Inside the New WSU Green School with Jennifer Marquis

In this episode of The Evergreen Thumb, Jennifer Marquis joins host Erin Hoover to introduce listeners to the Washington State University Extension Green School.

The topics they cover are:

• What the WSU Green School program is
• The two Green School tracks
• Key components of the program
• The length of the program
• Topics covered in WSU Green School
• Who might want to earn the certificate
• Switching tracks during the program
• Course structure
• Community involvement for Master Gardener trainees
• Prerequisites for enrollment
• Resources for students
• Cost
• A reminder to sign up
  

• Washington State University Extension Green School
• Expectations of WSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers
• Find Your County

Erin Hoover: Welcome to The Evergreen Thumb, your go-to podcast for up-to-date research-based horticulture and environmental stewardship knowledge to help you grow and manage your garden. Produced by Washington State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteers and brought to you by the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.

[00:00:16] I’m your host, Erin Hoover, a WSU Extension Master Gardener since 2015 and a certified permaculture designer and modern homesteader.

WSU Master Gardener volunteers are university-trained community educators who have been cultivating plants, people, and communities since 1973. Are you ready to grow? Let’s dig into today’s episode.

Welcome to The Evergreen Thumb, episode 49.

Guest Introduction

My guest today is Jennifer Marquis, and Jennifer is the WSU Master Gardener State Program Leader. She’s been with Extension for 18 years, and she enjoys leading, collaborating with, and empowering volunteers to accomplish program goals and objectives. Working with the WSU Master Gardener Program fulfills her passion for people and natural resources.

[00:01:07] Erin Hoover: Jennifer is here today to introduce us to the Washington State University Extension Green School. Jennifer, thanks for joining me today. Welcome back to the show.

[00:01:17] Jennifer Marquis: Sure. Thanks for inviting me, Erin. This is gonna be great.

[00:01:20] Erin Hoover: You’re gonna talk to us about the Washington Green School. So let’s start off by talking about what the Green School is.

What is Green School?

[00:01:29] Jennifer Marquis: Sure. It’s actually called the Washington State University Extension Green School. So it is a part of WSU, a part of WSU Extension, and we’re calling it Green School for short because all that other stuff is a big mouthful. So, Green School is a two-track online learning program for people who want to become WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

And for people who want to learn about research-based horticulture, environmental stewardship information, to improve their own gardening experience. I’m gonna start from the beginning, actually. So, like 50 years ago, the WSU Extension started the Master Gardener Program right here in Washington State.

And the Master Gardener Program offered research-based horticulture information, and then, uh, people who took that course became WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers, and those volunteers would in turn give back to their communities by teaching what they learned from WSU about horticulture to the general community.

What Are the Two WSU Green School Tracks?

Green School is a natural evolution for our curriculum and for our uh offerings at WSU, and it’s making our research-based gardening education available to anybody who wants it. So Green School will be, you know, used to train WSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, but it will also be used for people who want to learn horticulture.

And those people are what we are calling Washington Gardener Certificate earners. So the Washington Gardener Certificate are people who registered for Green School and complete the course and earn a certificate. No commitment to volunteer. The other track is the Extension Master Gardener volunteer track, and that track is for Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

[00:04:05] So learners who choose the Extension Master Gardener track earn the Washington Gardener Certificate through Green School and get to attend local volunteer training where they learn about what it means to be a volunteer in the county where they live. So Extension Master Gardener track learners will engage in in-person, hands-on learning activities such as, uh, plant dissection labs, soil science labs, and field trips.

[00:04:42] Mock plant clinics and much, much more. The Extension Master Gardener track, those folks must apply to become a master gardener before they register for Green School through their local county. And then, if accepted, they will register for Green School, complete Green School, complete the local volunteer training, and earn their WSU Extension Master Gardener certification.

[00:05:12] Once they’re there, they’ll begin, uh, volunteering in the community, giving back at events like plant clinics uh, demonstration gardens, plant sales, doing community presentations, participating in youth workshops, school gardens, and more.

Key Components of the WSU Green School Program

[00:05:35] Erin Hoover: So, what are some of the key components of the Washington Green School program?

[00:05:42] Jennifer Marquis: Oh yeah. Well, there’s lots of them, but I’d say the best thing about Green School is that it provides, uh, flexibility for learners. You know, we all live in a very busy time, and we have access to all kinds of great technologies so that we can fit in our learning when it works for us.

[00:06:03] So Green School is a fully online and accessible platform that learners can use to, uh, you know, enhance their gardening skills and complete the course during the times of day and week and really months that work for them. So there are live sessions, uh, with WSU subject matter experts on topics like, uh, botany, plant pathology, soils, those are held via Zoom.

