Hipness for Master Gardeners

Plant Amnesty, we agreed, gets good press because they approach their mission with humor, activism, and flair.  The urban farming groups are getting press because the issue is timely and somehow became cool at about the time Wally Prestbo was starting tomato seeds for the plant sale.  Our work is so much more diffuse that it can seem difficult to explain.  We agreed, though, the best part of our outreach is that we make ourselves available to talk to anyone on any topic at whatever level they approach us.  At my clinic shift we discussed fruit trees with one couple, winter blooming shrubs with another, lawns with a 13 year old boy and his dad, blister mites with another woman.  That isn’t a single day’s outreach for any of the groups we felt are better known than we are, and it’s just a portion of the day for us.  I wonder:  How much food have we donated to area food banks or social service programs over the years?  How many people have we talked to about how many topics?  I suspect we’d be shocked to know, just like many of us are surprised to learn about new MG gardens, or new clinic sites, or new ideas we’re trying around the county.

Let’s keep talking with our friends about what we love:  gardening.  Let’s keep talking to other MGs about the work we’re doing.  Let’s keep talking to the public.  There we were today, and here we are all around King County, doing what we’ve been doing for decades, working hard to reach out to more people all the time.  I don’t know why we aren’t hip, but I don’t really care.  I’m happy to be the grandparents of all these young, cool groups.  We’ll see who’s around in years to come.  In the mean time, whether we’re specialized or generalists, there’s work for us all.

by Sam Mitchell
MGFKC Board President