Home Grown: Master Gardener class facing online learning challenges

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Schools in Yuma County are already facing the difficulties of education online. A hands-on gardening class is making some adjustments to their learning method, but that comes with some challenges.

Janine Lane is the Master Gardener Program Coordination through the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. She says the class will be taught on zoom this year to comply with social distancing.

The classes will go live once a week, beginning on September 28. They will remain in the portal for one week, allowing for more participation.

"The nice thing about this is even though we're not going to be doing in-person classes, what we'll be doing is making these classes available for people who have different schedules," Lane said.

They have reworked the class to make it as interactive as possible, even with virtual challenges. The course also has some opportunities to get out of the house with a few local field trips.

"We'll have some outdoor activities too. We'll do a tour of this garden that we're in right now, the moody garden," Lane stated. "We'll tour the Yuma Ag Center, and we'll tour the West Wetlands."

Students in the Master Gardener class will learn how to educate others on tree growth, disease diagnosis, and plant care. Once they have achieved the title of Master Gardener, they will be able to assist others with their garden.

"Now we've just tried a new service where the master gardeners are doing zoom meetings to help people figure out what's wrong with their plants. We just did that for the first time this summer."

Visit the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension to register for the Master Gardener class.