Helpline successfully pivots to answer gardening questions during COVID-19
Each year, the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener Program answers hundreds of gardening questions from the general public through its UVM Extension Master Gardener Helpline. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the program trained volunteers each year to respond to phone calls and emails during the growing season, providing science-based answers to gardening, pest and plant disease inquiries. In 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic, volunteers were not allowed on campus to staff the helpline office. However, the number of Vermonters gardening during this period, including many new to gardening, increased substantially, resulting in continued demand for this service.
To address the volume of questions, in 2021 the program pivoted to the Ask Extension online platform. This national initiative of the U.S. Cooperative Extension System provides one-on-one responses from Cooperative Extension and university staff and volunteers from participating land-grant institutions from across the country. Vermont gardeners were able to post their questions with photos and receive timely, research-based answers from Master Gardener Helpline volunteers throughout the growing season.
By monitoring public inquiries and volunteer responses, program staff determined that the transition to Ask Extension was a success. Gardeners were satisfied with the responses they received, and volunteers found the online system to be user-friendly. Although backyard gardening has always been popular in Vermont, during the pandemic many more people turned to gardening to address food security, enhance social connections and improve their physical, mental and emotional well-being. Many were first-time gardeners seeking horticultural information relevant to Vermont’s climate and growing conditions. The helpline, staffed by trained volunteers, was able to meet their needs by offering an online option to submit gardening questions during the 2021 growing season.
Link to full statement on website: http://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/show/5814