Volunteers help members of the general public with their gardening questions and problems at various locations during the growing season. Please click on the links below to sign-up:

• Bethesda Davis Library: every Saturday 10:30 am-1:30 pm.  

• Brookside Gardens: every Wednesday 10:00 am-1:00 pm, every Saturday 10:00 am-1:00 pm, and every Sunday 1:00pm-4:00pm.

• Burtonsville Praisner Library: second Tuesday of each month 10:00 am-1:00 pm, fourth Friday of each month 10:00 am-1:00 pm

• Gaithersburg Library: every Saturday 12:00 pm-2:00 pm.

• Germantown Library: every Wednesday 6:00pm-7:30pm.

• Kensington Farmers Market: on the second and fourth Saturday of each month 9:00am-1:00pm.

• Kentland's Farmers Market: on the first Saturday of each month 9:00am-1:00pm.

• Olney Farmers Market: on the first Sunday of each month 9:00am-1:00pm.

• Quince Orchard Library: every Saturday 10:00 am-1:00 pm.

• Twinbrook Library (Rockville): on the first and third Saturday of each month 10:00 am-1:00 pm.

• Wheaton Library: every Thursday 1:00 pm-4:00pm.

Pease contact the Plant Clinic Coordinator if you have any questions regarding a specific plant clinic location. Coordinators' email addresses may be found in VMS.

Committee Co-Chairs: Irfana Ali & Ann Claxton

At the invitation of various community groups within Montgomery County, MCMG volunteers support community event leaders on topics of interest and create awareness about our organization.

Please check this webpage regularly for future volunteer opportunities.

Committee Chair: Vacant

Volunteers demonstrate various Urban Gardening techniques on the first Saturday of the month from April to November at Fresh Farm Market in Silver Spring. Urban Gardening activities attract both adults and children - on average 100 to 150 people - who stop by to learn about gardening.  Many of our visitors leave with a free give away item - like bulbs to plant, a houseplant to care for, herbs or micro-greens to grow, or a hanging pot for a plant.  You can sign-up for Urban Gardening Activities here. 

Committee Co-Chairs: Ann Claxton & Lana Shea

Volunteers staff the Virtual Email and Phone Hotline or volunteer at the Ballard Room, located in Derwood, MD.  Volunteers research the answers to questions received via phone, email, and diagnose samples that are dropped off at our location in Derwood, MD.  Please get in touch with Steve Dubik if you are interested in learning more.

The USDA defines gleaning as collecting farm crops left in fields that have been mechanically harvested, or from fields that wouldn't be profitable to harvest. Working with Manna Food Center, Community Food Rescue (CFR), HarvestShare and other organizations dedicated to reducing food insecurity in the county, Montgomery County Master Gardeners harvest thousands of pounds of otherwise unwanted fruit and vegetables each year and help distribute it to local “agencies that serve people who may not know where their next meal will come from.”

During the spring, summer and  fall growing seasons, these organizations find gleaning opportunities with local farms and gardens and coordinate the demand from nonprofits and charitable organizations that provide this nutritious food to those in need, reaching out MCMG's to harvest and deliver the bounty to the selected non-profit or charitable organization.

Volunteer Opportunities

Please click through to view available opportunities and volunteer for Seed Starting tasks.  Please check this webpage regularly for future volunteer opportunities for food rescue/gleaning at Pope Farm.

Committee Chair: Robin Kogelnik & Cat Khan

The goal of Therapeutic Horticulture (TH) is to bring hands-on experience in the garden or with nature to an audience of special needs/elderly County residents who are either no longer able to be outside gardening or need assistance to do so. Through projects incorporating plants, flowers, vegetables, and herbs, we hope to invigorate their senses, promote their awareness of the natural world, and foster creativity and socialization.

Planning & Creating an Accessible Raised Garden in Rockville

TH is looking for help with planning and creating an accessible, mostly flower filled, Therapeutic Garden at St. Raphael’s assisted living in Rockville. Specifically, we have two needs:

• We are looking for another master gardener who is a willing to share in the organizational aspects of shepherding this project to co-lead the work with MG Dorothy Hsiao.  

• We are grateful that the TH Derwood Garden leads, have committed to helping with the actual physical job of developing and bringing this garden to fruition, but more "boots on the ground help" is needed to support and execute this project.