[00:06:37] So learners can tune in from, you know, from their own homes and listen over Zoom. And the perks of these really are that, you know, direct access to WSU subject matter experts, and we’re hosting two of these sessions a week during the Green School training, uh, season. And they’ll basically be the same offering on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7:30, and then again on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 10:30. Those two sessions will be delivered live over Zoom, but they’ll also be recorded.

[00:07:24] So if you can’t attend that 6:30 P.M. or that 9:30 A.M. because something came up or because it just doesn’t work for you, they’ll be recorded, and you can watch that recording at a time that works for the learner. So again, back to that flexibility, right? So learners can get what they need out of the course, what they want out of the course, uh, in a time that works for them.

How Long Is the Program and What Topics Will It Include?

[00:07:52] Erin Hoover: How long is the training, and what does it cover?

[00:07:56] Jennifer Marquis: The estimated hours that it will take to complete is 120 hours. Um, we launch in October, and it goes through, uh, February. It’s a three-week on, one week off rotation, and each week, Green School learners will complete modules in the course space, attend those, uh, live reviews, and the live sessions with the subject matter experts if they want to.

[00:08:27] And so as a, like I said, three week on, uh, one week off rotation, that one week off allows time for catch up because we’re covering a 28 chapter manual or textbook called The Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Handbook: Growing for the Future and each week we’re covering two chapters. And those two chapters will, inside the learning module, also include interactive activities, uh, to help you learn the content.

[00:09:04] So the subjects are things that, you know, all gardeners need to know, and horticulture professionals. So, Botany and plant identification, soil science and improvement, including composting and plant nutrition, Entomology and vertebrate pest management, uh, you know, strategies for, uh, defending against those pesky moles and voles or the insects that are eating your beloved plants.

[00:09:35] Uh, we also cover Integrated Pest Management, or we call it IPM, and understanding pesticides. Uh, we cover plant pathology and plant problem diagnosis. These two are all about solving those landscaping problems that cause us all grief. There are chapters that are all about flowers, pollinators, and pollination that we will cover.

[00:10:04] We’ll move into those landscape workhorses that we, uh, that we all love, trees and woody landscape plants. Uh, we’ll also get into growing vegetables and fruit, including berries and small fruits, and the incredible tree fruits; apples, peaches, pears, plums, et cetera. We also cover lawns and, uh, waterwise landscaping.

[00:10:31] We provide lessons on climate change and strategies for maintaining a resilient yard and, um, protecting one’s home and community from, uh, the risk of loss due to wildfire. There are also optional chapters if learners want to keep going.

Um, to learn more in depth about, uh, backyard forest stewardship. House plants, a whole chapter on house plants, and a whole chapter on greenhouse design and management.

So, as you can see that the course is very comprehensive and has something for everyone, I would think.

Who Might Want to Earn the Washington Gardener Certificate?

[00:11:16] Erin Hoover: Obviously, if someone wants to become a Master Gardener volunteer, this is the way to go. Um, who, what, who else might be interested in like the Washington Gardener certificate?

[00:11:26] Jennifer Marquis: It’s really anyone interested in learning about horticulture and environmental stewardship. So the curriculum is, uh, Pacific Northwest centric, but the core tenets, uh, subjects like botany, plant ID, soil science, and Entomology apply across the horticultural field no matter where you’re at.

So, not just individuals, though, right?

[00:11:52] So we could also have employees from municipalities, uh, Green School industry professionals, nursery and landscape professionals, who could benefit from the research-based information provided. Uh, parks and recreation department, employees, vegetation management, employee professionals could also benefit, really learning about that evidence-based pruning, uh for woody landscape plants, uh, lawn and care, and soil health.

[00:12:22] So it’s really open to, to any and all who are, who want to learn more or need to learn more because of their career.

Can Learners Switch Between Tracks during the Green School Program?

[00:12:32] Erin Hoover: So, if a learner would want to switch tracks partway through the program, is that possible? If they decide they want to become a volunteer or they don’t want to become a volunteer, how does that work?

[00:12:45] Jennifer Marquis: Yeah, it’s possible to an extent, but it’s not as easy as just switching tracks, right? If a Washington Gardener track learner, uh, later decides that they want to become an Extension Master Gardener volunteer uh, they can do so, but they first have to apply to that local program.

Um, WSU has policies around, you know, volunteers applying to our programs, and we want to make sure that people really understand what it means to volunteer.

[00:13:15] We ask for people to apply and give us an opportunity to meet with the applicant to help them get to know them some but also give that person information about what the volunteer program is really all about. Make sure that it’s something that that person really wants to do, so they would need to apply and then engage in that in-person local volunteer training where they learn what it means to be a volunteer in that specific county.

