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Master Urban Gardener Program

The Master Urban Gardener (MUG) program is an intensive 8-session "Master Gardener-model" program. It is an exciting and proven effective horticultural leadership training course for community garden volunteers. The program is for people who want to increase their community garden knowledge, meet other community gardeners and provide volunteer service to community gardens. The MUG program covers botany, pest identification and management, soil science, garden management, community garden design, volunteerism, vegetable and ornamental gardening, basic plant maintenance, and human nutrition.

The MUG program runs annually during the months of January, February, and March. Participants are required to attend eight scheduled classes held on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at Northeastern University. Each day of class includes individual lectures and workshops presented by BNAN staff members, local professionals, and MUG volunteers from previous years. Upon completion of the program, participants are required to provide 40 hours of volunteer service to community gardens. This requirement represents one hour of volunteer service for each hour of class attended during the program. Volunteer activities vary; see the Menu portion of the application for examples of volunteer opportunities.

Our goal is to have a trained MUG volunteer in every community garden in the City of Boston! Most MUG participants live or garden in Boston and surrounding communities. First preference is given to people who are already community gardeners and who demonstrate experience volunteering in their neighborhood. The annual program enrollment is limited to 30 participants. The MUG program is Free and open to the public. A suggested donation of $40.00 helps to cover the cost of the program manual and workshop materials.

Sign up by downloading the application below and returning it to: Boston Natural Areas Network, 62 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110, (phone) 617-542-7696, (fax) 617-542-0383, (email) joann@bostonnatural.org.

Applications must be submitted prior to January 1. We will contact each applicant to schedule a time for a telephone interview. Interviews will take place November, December and January. Applicants who are accepted into the current year's program will be notified in early January. Accepted applicants must be available to pick up the program manual at the BNAN office prior to the first class.

Download the MUG Application as a MS Word document.  (Download and save to your computer. Fill in your information in the appropriate spaces, save and attach to an email to joann@bostonnatural.org.)

View the MUG Application in pdf format.  (Print the document and fill it out by hand or typewriter. Mail to BNAN, 62 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110-1008. Fax to BNAN 617-542-0383.)

View the MUG Program Requirements in pdf format.

View the MUG Program Calendar in pdf format.

CURRENT MUG VOLUNTEERS: Please remember to report your volunteer hours. Download MUG Volunteer Hours Reporting Form in pdf format.