On a quiet Friday morning, tucked away in a cheery room lined with awards and horticultural specimen, Harriet Monshaw picks up a Ziploc bag filled with pine needles.
The sample, she says, was sent in by a resident who wanted to know why the needles of the tree were dropping too soon.
Monshaw identified the problem right away — a mild winter. But, when the next specimen stumps her, she and her fellow master gardeners have a lab with a compounding and dissecting microscope to use at their disposal.
The lab is part of the Master Gardener Program of Camden County, which recently took up residence at the Camden County Environmental Center, located at 1301 Park Boulevard in Cherry Hill.
The county program, a collaborative effort between the county and Rutgers University, used to call Clementon home until a few months ago. When the addition was finished on the Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified building, the county’s environmental educator, park staff and the master gardeners moved in.
The new building itself is as green as the people who call it home, with a green, low-maintenance sedum roof, a rain garden and rainwater collection tank. The wood used in the building’s construction came from a sustainable forest and 10 percent of the materials came from recycled content and 10 percent of the materials came from the region.
To say the master gardener’s new digs is a step up may be an understatement.
“It’s much nicer, it can’t compare. Our other building was around for a long time,” said Rutgers Agricultural Program Assistant Rebecca Szkotak, who oversees the program.
Szkotak has been with the program since 2007, just over a decade after the program began in 2006. Today, the program boasts 80 active master gardeners, who receive 60 hours of training in 18 months and have to become recertified each year with additional training and community service.
Master gardeners rotate through the building, answering calls and emails, updating the group’s new Facebook page, processing requests from county residents to identify samples and hosting classes and seminars.
The gardeners may even be able to help with your community or school garden.
The group is currently providing their environmental expertise at community gardens in Camden and Pennsauken. They also set up shop at the Collingswood Farmers Market and green festivals throughout the season.
Many master gardeners keep a busy schedule, balancing their love of gardening with their careers. But for many gardeners, working at the environmental center feels far from community service.
“I started over a love of plants. I left a 10-year career of social work to work toward a horticultural-therapy degree,” said Jeannette Morrisey, who’s been a master gardener since 2003. “It’s a nice group of people and we’re always learning.”
For Cherry Hill resident Eileen Meany, gardening gave her something to look forward to after retirement.
“I found out about it in a local newspaper a few years before I retired,” Meany said. “It’s interesting talking to people and finding a lot of people with similar interests as you.”
Since moving to the Cherry Hill a few months ago, Szkotak and many volunteer gardeners said they are excited about the services and classes they can provide in their new space.
The environmental center boasts a sizeable classroom, where gardeners can host clinics and classes.
Residents can also stop by the office/lab to drop off samples, ask questions and pick up soil testing kits for $20.
The gardeners are planning to host plant clinics, beginning in April, on every third Saturday of the month.
Classes will take place from 9 a.m. to noon at the environmental center.
As part of its homeowner spring series, the master gardeners are also offering a class on proper lawn care, from seed selection to fertilization, on April 3 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The cost is $25.
Checks can be made payable to Camden County Master Gardeners and mailed to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Camden County Environmental Center, 1301 Park Blvd., Cherry Hill, 08002.
For more information, you may stop in or call the helpline at 216–7130, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon. Or, send an email to njgarden@camdencounty.com or visit camden.njaes.rutgers.edu.
