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Ready Set GROW! Gardening Webinars

Extension Education

Marisa Thompson
Urban Horticultural Specialist
New Mexico State University
Los Lunas

Abstract

In response to the public demand for gardening classes, especially for at-home food production, a collaboration of Extension Agents Emily Bruton of Socorro County, John Garlisch & Sara Moran of Bernalillo County,  Suzanne DeVos-Cole of Mora County, Lynda Garvin of Valencia County, former NMSU IPM Specialist Dr. Amanda Skidmore, and Urban Horticulture Specialist Dr. Marisa Thompson created the “Ready, Set, GROW!” gardening webinar series (https://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/ready-set-grow.html) with live virtual classes on timely gardening topics. These free monthly classes continue to be popular, with over 2,000 registered participants and over 10,000 recorder views on Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, and the Desert Blooms website between March 16, 2021 and March 15, 2022. Recorded sessions are posted to the webpage and distributed through social media. Webinars are delivered by the Ready, Set, GROW! Team Members, NMSU CES faculty, and invited local speakers. Scheduling, marketing, registration, and the webpage are all maintained by Team members. With the use of online technology, the class attendance increased by 3,150% per class, from an average of 20 participants for in-person classes prior to the pandemic to 650 per Ready, Set, GROW! webinar. Of 418 evaluations completed by participants, 99.5% would recommend the series to others. 90% of participants reported they would change current or implement a recommended gardening practice(s) based on information learned from a class. Our Team believes that gardening should be as accessible as possible to anyone wanting to learn, implement, and share these science-based practices.

 

Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC

This poster is being submitted for judging. If NOT selected as a State winner, it will not be displayed at the AM/PIC and the abstract will not be published in the proceedings.

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Authors: Marisa Thompson, Emily Bruton, Suzanne DeVos-Cole, John Garlisch, Sara Moran Duran, Lynda Garvin
  1. Thompson, M. Urban Horticultural Specialist, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87031
  2. Bruton, E. Socorro County Program Director, Extension Agent, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87801
  3. DeVos-Cole, S. Mora County Program Director, Extension Agriculture Agent, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87732
  4. Garlisch, J. Bernalillo County Director, Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87107
  5. Moran Duran, S. Bernalillo County Horticulture Agent, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87107
  6. Garvin, L. State Extension Master Gardener, New Mexico State University - Cooperative Extension, New Mexico, 87048