Education Center Volunteer Program Expands, Evolves

The UNH Extension Yard and Garden Education Center is a lively, bustling place, especially in the springtime when people all over the state begin to prepare for the gardening season. Nobody knows this better than Program Manager Danielle Whiteneck, who works tirelessly to ensure that all public questions are quickly and accurately answered by a dedicated team of volunteers. I recently caught up with Danielle to discuss plans to expand the volunteer opportunities at the Center.

How is the Education Center (ECVP) Volunteer Program expanding moving forward?

The expansion will increase overall access for New Hampshire residents to volunteer at the Education Center. This volunteer program is centered on the services and operations at the UNH Extension Yard and Garden Education Center. Traditionally, the Education Center in Goffstown, incorporated Master Gardener (MG) Volunteers and Natural Resources Steward (NRS) Volunteers into the team. The ECVP volunteer opportunity being one of many options for MG and NRS  volunteers to choose from. The expansion to this program will still welcome them, but it will also enable additional folks outside of these two volunteer tracks to receive training and participate in the Education Center Volunteer Program, both at the Center and in other places in the state. Incoming volunteers that did not previously complete either the MG or NRS program will be able to take part in an entirely new “Ed Center volunteer track”.

What does an EC Volunteer do?

Our EC volunteer team contributes to many great things! One important role is to help staff the Yard and Garden Infoline, which is a free service for New Hampshire residential clients and beyond. Volunteers provide fantastic educational, research-backed information through phone calls and online web form submissions. Last year, over 3,000 inquiries were answered by our dedicated volunteers and staff. In the future we are planning even more ECVP opportunities as the program continues to grow!

Describe the ideal qualities of an EC Volunteer.

EC Volunteers should have diverse interests in yard and gardening topics, particularly those relevant to New Hampshire. They should be eager to learn and genuinely enjoy  helping others by researching questions to provide quality, accurate, educational research-based information to clients. Additionally, they should have patience and empathy.

Watch our YouTube Short featuring our fantastic volunteers 

Is there training?

Yes. I have developed a program curriculum that includes self-guided coursework, continuing education workshops, and additional orientation trainings to officially become an ECV. These workshops will cover a wide variety of subjects, such as native and invasive plants, pollinator gardens, pruning, insect identification, plant diseases, soil health, homesteading, and food preservation. These are just a few subjects; there are many more in the works which is very exciting! The continuing education EC workshops will be led by a diverse group of UNH Extension staff members and beyond. In house - Sean and Steph – our very own EC home horticulture program manager team, will lead a few of these workshops as well! We have a great team to support all EC volunteers.

How does an ECV differ from a Master Gardener or Natural Resources Stewards?

EC Volunteers are focused specifically on the Education Center's needs, particularly around the questions we receive through  the Yard and Garden Infoline. Topics do sometimes range beyond the scope of the Master Gardener or Natural Resources Stewards training. Questions and topics from the Infoline clients will help guide the development of trainings that our ECVs as a whole need. Once an incoming volunteer completes their ECV track coursework, there will be continuing education workshops throughout the year for all EC volunteers – EC volunteer track folks, alongside our MG and NRS EC volunteers.

When can people sign up?

We are aiming for late Fall 2025 to open up the registration window. We will accept applications for a mid-January 2026 start to  the self-guided  work sessions and orientation trainings. We are still ironing out details but ask people who are interested to check the Education Center Volunteer website for the latest information. The commitment will be at least one full calendar year to participate. For example, if coursework/initial program goes from early/mid-January to early/mid-March, they will be able to take their orientation trainings following the completion of their self-guided work to be able to access our Infoline ticketing system and support research to answer questions. It will be expected that volunteers signing on will be able to contribute to EC volunteer needs for the full calendar year.

How is this program funded?

The ECV program will be funded in part through the (603) Challenge this year and an enrollment program fee paid by incoming EC volunteer track volunteers. Soon, I hope to develop more funding streams to support further continuing education workshops, community events, and volunteer recognition and support.

This new volunteer track is an exciting opportunity for community members to get involved, learn, and make a significant impact at the Education Center, through the Yard & Garden Infoline and more. Keep an eye out for more details as the program develops!