ON-GOING EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
The Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga County conduct educational programs at several locations throughout the year:
(Click green for details)
• Benjamin Franklin School Program
• Benjamin Franklin School Demonstration Gardens
• Encore Program - Tri-C
• Hope Gardens
• Horticulture Diagnostics Online
• Horticulture Telephone Hot Line
• Horticulture Therapy
• Plant a Row Garden
Benjamin Franklin School Program
Master Gardeners teach horticulture classes to students of Benjamin Franklin School. Hands-in-the-soil teaching includes growing crops in the school garden behind the school. In the autumn, in-coming students harvest and taste crops planted the previous spring. In the spring, the students plant crops for the following autumn. Click here to read students' thank you notes.
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Ben Franklin School Garden Class Building |
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School Room Entrance |
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School Room |
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School Room |
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Classroom instruction |
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Classroom instruction |
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Classroom instruction |
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School Garden Sign |
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School Garden Entrance |
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School Garden early July |
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School Garden
early July |
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School Garden mid-August |
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Passionfruit vine mid-August |
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Passionfruit Flower
mid-August |
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Passionfruit Flower with Bee
mid-August |
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Dahlia
mid-August |
Benjamin Franklin School Demonstration Gardens
See details under "Public Programs."
Encore Program - Tri-C
Cuyahoga Community College has its Encore Program as a lifelong learning program for individuals 55 and older. Students choose from a vast and diverse set of changing classes each session. Master Gardeners are responsible for presentation of the "Gardener's Gazette" courses, covering a variety of topics and answering questions, presently at the Tri-C Eastern and Corporate College West campuses.
Hope Gardens
Hope Gardens produces and donates food to the Heights Emergency Food Center.
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Horticulture Diagnostics Online
Master Gardeners are available, through this eMail link, to address gardening questions. Keep questions specific and provide as much information as possible.
eMail to Master Gardener Diagnosticians
Horticulture Telephone Hotline
The Hotline is staffed by Master Gardener volunteers to answer call-in questions. The Hotline is available by calling 216-429-8200 during the following hours:
Mondays, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Horticulture Therapy
Horticultural therapy is defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) as “a discipline that uses plants, gardening activities and the natural world as vehicles for professionally conducted programs in therapy and rehabilitation.” Utilizing both indoor and outdoor goal-oriented activities, participants in a variety of settings can achieve cognitive, social, psychological and physical benefits.
Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners currently operate four programs under the supervision of registered Horticultural Therapists, two of which by a Master Gardener who is a registered Horticultural Therapist. (pictures below)
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Cleveland Clinic Children's Rehabilitation Hospital |
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Two Wednesday mornings, all year long, children in the rehabilitation and dialysis units connect with nature through seeding, propagating, planning, planting and maintaining gardens and pots with themes chosen by them. Growing is done on a light cart and in a therapeutic courtyard garden. |
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Fairhill Intergenerational Resource Center |
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Every Tuesday beginning May 1st and continuing through fall harvest, this intergenerational gardening program brings neighborhood children and older adult volunteers together to learn from each other while planning, planting and maintaining an outdoor garden full of vegetables, herbs and flowers. |
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A.M. McGregor Nursing Home |
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Every Tuesday and Thursday, all year long, various residents particiapte in horticulture activities, including flower arranging, seeding, propagating, planting, greenhouse maintanenance, nature experiences, and a garden club. The Horticultural Therapy department of this facility operates a greenhouse and numerous grow light carts, and an annual plant sale. |
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MetroHealth Medical Center |
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This program takes place once per month in the Mickey McGraw Patient Activity Center within the hospital. Participants, who are inpatients in Metro’s Rehabilitation Unit, are able to complete an indoor project that they can take with them at the end of the session. |
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Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation
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Planting an herb pot while on dialysis |
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Learning about pollinators in the garden |
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Harvesting beans from the garden |
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Our organic American farm |
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Masster Gardener horticultural therapy volunteer |
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Master Gardener horticultural therapy volunteer |
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| McGregor Home |
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Pruning a plant in the greenhouse |
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Propagating stem cuttings of coleus on a porch |
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Filling pots with soil in the garden for propagating |
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Creating cards from pressed plant material |
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