UC Master Gardeners celebrate 25 years and thank their generous local grantors

Honored guests at the Union County Master Gardeners’ 25th Annual Recognition (“Pin”) Party on September 24th included the WATTS Foundation, of Mountainside, and members of the Westfield Service League.  WSL and WATTS are two of the local non-profit groups that have donated generously to the Master Gardeners over the years.  These generous grantors also include the Westfield Foundation, the Westfield Y’s Men’s Club Association (WYMCA), the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Service League, the Rotary Club of Westfield, and the Summit Area Foundation (SAF).  The Master Gardeners were pleased to honor and thank these grantors at their 25th Anniversary event.

The UCMGs are a trained, all-volunteer group whose sole fund raiser is the “Spring Garden Fair and Plant Sale,” held annually on the Sunday after Mother’s Day at their Trailside Demonstration Gardens site in the Watchung Reservation.  UCMGs depend on grants from local non-profit groups like WATTS and WSL for the materials and garden supplies that their fund-raising budget cannot provide.

Headquartered in Westfield at 300 North Ave. East, the UCMGs have cultivated their Demonstration Gardens since 1988.  Since 2002, they have grown and donated more than 21,000 lbs. of fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs to local food banks and soup kitchens in Union County.  In addition, they grow and donate flowers to local cancer centers and hospitals--more than 28,000 flowers and greens since 2006. 

MG Joanne Krueger, who manages the “Demo” Gardens, told celebrants at the “Pin” Party that, “we Master Gardeners cannot thank our local grantors enough for their ongoing generosity.  Truly, they have contributed to our success as community service providers in Union County.”  Krueger added that, “In 2013, for example, WSL raised and donated nearly $61,000 to 36 local community service groups, including our Master Gardener program.  That is amazing!” 

The UCMGs are affiliated with the non-profit Rutgers Foundation and are supported in part administratively by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, two of whom, Fr. Bette Jane Kowalski and Fr. Angel Estrada attended the Anniversary event. 

To become a Master Gardener, or for more information, contact Judi LaGanga at (908) 654-9854 or visit mastergardeners-uc.org.  The Westfield Service League’s Thrift and Consignment Shops, located at 114 Elmer Street in Westfield, can be reached at (908) 233-2530.  To contact The Blanche M. and George L. WATTS Mountainside Community Foundation, write to P.O. Box 2038, Westfield, NJ 07090.