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MetroParks Master Gardener program set to return
YOUNGSTOWN
Thanks to action at a recent board meeting, a Mill Creek MetroParks program is set to return after being canceled earlier this year.
The Master Gardener program at Fellows Riverside Gardens, which first started at the MetroParks’ botanical gardens decades ago, was put on hold earlier this year, with park officials citing low enrollment as the reason.
The move prompted swift and vocal backlash from some community members who decried the cancellation as a consequence of staff cuts that eliminated the positions of seven Gardens staff members.
The topic was brought up during the public-comment section of each subsequent board meeting since the staff cuts were implemented in February, with critics of park leaders lauding the program as a masterful class that benefited the gardens as much as it did participants.
The topic was brought up at the July 11 board meeting, this time by new board member Lee Frey. Frey introduced a proposal, unanimously approved by the board, to bring back the program, but in the hands of Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens, the nonprofit organization that supports the gardens.
The move was a gesture to the community that park leaders are listening to their concerns, Frey told The Vindicator.
“I think it was a very divisive issue. I think there are many Master Gardeners who take pride in being in that program, and who have given much to the park,” he said. “I think this is something to say, ‘We hear you.’”
That meeting brought about other changes with similar aims. Board member Tom Shipka, also newly appointed to the board, proposed numerous changes – such as the creation of standing committees that will advise the board on policy matters – he said are meant to move the park forward after months of outcry from the public.
“I think that we are trying to move the board in a direction of responsiveness to the concerns of the public,” Frey said. “I think it’s very important that we have a shared ownership with the people.”
Reintroduction of the gardening program also mitigates another recent problem that has plagued the park, he said.
The park reportedly has seen a drop in volunteer hours in recent months, although the extent of that drop is still unclear. Bringing back the gardening program guarantees additional volunteers for the gardens, as participants are required to volunteer at least 40 hours.
Paul Hagman, president of Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens, also sees that as a benefit.
“It would be a good way to bring many of the volunteers into the system, because it really served as a direct conduit to becoming a volunteer,” he said.
His organization is now ironing out the details of the program’s return. Hagman said he expected it to be very similar to previous years, just with his group responsible for funding and organizing it.
“In the same way we support other programs ... we’re offering the support, and maybe some of the background services, but it’s absolutely a combined effort between the MetroParks and Friends,” he said. “We’re still shaping it. We have to have a few meetings and see what’s going to be best for the community.”