So, whether you want to take on the role working with Dorothy to plan and lead this project or if you have experience and interest in any aspects of the job of building an accessible garden, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Master Gardeners, Lisa Diamond or Dorothy Hsiao (contact details available in VMS), for more information and to express your interest.

Other Volunteer Opportunities

​To learn more details about the overall Therapeutic Horticulture program, including: 

• A detailed overview of the TH program;

• TH volunteer FAQ;

• TH Meetings & Workshops;

• How to Visit or Volunteer in a Therapeutic Horticulture Program; and

• Location and Schedule listing of all TH Programs,

please click through to our program page and review the relevant section. 

Committee Co-Chairs: Wendy Band, Lisa Diamond & Paula Brooks

Montgomery County Master Gardeners host several Youth Gardening volunteer opportunities within our Hands On Education Program to teach nutrition, garden with the children and send harvested food home with them.  You can sign-up to volunteer at the White Oak Youth Garden here. 

Committee Chair: Sue Kuklewicz & Emma Brennan

Master Gardeners maintain demonstration gardens at six locations in the county showcasing examples of what Montgomery County residents can do in their own yards: Derwood Agricultural History Farm Park, Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds, National Library of Medicine Herb Garden at National Institutes of Health, Woodend Sanctuary’s Learning Garden at Audubon Naturalist Society, USO Warrior and Family Center at Walter Reed National Military Center, and Beall-Dawson 19th Century Medicinal Garden. You can learn more about each Demo Garden by reading the detailed descriptions elswhere on this website.  To volunteer at a Demo Garden, please contact the relevant co-chair.  Contact details can be found on VMS.

Nature Forward Woodend Learning Garden - Committee Co-Chairs: Janet Owens & Joy Adler

Volunteer opportunities exist on Thursday mornings and Friday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. between April and November at the Master Gardener demo gardens located at the Nature Forward Woodend Learning Garden in Chevy Chase, MD. Specifically:

• Master Gardeners collaborate with Nature Forward to cultivate and maintain the Learning Garden that consists of 5-6 raised garden beds, an orchard, and hugelkultur beds. MG volunteers also assist in the child-centered garden activities that are conducted during the camp sessions.  

• MGs also have the opportunity to learn about and tend the Blair Garden, a native plant area adjacent to the Woodend Mansion.

Each year, Woodend Demo Garden participants hold several open houses for the public.  These showcase sustainable urban food gardening and demonstrate the benefits of adding native plants to our landscapes.

Note: Unless approved by the MCMG Coordinator, MCMG volunteer service hours will only be awarded at these two garden areas. 

Beall-Dawson House Naturalist Society Demo Garden - Committee Chair: Betty Cichy

Although the Dr. Stonestreet Medicinal Garden, located behind the Beall Dawson House in Historical Rockville, is not the largest demonstration garden, it is certainly one of the sweetest. Prior to the Spring, many of the annuals are propagated from seed to be transplanted at the proper time. The Master Gardeners meet weekly Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. during the growing season to weed and control all of the plantings. Master Gardener volunteers also maintain the foundation plantings in front of Dr. Stonestreet’s office which had been relocated next to the Beall-Dawson House.

Derwood Demo Garden - Committee Co-Chairs: Mary Jo Eagen & Susan Kirby

Volunteers work in the Garden which is located at the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park every Tuesday (Main Garden) and Thursday (Shade Garden) from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., March 17 through November 8.

The "Grow It Eat It" event in May and the "Harvest Festival" in October also provide Master Gardeners with opportunities to volunteer.  Please look for details on "Grow It Eat It" and the "Harvest Festival" in the Major Events section of this page.

Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds - Committee Chair: Pamela Bates

Although the County Fair is the high point of the gardening year, the Master Gardener team works throughout the year planning, planting and maintaining the garden to make an attraction for people attending the many other events held at the Fairgrounds.  This includes creating designs for building on and expanding the beds, adding annual flowering and perennial plants, shrubs, small trees, and mulching. 

To sign up to volunteer during the annual MoCo Agricultural Fair, please scroll down this page to the Major Education Events section and click into The Fair for more details and the volunteer sign up link.

