The final statewide evaluation reports for the program year 2021 (PY21) were sent out in Dec. 2021. Because the reports are cumulative, this report represents total participation in the follow-up survey for your county for PY21. When sharing program impacts for your county for a given program year you should use the final reports. You are encouraged to share reports with volunteers which highlight their impact in their communities and, in turn, provide additional motivation for them to keep doing what they do to give back. You can also share the final report with your County Director and other stakeholders who have an influence on your county's program.
Of course, COVID continues to have an impact on UC Master Gardener programming and on all UC ANR programs; but, regardless of the climate and environment, you understand the value of educating Californians about gardening and have made required shifts in the delivery of public education events. Also, Californians have not stopped attending county events. This statement is based on the number of respondents who participated in the statewide evaluation during PY21.
For PY21 we saw the greatest participation in the follow-up survey that is sent out to those in attendance at public education events. 2,264 event attendees responded to the follow-up survey. During the previous program year, PY20, 1,553 attendees responded to the follow-up survey. It is important to note that there were fewer public education events offered during PY21, 156, compared to 207 offerings in PY20. Let this be motivation to continue offering events because people do come. Some counties saw larger audiences as a result of online outreach delivery.
Statewide-level data are a key component of the UC Master Gardener Program's 10-year review. In October 2021, Missy shared program impacts with the Program Council where she used statewide data to emphasize the relevance and value of the UC Master Gardener Program. Here are some highlights of program impacts from PY21 to help you understand how you might interpret your county's data.
- 75% of people who responded to the follow-up survey started or improved growing edible plants when food gardening was a topic during the public education event. (improved food security)
- 74% of people who responded reported that they have started monitoring for insects, weeds, or diseases or that they had improved in doing such monitoring when pest management was discussed during public education events. (improved water quality)
- 61% of people who responded to the follow-up survey started or improved their practice of selecting low water-use plants when water conservation was a topic covered during public education events. (improved water-use efficiency)
- 59% of people who responded reported using finished compost as a soil amendment when green waste was a focus of public education events. (protected and conserved soil quality)
- 69% of people who responded reported starting or improving their selection of plants for size, sun and water needs, and maintenance level when right plant-right place was discussed during public education events.
- 78% of people who responded indicated they started or improved upon using plants that attract and support pollinators when pollinator-friendly gardens were a topic of public education events.
- 68% of people who responded to the follow-up survey spend more time outdoors or gardening. (improved community health and wellness)
To further emphasize the relevance and value of UC Master Gardener programming, many of the findings from the follow-up survey can be linked to UC ANR's condition changes (in bold at the end of each finding above) and overall public values.