A local volunteer with the University of Illinois Monroe County Extension was recently recognized at the state level for her years of work with groups of young gardeners in the community.

Ann Glosecki has been closely involved with the local extension’s Master Gardener program for years.

Having grown up on a farm, she moved from O’Fallon to Monroe County about 11 years ago, buying five acres to help get back in touch with her agricultural roots.

Glosecki became aware of the program after moving to the area. Her mother having been something of a gardener, the extension’s offering seemed like a good way to really learn how to take care of her new home.

“My mom, when I was younger, she had an incredible garden,” Glosecki said. “She was a great gardener, great green thumb. I think that’s kinda where that interest grew.”

The Master Gardener program has been a part of U of I extensions for 50 years, with the anniversary celebrated in September as many Master Gardeners throughout the state – Glosecki included – were recognized for their work.

The program involves a sort of training period, with participants earning the title of Master Gardener and going on to share their knowledge within their communities, contributing to a variety of educational or beautification efforts.

Having started in the program about eight years ago, Glosecki spoke very highly of her experience, emphasizing that participants don’t necessarily need to have an ag background to enjoy it.

“Love the program,” Glosecki said. “You don’t have to have any knowledge of gardening or anything. Someone who just has an interest in learning new stuff about the outdoors, gardening, trees, landscaping all kinds of stuff.”

Since stepping into the role of Master Gardener at the local extension, Glosecki has helped or led a number of efforts at the facility.

Of particular note is her work on the actual garden area at the extension which fell into some disrepair as operations came to a halt amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Glosecki did much to rejuvenate these raised garden beds and get garden programs at the extension up and running again.

Prior to the pandemic, she did plenty of work with the Junior Master Gardener Program that was active at the extension, working with kids from second grade through junior high to tend to the garden beds and teach them about gardening and the outdoors.

Glosecki was enthusiastic about her volunteer work at the extension, noting how Master Gardeners can place their focus on any demographic or project, but she especially enjoys sharing her love of gardening with the youth.

“One of the things that I love about the Master Gardener program is that it is a volunteer organization,” Glosecki said. “There are a lot of projects in the area that they’re always looking for help for. In my case, I like to work with children, so that’s how I navigated that way.”

Following the lull which began at the start of COVID, Glosecki played a major role getting a new program running with a particular focus even younger gardeners.

For the past two years, she’s led the Gardenbuds 4-H Club for kids in the first, second and third grade, with monthly sessions over the period of six months.

The program started with eight participants but has quickly grown to 15.

Glosecki said the kids are in a great age group to work with alongside her fellow volunteers and extension staff, commenting on how smart the kids can be and the progress they’ve contributed to the extension’s raised beds.

“We’ve all been so excited about this program,” Glosecki said. “That age group is so much fun to work with. They just are so curious, and they’re so smart, and they’re just so fun.”

She’s also been involved in some of the extension’s other gardening programming. Glosecki particularly spoke about how clients from Human Support Services have been invited.

That program has been similarly enjoyable for her. She recounted how they came out regularly to plant, pull weeds and water the gardens, also taking great satisfaction in getting to use the fruits of their labor in the kitchen.

Her work with the Gardenbuds holds a special place in her heart, however. She described fond memories of kids discovering okra and helping plant garlic, and she painted a delightful picture of kids enthusiastically running around the extension garden, eager to learn about ag and the outdoors.

“That whole program is just to teach children not only vegetables but wildlife. We’ve talked about pollinators. We’ve talked about all kinds of things,” Glosecki said. “Every session I did a nature scavenger hunt, and we’d go outside, and I think that was always their favorite thing was the scavenger hunt, trying to figure out birds and stuff.”

It is for all this work and more that Glosecki received a State Master Gardener Award.

She said the recognition is still something of a surprise for her, modestly remarking she’s sometimes uncertain about the “master” in her title.

She was nonetheless honored to be able to stand alongside other Master Gardeners from around the state, noting her respect and appreciation for their similar efforts in other communities.

“It was just such an honor,” Glosecki said. “There were such fantastic people that won awards for different projects similar to what I did. Each one kinda had a different project. Mine was aimed toward kids. There were some, as I recall, with veterans. They had done a raised bed or helped them build something in the gardening area. It was very fascinating to meet these folks and see what they’re doing too as we’re all just trying to help our communities.”

Attesting to Glosecki’s work and contributions with the extension is Sarah Ruth, who serves as the coordinator for the Master Gardener program.

Ruth noted the work that goes into earning the title – at least 60 education hours on a range of topics – as well as the effort Glosecki has dedicated to the extension, particularly praising her for her work in refreshing the garden.

“Ann has taken lead of a raised bed garden that we have here at the (Monroe County Annex),” Ruth said. “During COVID, it just wasn’t tended to. Volunteers were kinda resetting after the pandemic, and extension staff and Ann discussed what to do to revitalize that site.”

Ruth further spoke to Glosecki’s work with the Gardenbuds, noting how quickly the program has grown and how she is already seeking to experiment with it to share more knowledge young participants.

She commended Glosecki for earning the award and further emphasized how beneficial her leadership in the program has been.

“Ann’s got that kind of leadership style,” Ruth said. “We kinda talked as a group about where we want to see this garden go, and she took a blank slate and ran with it and thought about what are her passions.”

Monroe County U of I Extension 4-H Program Coordinator Kelly Brandt likewise offered praise for Glosecki and her work with the Gardenbuds.

“There are so many other things that she’s done as well,” Brandt said. “She’s just one of those amazing volunteers, and we’re really excited that she was able to be honored with the State Master Gardener Award.”

Looking to the future, Glosecki spoke about her hopes to continue building and refining her work with the Gardenbuds, having become even more inspired by seeing what other Master Gardeners in the state are doing.

Sharing her love of gardening with the community, she encouraged folks to get outside if they’re interested, emphasizing that gardening doesn’t require substantial acreage and can be just as enjoyable in containers.

As she said, “Anyone can plant a seed.”

“You don’t have to be someone who owns a farm to be able to garden,” Glosecki said. “You can do it right in your backyard.”

She additionally spoke about the passion she has for her extension volunteering, recalling a fairly recent Gardenbuds gathering and again noting the satisfaction of working with young gardeners and seeing them discover their own passion for the outdoors.

“I remember just stepping back because here’s 14 kids that evening running around these raised beds just so super excited, stopping, naming the plants, picking produce off,” Glosecki said. “I just stood there going, ‘Yeah, this is why we do this.’ It was just such a delight.”