By Alexandra McLaughlin
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Extension Master Gardeners triumphed at the International Master Gardener Conference held in June in Overland Park, Kansas, earning first place in the research category of the David Gibby Search for Excellence Awards for their exceptional volunteer work and dedication to bee monitoring. The conference hosted 1,130 master gardeners and extension professionals from 44 U.S. states, Canada and England.
Named after David Gibby from Washington State University, who created the Extension Master Gardener program in 1972, the award celebrates the efforts and talents of master gardener volunteers. These innovative group projects frequently serve as models, influencing the development of extension Master Gardener-led programs worldwide. The awards are divided into categories such as research, demonstration gardens, community service, innovative projects, workshops/presentations, special needs audiences and youth programs.
Earning first place in the research category were 20 Penn State Master Gardeners who partnered with the lab of Margarita López-Uribe, associate professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, in a multiyear effort to increase understanding of Pennsylvania’s native bee population. This project leverages master gardeners’ interest in pollinators while providing advanced training on the protocols used to collect, pin, label and identify native bees.
López-Uribe noted that bees are the most important pollinators of plants in agricultural and natural ecosystems.
The first long-term bee monitoring program in Pennsylvania has had a significant impact on understanding native bee populations across the state, especially in areas where data was not as robust, according to Valerie Sesler, master gardener area coordinator for 12 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
The program was born from a Science-to-Practice grant from Extension and the College of Agricultural Sciences Office for Research and Graduate Education. The grant program awards up to $10,000 a year to integrated research and extension teams to address pressing, complex challenges.
López-Uribe said working with the master gardeners has been critical to the development and success of the project.
