The information provided through volunteer service should be unbiased and research based.

Participants cannot be paid for their volunteer work but they may accept reimbursement for supplies or personal travel expenses.

Volunteer efforts should have an educational outcome. Sometimes that outcome may not be immediate but efforts should, either over the long or short term, result in an increase in horticultural knowledge in the community.

Work in public gardens such as WonderGarden, Hilltop Garden and Nature Center T.C. Steele, Wylie House etc. all count because the ultimate goals of these site is education.

Volunteer work should not occur at for-profit businesses .

You are welcome to create your own volunteer opportunities but be sure to ask the county educator if the hours you devote will count prior to investing your time.

Purdue updated some of their volunteer policies at the end of 2014. Incoming intern class members were brought into compliance with these new policies when they enrolled in the program this year. Established Master Gardeners will be asked to come into compliance with the new policies when they renew their membership. Items required include consenting to annual sex offender registry checks, confirming your identity with a government issued photo ID, agreeing to the behavioral expectations, and pest policy.

People completing the volunteer training program will have 2 years to complete their initial 40 hours of volunteer service required to become a certified Purdue Master Gardener.

Annual Requirements (January to December each year) to remain active include: 1) Volunteer for a minimum of 12 hours each year and report that activity to the Master Gardener county coordinator 2) Complete and report a minimum of six hours of educational training.

Regular reporting of hours is appreciated and helps you not lose track of the service you provide. Volunteer hours are reported every year to Purdue at the end of August. Timely reporting of hours is appreciated.

If there is a lapse in service of more than four years from the last active reporting year, the Purdue Master Gardener volunteer will be required to retake the Purdue Master Gardener Basic Training, purchase any updated Purdue Master Gardener manuals or materials, retake and pass the Purdue Master Gardener Basic Training exam with a score of 70 percent or more, submit a signed Purdue Master Gardener Volunteer Application and Agreement, provide evidence of a government-issued photo ID, and be subject to the annual sex and violent offender registry checks.

Hours can reported online.

The certification level is submitted each month on the 2nd Friday. If, when you enter your hours, you believe you should move up a certification level it is helpful if you send an email to monroeces@purdue.edu with your question.

We do not review every master gardener’s hours each month. Instead when you hit the submit button on the web-based reporting system an email is generated that lets us know you have updated your hours. If you don’t hit the submit button we don’t review the hours. Several folks have entered hours and then wondered why they haven’t been approved. Its because they’re sitting there but we don’t know they need to be reviewed.

If at any point you have any question about your status contact our office. Email is best at monroeces@purdue.edu.

If you are eligible for a new badge then we submit the order to Purdue, Purdue submits it to a vendor, completed badges are sent to Purdue and then they are sent on to our office. It can take a while to receive the badge.

Our office staff can often answer questions so feel free to ask them.