New York State
Junior Master Gardener Program
The JMGsm (Junior Master Gardenersm) program is alive and active in New York State!
Our goal is to provide positive learning experiences for young people and to develop their leadership, responsibility and community pride through organized gardening activities. In New York State, we view the Junior Master Gardener Program as an excellent resource, and recommend all of the curriculum materials as a novel and well-organized approach to garden-based learning. We recognize and support one youth development program in our Cornell Cooperative Extension system, the 4-H youth development program, and therefore do not register JMGsm groups separately. We encourage you to register your group through the Texas office (www.jmgkids.us) You'll also find much information about the program through that site.
The JMGsm program combines a unique gardening-based curriculum and web-based instruction, community service, character education, and service-based learning, into a fun and exciting certification program for youth ages 9-19.
How it's structured
The JMGsm program is built in three tiers:
The curriculum contains classroom extension activities to enhance classroom integration. We have correlated activities in Level 1 with the Learning Standards for New York State.
Older youth mentoring younger youth
The JMGsm program goes beyond a traditional classroom or youth gardening experience by:
Areas of instruction
Eight areas of instruction have been designated:
Obtaining the JMGsm Junior Master Gardenersm certificate is the highest level of involvement with the program.
Youth working on their JMGsm certification will complete both individual and group learning experiences from each of the teaching concepts in the eight chapters in the curriculum. In addition, youth will complete eight community service/leadership projects. The time to complete the JMGsm certification is very flexible and depends upon the activities that are chosen by the leader and child.
Schools or groups can also participate in the JMGsm program by completing a JMGsm Golden Ray Series. Each individual chapter of the JMGsm program can be completed as an individual Golden Ray curriculum.
Currently, Level 1 JMGsm youth handbooks and teacher/leader guides are available for implementation. Level 2 & 3 materials are under development and will soon be available.
In addition, other thematic mini units that combine a variety of activities from all subject units to focus on one topic are being developed as the program expands. Some of these titles include: Golden Ray Series
The Golden Ray Series contains approximately 18 to 20 activities and a community service project. The units are designed to be completed in a shorter duration of time and are especially applicable for classrooms with time constraints.
There are currently three Golden Ray Series:
Reaching diverse audiences
During the development of the JMGsm program, great effort was made to integrate flexibility within the guidelines of the program. This allows each participating agency to customize the program to their needs and characteristics of their state, county or community.
Through the JMGsm program and its guidelines, children across the United States will share common experiences in gardening and community service. For many children, this will culminate in gaining national certification as a Junior Master Gardenersm.
Not all JMGsm groups are affiliated with Cooperative Extension. However, when non-Extension organizations from New York State (i.e., schools, Scouts, Boys & Girls Club) register a JMGsm group through the National JMGsm Program Office, the New York State Coordinator is forwarded a copy of the registration.
For more information
If you have questions about the program, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page at the JMGsm website. Although NYS is a partner, and we encourage our CCE educators to use the curriculum materials for references, we do not register groups through our office. All new JMGsm groups register through the Texas A&M JMGsm office.
For more information about the New York State Junior Master Gardenersm Program, contact: Marcia Eames-Sheavly me14@cornell.edu
For more information on the national JMGsm Junior Master Gardener Programsm, contact:
Junior Master Gardenersm
225 Horticulture/Forestry Science Bldg.
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-2134
409-845-8565
e-mail: jmg@tamu.edu
web site: http://jmg.tamu.edu
About the service mark
In an effort to protect the quality of the program and to reserve it for educational, non-commercial use, JMGsm, Junior Master Gardenerssm, and associated logo design are service marks of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
© Copyright Cornell University.
Junior Master Gardener Program
The JMGsm (Junior Master Gardenersm) program is alive and active in New York State!
Our goal is to provide positive learning experiences for young people and to develop their leadership, responsibility and community pride through organized gardening activities. In New York State, we view the Junior Master Gardener Program as an excellent resource, and recommend all of the curriculum materials as a novel and well-organized approach to garden-based learning. We recognize and support one youth development program in our Cornell Cooperative Extension system, the 4-H youth development program, and therefore do not register JMGsm groups separately. We encourage you to register your group through the Texas office (www.jmgkids.us) You'll also find much information about the program through that site.