National Institute of Health - Committee Chairs: Sandy Occhipinti 

Montgomery County Master Gardeners volunteer at the National Library of Medicine Herb Garden at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, MD. Since this is a demonstration garden of medicinal herbs, we do our best to label plants with their historic medicinal uses.  As Master Gardeners, we educate visitors about herbs, their uses, medical history, and gardening practices. The garden is enjoyed daily by NIH staff, patients and NLM visitors. We have an annual Take Your Children to Work Day, where we engage with kids of all ages; planting seeds, hunting for insects, and other creative activities. We also host an Open House for Master Gardeners, NIH staff, and the general public. As we teach we also learn.  Some of our visitors have been known to contribute plants and even food prepared with herbs from their culture. 

The NIH campus is currently closed to non-essential workers due to COVID. So, unfortunately, Master Gardeners have not worked in the garden since the 2019 growing season. 

USO Garden - Committee Co-Chairs: Michaela Barnes, Edith Boehler, and Yumiko Miura

Master gardeners volunteer at the USO Warrior and Family Center on the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center campus in Bethesda which hosts educational and recreational events for active duty military and their families. The garden surrounding the center, completed in 2014, is designed as a healing garden where service members can relax and rehabilitate. Our program is working to broaden our activities to include special events in the garden for service members and their families.

Master Gardeners make presentations that educate county residents about safe, effective, and sustainable horticultural practices to build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities.  New Committee members are encouraged to review and become familiar with the Speakers Bureau General Interest information.

Virtual Volunteer Opportunities

The Speakers Bureau is looking to expand two sub-committees, the Data committee chaired by Allen Perper and the Scheduler's sub-committee chaired by Theresa Lopez.  The Speakers Bureau roster is growing and the talks are increasing each week so we can better serve the community. These positions are all remote. Training is provided. It is a great way to earn volunteer hours for MG who enjoy detail oriented work supporting our program. Please contact Cynthia Langstaff (email details are available in VMS) for more details.

Speaker Resources & Information

• August 8, 2022 Speakers Bureau Meeting: Meeting Replay; Meeting Agenda, and Final Meeting Slides

• Presentation Templates for all Speakers

The projector sign-out sheet, templates, and other information useful to speakers are available in the "For Speakers/General Information" tab of the Speakers Bureau Google Drive.  Contact Speakers Bureau Co-Chairs for access (details are available via the VMS Directory).

Committee Chair: Cynthia Langstaff & Deborah Kleinberg

At this annual event, Master Gardeners provide education on gardening topics to members of the general public. Speaker and facilitator opportunities are available.  You can learn more about this event and schedule on the Major Education Events page.

Committee Co-Chair: TBD

During the annual Montgomery County Agricultural Fair in August, Master Gardeners meet with the more than 3,000 visitors who visit the Fairgrounds Demo Garden during the nine-day event. Volunteers answer visitors’ questions about the many annuals, perennials, shrubs and trees in the garden, and provide advice on visitors’ own gardening issues.

The 2024 MoCo Agricultural Fair begins Friday, August 9 and ends Saturday, August 17. All MCMGers are welcome to sign up for a 4 hour volunteer shift.   If you are an intern or have never worked the fair before please append an ‘i’ to your name so can make sure you’re paired up with someone who has worked the fair before. For more information, please check GroupsIO.

In the months leading up to the Fair each August, the garden is maintained by the Fairgrounds Demo Garden Committee, a small but dedicated group of about a dozen Master Gardeners.  For more information and to learn how to get involved throughout the year, please scroll up to the 'Demonstration Garden' section of this webpage and click into the Fairgrounds.

Committee Chair: Pam Bates

Welcome spring on the farm and volunteer to support a day of children's educational programming for grades K-12, including live demonstrations and take-home activities.  Programs will cover a variety of topics, from growing seasonal plants to sustainable food systems in the county. In addition, there will be activities designed specifically to fulfill Girl Scout and Boy Scout badge requirements.  All programs will be held at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood.

For more details and to register your interest, please click the link to view Event Management volunteer opportunities and Children's Program volunteer opportunities.  

