continuing education each year.

“Once they’ve gone through all of the educational training, they work in various gardens throughout our unit, doing good in their communities,” said Olsen. “Master Gardeners is all about giving back to the community.”

Master Gardeners are also available to answer horticulture queries from novice or struggling gardeners. A help line that allows the public to upload photos and submit questions is available from May 1 through Sept. 30 via their county Extension office.

“Our Master Gardener volunteers run that helpline and actually answer the questions,” said Olsen. “They’re available to individuals, schools, libraries, private corporations or groups like the Garden Club. We actually have a speakers’ bureau that can coordinate getting someone out to speak to a group or offer a presentation.”

OSF-St. Ann’s sprawling Garden of Hope, one of the biggest “giving” gardens in the Peoria area, spans parts of two acres of reclaimed land located at and adjacent to 1414 W. Antoinette St. in Peoria’s impoverished south end. Medical students at the U of I College of Medicine in Peoria constructed the raised garden beds that characterize the gardens, which are necessary due to thin layers of crumbling blacktop and the possibility of lead contamination just below the topsoil.

Each year the garden yields around 15,000 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs grown exclusively to enhance food availability for low income and at-risk residents of Peoria, where around 13 percent of the populace suffers from food insecurity. The garden promotes healthy eating through education and access to nutritious, locally grown food, while providing community members opportunities for physical activity through volunteering.

Volunteers with the local Master Gardeners Program are pictured at the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration on July 22. (Photo by Tim Alexander/for Chronicle Media)

According to OSF St. Ann Garden of Hope coordinator, Mike Brooks, the garden inspires the nearby community to connect through volunteering and education while beautifying the neighborhood and, most importantly, improving residents’ health and well-being.

“We target this area because it is a food desert,” said Brooks, who also oversees a community vegetable garden near OSF’s Route 91 Peoria location that provides additional produce for St. Ann’s food distribution system. “This area has one of the highest rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease, so this is an area where we are concentrating our efforts to increase healthy food availability.”

Including the Route 91 garden plot, Brooks cultivates various strains of squashes, melons, pumpkins, gourds, peppers, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, beans, carrots, peas, greens and more for free distribution each summer. The Antoinette Street Garden has outgrown the property owned by St. Ann’s Catholic Church to spread to two adjacent lots leased to the church by the city of Peoria for the garden project free of charge, to utilize and enhance the vacant land for the benefit of the public.

“The city does not want to have to take care of this land, so I am now charged with maintaining it,” said Brooks, who himself has Master Gardener accreditation. “All of this property is technically owned by St. Ann’s, and we are here as helpers. Everyone other than myself works here as volunteers, including the kids from Dream Center who have volunteered three days this week. We’ve had volunteers from OSF, CEFCU, Budweiser, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and elsewhere. If you have volunteers or an Eagle Scout project, we’d love to have you.”

Produce distribution from OSF St. Ann’s Garden of Hope occurs on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June through October, weather permitting. For more information on becoming a Master Gardener or to contact a Master Gardener with a horticulture question, email the Peoria, Tazewell, Fulton and Mason County Extension at uiemg-peoria@illinois.edu or call your local office to have staff send in your question for you. Allow three to five days for volunteers to complete the research and response.