National 4-H Curriculum:
Down-To-Earth - Gardening in the Classroom
Gardening - Exhibit Guide
Gardening - Group Activity Helper’s Guide
Gardening A - See Them Sprout
Gardening B - Let’s Get Growing
Gardening C - Take Your Pick
Gardening D - Growing Profits

Junior Master Gardener Publications

Classroom Gardens
Through Extension’s Garden, Tools and Schools program and a variety of volunteer organizations such as Texas AgriFood Masters and Master Gardeners, many Texas schools have reaped the benefit of school horticulture programs. Expanding the traditional classroom and teaching young people about food and fiber production has been the primary goal of programs such as SALSA in Travis County and Pizza Farm in Tarrant County. For more information contact your local Master Gardener or Texas AgriFood Masters organization.

Green Brigade
Contact:
Bexar County Extension Office
bexar@ag.tamu.edu 210-467-6578
Young people interact with adult volunteers from AmeriCorps, Vista Volunteers and Master Gardener programs to beautify community parks and landscapes. Successful programs have been conducted for several years in Bexar County.

4-H Junior Master Gardener Program
Contact:
Mrs. Lisa Whittlesey, Program Coordinator
l-whittlesey@tamu.edu 979-845-8565
The JMG ® program is an innovative youth gardening project. The JMG program has curricula to support this project. Current curricula for elementary (Level 1) and middle school (Level 2) are available. Curricula can easily be adapted for use with both younger and older 4-H’ers. Level One is for children in grades 3-5, but can easily be adapted up or down. It is modeled after the highly successful Master Gardener program and offers horticultural and environmental science education, as well as leadership and life skills development through fun and creative activities. Youth can become certified Junior Master Gardeners ® by completing one individual and one group activity for each teaching concept in the eight chapters, in addition to one leadership/community service activity per chapter. If the youth does not want to go through the entire program, he or she can complete a Golden Ray Series. The youth are required to complete a combination of 12 group or individual activities from a given chapter in the Level One curriculum, complete one Life Skill/Career Exploration activity (from chapter eight), and participate in one Community Service Project. Youth also can choose to complete Golden Ray Certification by completing a Golden Ray Curriculum such as Health and Nutrition from the Garden, Wildlife Gardener, or Literature from the Garden. Youth who meet the requirements for certification in the Junior Master Gardener ® program or in a Golden Ray series receive completion certificates through the National JMG Program Office. Additional recognition pins and medals are available for purchase through the TCE Bookstore. Leaders can also use the JMG curricula to enhance current programs.

JMG Level Two (grades 6-8) - Operation Thistle: Seeds of Despair allows students to participate in novel, hands-on activities focusing on plant growth and development. JMG Level Two combines Teacher/Leader Guide and reproducible pages of independent student “handbook” activities into a single book. In addition, while independently investigating plant growth and development, middle-school youth will be engaged in an urgent mission in Operation Thistle: Seeds of Despair Defeat the Evil Dr. Thistle. Students will work as a group to complete lessons in each of the eight learning concepts, then work independently to complete the activities that are in the mission briefs and mission option pages. By completing these missions, students can help foil the twisted plans of Dr. Thistle and his menacing gang, while reinforcing concepts learned in the group setting. In the second module of the JMG Level Two curricula, Operation W.A.T.E.R.: Dr. Thistle Goes Underground, students will learn important soils and water concepts as they continue their mission to defeat Dr. Thistle.

Leaders are encouraged to register their Junior Master Gardener ® groups. Simply fill out the registration forms and send them to your local Extension office or to the JMG ® Program Office. JMG ® registration forms can be found in the JMG curricula or downloaded from the JMG SM web site at www.jmgkids.us . Registering your group is free and without obligation.

Youth who belong to a registered JMG® group and meet the requirements for JMG or Golden Ray are eligible to receive certificates through the National JMG Program Office. A completion form is available through the JMG website at www.jmgkids.us or can be found in the back of all JMG curricula. Completed forms should be returned to: JMG Program Office 225 Horticulture/Forestry Bldg. MS 2134 Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-2134 Phone: (979) 845-8565.

Please allow a minimum of two weeks for completed certificates to be sent back to your group. State level JMG awards are given annually. Categories of awards and award applications are available on the JMG website and are posted in early spring. Awards are given during the Texas Master Gardener Conference each year. The Junior Master Gardener program helps grow good kids by igniting a passion for learning, success and service through a unique gardening education.

Junior Master Gardener Specialist Training Program
Contact:
Mrs. Lisa Whittlesey, Program Coordinator
l-whittlesey@tamu.edu 979-845-8268
This program trains Master Gardeners, 4-H Volunteers and teachers to lead the JMG program in their communities. This training is an in-depth training program that consists of at least 20 hours of instruction.

Program includes overview of all curricula; how to conduct training programs; steps to implementation; leading a JMG group; and publicizing and evaluating a program. Volunteers are listed as JMG Specialists and used to assist local county programs in implementing JMG.

Horticulture Educational Presentation
Contact:
Mrs. Lisa Whittlesey, JMG Program Coordinator
l-whittlesey@tamu.edu 979-845-8268
Educational Presentation is related to any phase of horticulture. These include such things as gardening, floral arranging, lawn and yard care, etc. Peanuts, sunflowers, and cottonseeds are not horticulture crops.

Fruits and Vegetables:
1. Prepare fruit and/or vegetable baskets for needy families.
2. Involve senior citizens in fruit and vegetable projects as resource persons and helpers.
3. Prepare educational exhibits showing the importance of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
4. Operate a fruit and vegetable stand and budget a certain percent of the profit for a worthy cause.
5. Study the processes and costs of production, transportation, and marketing of locally grown fruits and vegetables. Inform 4-H’ers and other groups through talks, radio and TV programs, newspaper articles, exhibits, and other methods.
6. Prepare timely news items and radio spots on fruits and vegetables.
7. Promote vegetable and fruit production with handicapped children, low-income families, urban youth, senior citizens, and other groups.

Landscape Horticulture:
1. Initiate a yard-of-the-month campaign.
2. Care for and help beautify grassed areas at street intersections and other sections of the community.
3. Become involved in taking care of the cemetery.
4. Provide and/or plant trees, shrubs, and flowers around schools, churches, community and county buildings, and help landscape the grounds.
5. Involve senior citizens in landscape horticulture as resource persons and helpers.
6. Provide qualified 4-H members to do all phases of yard work.
7. Prepare exhibits showing well-landscaped homes, schools, office buildings, parks, etc. and place them in key locations and at expositions of different types.
8. Prepare timely news items and radio spots featuring specific topics, activities underway, and accomplishments.
9. Collaborate with other organizations in promoting beautification through landscaping.
10. Participate in the landscape horticulture demonstration contest.

Master Gardener Training

JMG Specialist Training Program

Horticulture Project Leader Position Description