Committee Co-Chairs: Terri Valenti & Pat Mucci

The annual Fall Harvest Festival, co-sponsored by the Master Gardeners, is planned for Saturday October 7, 2023.  The Harvest Festival is open to the public and provides an educational and recreational celebration of Maryland’s rich agricultural heritage.  Master Gardener activities include children's garden-related games, tussie mussie workshop, tours of the demonstration garden, and a plant clinic.  The Fall Harvest Festival is held at the Agricultural History Farm Park located at 18400 Muncaster Road, Derwood, MD 20855.  To volunteer, please click this link.

Committee Co-Chairs: Taffy Turner & Mike Welsh

Overview

Many young people today are unaware of the benefits agriculture provides and of their responsibility to be good stewards of the land.  Close Encounters with Agriculture ("CEWA") provides a rare opportunity for these students to enjoy a hands-on learning experience, which can really have an impact on their lives. The children go home and teach their parents about the things they learned, increasing the benefits of the program even further.  The program has three areas:  

1. the Environmental track, which includes Soils, Aquatics, Wildlife Habitat, Watershed Conservation;

2. the Nutrition track, which encourages healthy eating, including "what part of a plant we eat"; and,

3. Production Agriculture, featuring sessions on dairy, goats, horses & corn and learning where our food comes from. 

Master Gardeners provide assistance for this major annual event which is held at the Agricultural History Farm Park.  You can learn more about the history of this event and schedule on the Major Education Events page.

Sign Up Now to Get Involved

ALL Master Gardeners, seasoned and brand new, are welcome to join and participate in Close Encounters with Agriculture. We will team you with someone experienced—it’s a great way to share your MG knowledge and help educate our MoCo 4th graders! 

The following sessions are available for volunteer sign up – click on the link to sign up and PLEASE only sign up for one event per day as you can’t be in more than one place at a time – thank you:

October 4 - Goody Bag Stuffing:  volunteersignup.org/7XQEQ

October 9 - Set Up Day: volunteersignup.org/93KTC

Week 1 - October 10, 11, 12, 13: volunteersignup.org/RA3LR

Week 2 - October 16, 17, 18, 19: volunteersignup.org/CDBJE

Week 3 - October 23, 24, 25: volunteersignup.org/LJ8TK

Week 4 - October 30, Nov 2, 3: volunteersignup.org/T3BWR

Description of Available Volunteer Activities: 

• • • Goody Bag Stuffing: Each child gets a bag filled with coloring books, fun erasers, and other goodies. Volunteers assemble the bags from items set up on tables. Assembly begins at 9:30 am in the multipurpose room and concludes with a pizza thank-you lunch. (Two to three service hours.)

    • Desserts: Two volunteers bring homemade desserts for the lunch served to the volunteers after the students depart. Please sign up only if you are also volunteering at an activity station that day. (One service hour for homemade goods a day.)

    • Vegan Dish to Share: Drop off a dish for the lunch buffet for volunteers after the students depart. As with dessert, please sign up only if you are also volunteering at an activity station that day. (One service hour for homemade goods a day.)

    • Desk/phone help: One volunteer sits at the front desk, answers the phone, and relays messages.

    • Upstairs logistics: Two volunteers help unload students from buses when they arrive, direct them to their areas, and help get their lunches to the right spot. Meet in the Lobby. 

    • Downstairs logistics: One volunteer to help with volunteer logistics, especially on days when Robin and Judy can’t be there.

    • Barn: Two volunteers help with relay races as event judges and in organizing the students. Meet in the barn.

    • Plant: Two volunteers cover lessons on “What Parts of a Plant Do We Eat?” and relevant food guidelines. Meet on the deck across from the multipurpose room.

    • Nutrition: Two volunteers teach a lesson on grains and assist with the Nutrition Bowl Game. Meet in the multipurpose room.

    • Shepherd: Four volunteers escort students between the Environmental stations (Who Polluted the Potomac?, Habitat Game, Soil & Stream Buffer/Rain Simulator, and Stream Life). Shepherds also keep time for each station.

    • Lead Shepherd Trainee: One volunteer to learn the tasks involved in training and shepherding the shepherds.

    • Floater: One volunteer who can pitch in where needed that day.

    • Back Up Experienced Close Encounters MG (will be contacted day of): an experienced CEWA presenter who can be on call in case of some unforeseen absence.

    • Who Polluted the Potomac? Two volunteers lead the hands-on demo, helping the students determine who polluted the Potomac.