The JMGsm program combines a unique gardening-based curriculum and web-based instruction, community service, character education, and service-based learning, into a fun and exciting certification program for youth ages 9-19.
How it's structured
The JMGsm program is built in three tiers:
- Level 1 is targeted at Grades 3-5.
- Level 2 is targeted at Grades 6-8.
- Level 3 is targeted at Grades 9-12.
The curriculum contains classroom extension activities to enhance classroom integration. We have correlated activities in Level 1 with the Learning Standards for New York State.
Older youth mentoring younger youth
The JMGsm program goes beyond a traditional classroom or youth gardening experience by:
- Training older youth to become mentors for younger children participating in the program.
- Helping young people to responsible for initiating local community service projects.
Areas of instruction
Eight areas of instruction have been designated:
- Plant growth and development.
- Environmental horticulture.
- Fruit and nuts.
- Home landscaping.
- Soils, water and fertilizers.
- Insects and garden ecology.
- Vegetables and herbs.
- Career exploration.
- choose to complete activities in all eight chapters and receive JMGsm certification.
- complete JMGsm mini units called Golden Ray Series.
- just use the books to complete fun activities for at home learning, science projects, or classroom enrichment.
Obtaining the JMGsm Junior Master Gardenersm certificate is the highest level of involvement with the program.
Youth working on their JMGsm certification will complete both individual and group learning experiences from each of the teaching concepts in the eight chapters in the curriculum. In addition, youth will complete eight community service/leadership projects. The time to complete the JMGsm certification is very flexible and depends upon the activities that are chosen by the leader and child.
Schools or groups can also participate in the JMGsm program by completing a JMGsm Golden Ray Series. Each individual chapter of the JMGsm program can be completed as an individual Golden Ray curriculum.
Currently, Level 1 JMGsm youth handbooks and teacher/leader guides are available for implementation. Level 2 & 3 materials are under development and will soon be available.
In addition, other thematic mini units that combine a variety of activities from all subject units to focus on one topic are being developed as the program expands. Some of these titles include: Golden Ray Series
The Golden Ray Series contains approximately 18 to 20 activities and a community service project. The units are designed to be completed in a shorter duration of time and are especially applicable for classrooms with time constraints.
There are currently three Golden Ray Series:
- Health and nutrition from the garden
- Wildlife gardener
- Literature in the garden
Reaching diverse audiences
During the development of the JMGsm program, great effort was made to integrate flexibility within the guidelines of the program. This allows each participating agency to customize the program to their needs and characteristics of their state, county or community.
Through the JMGsm program and its guidelines, children across the United States will share common experiences in gardening and community service. For many children, this will culminate in gaining national certification as a Junior Master Gardenersm.
Not all JMGsm groups are affiliated with Cooperative Extension. However, when non-Extension organizations from New York State (i.e., schools, Scouts, Boys & Girls Club) register a JMGsm group through the National JMGsm Program Office, the New York State Coordinator is forwarded a copy of the registration.
For more information
If you have questions about the program, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page at the JMGsm website. Although NYS is a partner, and we encourage our CCE educators to use the curriculum materials for references, we do not register groups through our office. All new JMGsm groups register through the Texas A&M JMGsm office.
For more information about the New York State Junior Master Gardenersm Program, contact: Marcia Eames-Sheavly me14@cornell.edu
For more information on the national JMGsm Junior Master Gardener Programsm, contact:
Junior Master Gardenersm
225 Horticulture/Forestry Science Bldg.
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-2134
409-845-8565
e-mail: jmg@tamu.edu
web site: http://jmg.tamu.edu
About the service mark
In an effort to protect the quality of the program and to reserve it for educational, non-commercial use, JMGsm, Junior Master Gardenerssm, and associated logo design are service marks of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.