[00:13:39] If, on the other hand, an Extension Master Gardener track learner decides that afterward, that, “oh my gosh, this is too much. Um, I didn’t realize really what I was getting myself into I don’t have the, the time to commit to the volunteering”.

[00:14:01] Or, you know, for some extenuating circumstance, they have to back out. We understand that. It’s important, uh, for WSU to work with our volunteers and help them understand that WSU is investing a lot into our volunteers, into the training, so that they’ll serve in the community.

[00:14:31] So, if a person, for whatever reason, can no longer serve, WSU will invoice them for the difference in cost between the Washington Gardener Certificate and the Extension Master Gardener certification on a prorated basis relative to the number of volunteer hours remaining in that person’s commitment.

WSU Green School Course Structures

[00:14:53] Erin Hoover: How are the courses structured? I mean, you talked about this a little bit, but to accommodate the diverse learning preferences and schedules.

[00:15:02] Jennifer Marquis: When we started on this path of updating the Master Gardener curriculum, a major goal was ensuring accessibility for all learners, and so I think the best thing about Green School is that it provides flexibility for learners.

Learners can take it when they can. It’s fully online. Um, there are live sessions, right? We talked about that. But in addition, the course will be accessible for people who are sight and hearing impaired, which is new and very exciting for us.

[00:15:45] Building it in such a way that screen readers will be able to support a person who is sight impaired, and then for somebody who might be hearing impaired, all of our verbal recordings will have full captioning and transcripts.

Green School Community Involvement for Master Gardener Trainees

[00:16:12] Erin Hoover: For the Master Gardener trainee track, how does the Green School facilitate community involvement for those trainees?

[00:16:19] Jennifer Marquis: Extension Master Gardeners, that track, you know, they’ll complete Green School and engage in local counties and communities side by side with certified WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers to teach that research-based gardening and environmental stewardship education.

WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers teach individuals and communities through demonstration gardens, uh, community food bank gardens in our answer clinics. Which is where, you know, anybody can go and ask a master gardener about what’s going on with their plants and landscapes.

[00:16:56] Master gardener volunteers teach in schools and school gardens. We have, uh, speakers bureaus and speak at the request of, uh, like Kiwanis and Rotary and any other group that invites us to speak, uh, on a particular topic.

[00:17:30] So the Extension Master Gardeners who go through Green School, um, will be given the opportunity to get as involved as they want to and in the community to empower and sustain diverse communities with relevant, unbiased, research-based horticulture and environmental stewardship education that addresses nine important societal issues that Washingtonians are facing.

[00:18:02] Things like, uh, food insecurity, uh, you know, decline of pollinators, climate change, and water conservation.

Prerequisites for WSU Green School Enrollment

[00:18:12] Erin Hoover: So, are there any prerequisites or prior experience required for enrollment?

[00:18:19] Jennifer Marquis: Good question. No. There are not like course prerequisites. Anybody, even if you have never gardened in your life, and you want to learn about gardening, this is the place to start.

[00:18:33] You will get unbiased, research-based information to improve your gardening experience. So, no prerequisites at all. However, all learners will need reliable internet, a computer, and the computer skills needed to be successful. Um, there’s also a list of considerations that we have available on our, um, Green School website.

[00:19:03] That and our Master Gardener website to help people who are interested in that Extension Master Gardener volunteer track, um, make a sound decision for themselves on whether or not becoming an Extension Master Gardener is right for them. Some of those things are, you know, you must be 18, you have to be 18 years old to become an Extension Master Gardener.

[00:19:30] Uh, understanding that there’s an application process and a background check process. Then, understanding that there is a commitment to do the additional local volunteer training that’s in person and scheduled. It limits the flexibility that Green School offers. Uh, but other than that, you know, you don’t have to have any gardening experience.

You just have a desire to learn.

Resources for Students

[00:19:59] Erin Hoover: So, what resources and support systems are in place for students during and after their training?

[00:20:06] Jennifer Marquis: So it depends on the learner track, right? So, all Washington Green School learners will all have access to the online course for an entire year. So from the time they register, they’ll have access to the course for an entire year.

[00:20:22] All the recordings, even the live review sessions, will be recorded and put into the course. All learners will have the textbook Pacific Northwest Gardener’s Handbook: Growing for the Future. It’s a brand-new textbook that’s included with the price of Washington Green School and can be downloaded from Green School, uh, for years of future use. So the person will have access to that, uh, forever.

[00:20:47] All learners will have access to the WSU subject matter experts during the course. So let’s say you have a question based on a topic that is unclear to you. Uh, you’ll be given emails, and you’ll be able to connect with that subject matter expert to get your, uh, questions answered.