    • Soil: This station shares a time slot with Stream Buffer/ Rain Simulator. The students learn about Maryland soils and the importance of soil, and then move on to the next station and discusses methods to preserve soil and keep streams clean.

    • Stream Buffer/Rain Simulator: Two volunteers demonstrate the stream buffer model and make it rain.

    • Habitat Relay: A chance for the students to run and discover the resource needs of wild animals who live in farm buffers.

    • Stream Insects: Four volunteers show students insects that live part of their lives in the water and tell us about stream water quality.

    • Canister filling: This position is good for anyone who needs extra hours. Many slots happen after 12:30pm, but some are for days the students aren’t on the farm. Please pay attention to the timing when you sign up. (Sign ups for this to come.)

You will be able to sign up for multiple days for Close Encounters Volunteer sessions and you can sign up for food assignments as well.  Please only sign up for one slot each day. We have learned you can’t be in more than one place at a time!  A few tips:

• This volunteer opportunity takes place at the Agricultural Farm at Derwood, 18400 Muncaster Rd, Derwood, MD;

• Goody Bag Stuffing is only on October 4.  There are only a few limited slots for Set Up on October 9;

• The sign up links are also included in GroupIO Gardeners Connected, in the most recent issue of The Seed newsletter; and,

• If you need to change or cancel a slot, you need to contact Judy Rosenthal with the date and the name of the section that you need to cancel.  Judy's contact details are available via the VMS directory.

• You can find scripts for each area and more info by scrolling below.

Please Join Us!  Sign up early & often!  Stay after the students leave and join us for Lunch!

What to Expect

• Parking is plentiful in the large parking lot! Check-in is at 9:30 am. Be sure to get there early to leave plenty of time to park, sign in, and get to your station. You’ll have time to meet the other MGs and the wonderful Extension staff & volunteers!

• After the school buses leave, we clean up a little and enjoy lunch together, with desserts provided by MG Volunteers! Don’t miss it!

All teaching positions for each area have a script and a mentor (an experienced presenter). You can find each script by scrolling further down on this page.  Each lesson is about 10 minutes, and you will never be expected to teach alone. There will be an experienced person/at each station who you can observe and learn from until you are ready to give it a go. Please arrive on time, dress for the weather (many stations are outside), and stay for lunch sponsored by Extension volunteers and MGs, after the children leave at around 1:15 pm. The students have a break for lunch from 12-12:30 pm which is also time for volunteers to have a break & a snack. 

Except for Goody Bag Assembly and Desserts, volunteers earn four service hours for each day they participate.

CEWA Scripts

The CEWA Committee Co-Chairs have prepared scripts for volunteers to use during the event.  Click the links below to access the scripts: 

CEWA Overview

• Overview of the CEWA Program

Upstairs Logistics

• Upstairs Logistics

Barn

• CEWA Barn relay set-up

• CEWA Ag Products

• CEWA Beef script

• CEWA Dairy Script

• CEWA Goats script

• CEWA Horse script

Environment

• CEWA Habitat

• CEWA Potomac

• CEWA Shepherd

• CEWA Soil

• CEWA Stream Buffer

• CEWA Stream Life

Goody Bags

• Goody Bags

Nutrition

• Grain

• Kernel Handout

Plant

• Parts of the Plant

Committee Co-Chairs: Mark Traversa & Claudio Silva

Host MGs can volunteer to invite other MGs visit their gardens as a teaching opportunity for the hosts and a learning opportunity for the attendees. The day and time of the Open Garden are decided by each host, and from experience, weekday mornings are typically the most popular, being relatively free of traffic issues.  Hosts are asked to provide a brief description of their garden for inclusion on the invitation, as well as a plant list with Latin and common names to be available if visitors ask. Refreshments are optional. For more details, please review the Open Gardens webpage. 

Available Volunteer Service Hours

Hosts may log up to 3 volunteer service hours for preparation, compiling plant lists, etc in VMS. Mulching, weeding and general garden maintenance cannot be counted for service hours.  

For more information contact: Taffy Turner.  You can find Taffy's contact details by logging into VMS and searching the directory.

Membership Meeting - Location Setup & Take Down

Please check the Monthly Meetings & Events page and Groups.IO to confirm the location of upcoming meetings and events and learn more about volunteer opportunities that are available.