What is a Secrest Master Gardener Volunteer? We are folks like you, with a passion for plants and gardening and a desire to serve our communities. Our core horticultural training and volunteer work provide us with a framework of plant knowledge, which we build on each year with additional training and volunteering. Our mission is to teach and promote research-based horticultural practices and projects in Wayne County.
Want to join us? Find information and an application at secrest.osu.edu under the Get Involved/Master Gardener tab. Applications are due by January 15, 2026, or when spaces are filled. The class is limited to 30 participants. Interviews with prospective volunteers will take place the fourth week of January or first week of February 2026. The training course will take place on Wednesdays, 9 am-3:30 pm February 25- May 6. Course work will be completed each week prior to the class. Upon completion of the training, volunteers must earn 50 hours of volunteer service by the end of the next year (19 months to complete hours) to become a Master Gardener Volunteer. Participants will have assistance in finding a volunteer role.
Entrance into the program is based on passage of a criminal background check. Cost is $175 and covers the training manual, hand lens, shirt, name badge and other supplies.
For Ohio Master Gardeners Volunteers, Secrest Arboretum is a beloved classroom where they have attended countless classes and enjoyed captivating walks through the plant collection. When the 2010 tornado hit, Master Gardener Volunteers from all parts of Ohio were among the first to respond, both with reclamation assistance and their checkbooks. What a perfect backdrop for a state Master Gardener Volunteer conference, and 2025 marked the year it came to pass. On October 9th and 10th, 247 Master Gardener Volunteers from 45 Ohio counties arrived at Secrest Arboretum to tour and socialize, and then proceeded to Shisler Conference Center to learn about the latest horticultural research, augment their diagnostic training, explore new plants, and liaise with fellow MGs from around the state.
It takes a lot of hands to manage 250 guests, 13 educational sessions (which translates to 13 speakers), two meals, tours of OSU labs, projects and the arboretum, and an evening reception. Secrest Master Gardener Volunteers were up to the job. When volunteers met for a final committee meeting a week before the conference, they found that, after fifteen months of planning and preparation, the pieces were all in place.
The national green industry, local nurseries, and Wooster businesses supported the conference with generous donations of seeds, door prizes, plants, signage, and Wooster visitor materials. Friends of Secrest Arboretum set the tone with a donation of a FSA bag to house conference materials for each attendee.
Conference day one began with guided tours on the CFAES campus. The pathology greenhouse C, Wayne Ellett Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab, United Titanium Bug Zoo, RASC research support lab, and Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering lab opened their doors and provided an inside look.
Tours of the arboretum followed, with the glorious fall day providing a perfect backdrop to Secrest’s gardens and plant displays. The day ended with a Meet-and-Greet event at the Welcome and Education Center, with local wines, olive oil tastings, and home-grown tea samples complementing a charcuterie spread.
Master Gardener Volunteers are passionate about horticulture education, and day two was filled with opportunities. Keynote speaker, Richard Hawke (Plant Evaluation Manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden), shared results and observations from his perennial nativar trials. Other sessions ranged from The Miniature World of Mosses and Lichens, to Conifers for Today’s Gardens, to The Ecology and Impacts of Jumping Worms in the Great Lakes Region, and so much more! With each presenter an expert in his or her field, the information was top-notch.
What more perfect way to end the two-day conference than to send attendees home with the gift of plants! Secrest’s signature plant, a dawn redwood, and a Proven Winners new introduction, Powerball® Hydrangea, brought smiles to the faces of departing Master Gardener Volunteers. Two packed days left them filled with new information, ideas, and rich experiences.
–Karen Edgington, Master Gardener Volunteer