[00:21:16] There will be tech support available, uh, during the Green School course, uh, there’ll be Q&As, written Q&As available that we’ll post. So you can see all the questions and all the answers that came out of the Q&A, and then Washington, um, WSU Extension Master Gardener learners, you know, they’ll have access to all of the stuff I just mentioned.

[00:21:41] And they’ll receive the ongoing benefits after course completion of continuing education offerings from Washington State University. Um, involvement in a community of like-minded people.

Opportunities to learn new skills, uh, public speaking, for instance. And I often hear from, uh, certified Master Gardener volunteers that when they join the program, they have a renewed sense of purpose and, um, really enjoy that lifelong learning that comes with being involved with the Extension Master Gardener Program.

[00:22:23] Erin Hoover: I can attest to that, too.

How Much Does Green School Cost?

[00:22:27] Erin Hoover: So I’m sure everybody’s thinking now is what does it cost, and how do I apply or register, right?

[00:22:36] Jennifer Marquis: So the cost depends on which track you choose. The Washington Gardener Certificate Track, the non-volunteer track, is $550, and registration opens on August 15^th, 2025, and will remain open through September 30th.

[00:22:56] Learners interested in the Washington Gardener certificate track will be able to directly register for the course anytime by going to our website, the Green School website, between August 15^th and September 30^th, you’ll be able to click the button and pay.

Learners interested in the WSU Extension Master Gardener Track must first apply to their local county and be accepted into the program before they can register for Green School.

[00:23:30] So application periods will vary by county, but generally speaking, the application period for becoming an Extension Master Gardener volunteer will open on July 1^st and will remain open until August 30^th.

I want to reiterate that it’s important that learners interested in becoming WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers check with their local county extension office for specific information about when the application period opens and closes in your county.

[00:24:09] The cost for becoming an Extension Master Gardener volunteer is $275. It’s less because Extension Master Gardener volunteers give back their time to Washington State University and serve in their local communities, teaching research-based gardening and environmental stewardship education.

[00:24:33] Erin Hoover: We’ll have links to both the WSU Green School and to the list of county programs, so that you can get in touch with your county if you’re interested in participating.

Final Notes About the WSU Extension Green School

[00:24:42] Erin Hoover: Um, is there anything else you’d like to add about the WSU Extension Green School?

[00:24:47] Jennifer Marquis: I’m just very pleased to be able to offer this. It’s been a long process to update our curriculum and make sure that it is completely accessible for all learners, and I can’t wait to launch it in October.

[00:25:02] Erin Hoover: And so when do classes start again?

[00:25:05] Jennifer Marquis: October 5^th is when the course will open, and then the first, uh, live sessions with the subject matter experts are October 8^th or October 9^th.

[00:25:17] That’s the orientation part. The very first chapters that we’ll be covering are botany and plant identification, and plant nomenclature. And that’s the second week, October 12^th through the 8^th, with the live subject matter expert sessions on October 15^th or October 16^th.

Final Thoughts

Erin Hoover: Okay. Any final thoughts or things you want to share?

[00:25:42] Jennifer Marquis: Mark your calendars for August 15^th, then register for Green School.

Erin Hoover: Thanks for joining me today.

Jennifer Marquis: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me.

[00:25:53] Erin Hoover: Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Evergreen Thumb, brought to you by the WSU Extension Master Gardener Program volunteers, and sponsored by the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.

[00:26:04] We hope that today’s discussion has inspired and equipped you with valuable insights to nurture your garden.

The Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State is a nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to provide unifying support and advocacy for WSU Extension Master Gardener programs throughout Washington State.

[00:26:23] To support the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State, visit www.mastergardenerfoundation.org/donate.

Whether you’re an experienced Master Gardener or just starting out, the WSU Extension Master Gardener program is here to support you every step of the way. WSU Extension Master Gardeners empower and sustain diverse communities with relevant, unbiased, research-based horticulture education.

[00:26:48] Erin Hoover: Reach out to your local WSU Extension office to connect with master gardeners and tap into a wealth of resources that can help you achieve gardening success.

To learn more about the program or how to become a Master Gardener, visit www.mastergardener.wsu.edu/get-involved.

If you enjoyed today’s episode and want to stay connected with us, be sure to subscribe to future episodes filled with expert tips, fascinating stories, and practical advice.

[00:27:15] Don’t forget to leave a review and share it with fellow gardeners to spread the joy of gardening.

Questions or comments to be addressed in future episodes can be sent to hello@theevergreenthumb.org.

[00:28:29] The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by guests of this podcast are their own and do not imply endorsement by Washington State University or the Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State.