Master Gardeners help Helping Hands
Ryan Neal can’t say why there are so many Master Gardeners in Bella Vista. The Master Gardener program, Neal explained, is open to anyone — but it does seem to attract retirees. In Benton County almost a third of the Master Gardeners come from Bella Vista.
The program begins with about 40 hours of education, said Neal, who heads up the Master Gardener program for University of Arkansas. Classes are usually offered in January and February and sometimes Benton and Washington counties work together to offer courses. Some courses can be taken online. After that there are requirements to complete both educational and volunteer hours each year.
Volunteer opportunities include several Master Gardener events, including the annual plant sale and the annual garden tour. They also work at the Benton County Fair each year where they run the horticulture projects and judge both flowers and fruits and vegetables entries. Then there are events such as local farmer’s markets that feature a “ask a gardener” booth.
The Master Gardeners used to man a hotline several days a week, longtime member Geri Hoerner said. But in recent years, people are more likely to turn to Google than call a hotline. A Master Gardener will still return a call, if a resident needs help, but it may take a little longer than it used to.
For the second year the Master Gardeners are working on a big project near the Helping Hands store in Bentonville. Helping Hands raises funds through the thrift store to help low income residents and also houses a food pantry.
C.W. Doss, a Bella Vista resident and president of the Master Gardeners, saw that several raised beds near the thrift store were not planted last year, so he volunteered the group. They planted the beds with vegetables, including tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, summer squash and lettuce. There are also beds of strawberries and blueberries. Once the produce ripens it will be distributed to needy families through the food pantry, he explained. Last year, the garden provided more than 2,000 pounds of fresh produce.
Last year, watering the garden was pretty difficult, project manager Terry Weiderheft said. Volunteers would spend an hour and a half hand watering three times a week. An irrigation system was needed.
Master Gardeners solicited donations for the materials. Coldwell Banker organized a fundraiser for the project. Once the materials were purchased, labor was provided by the group so most of the raised beds are now on an automatic watering system.
There’s also a children’s garden which is an educational project. Because of schedules, the group of children working at Helping Hands are home schooled, Doss said.
Another Master Gardener project is a garden at the Sunshine School, so special needs children can also have the experience of working in the soil, Hoerner said.
Hoerner explained that the Master Gardener group has more projects outside of Bella Vista than inside city limits because Bella Vista also has a very active Garden Club. The Garden Club takes care of gardens around town, including at the Veterans Wall and the Welcome Center. There are 25 Master Gardeners in the Bella Vista Garden Club, so the two groups always work together very closely.
For 11 years the two groups have produced a show for Bella Vista Community Television together, explained Hoerner, who acts as host on the show.
Many members of the Master Gardeners get involved so they can learn more about gardening, Hoerner said. But for their own reasons, they stay involved and give back to the community through Master Gardener projects.