On the URI Master Gardener homepage at the moment (July 2007) is news of a $24,000 gift that Master Gardener Art Fischer has made to the Master Gardener Foundation to endow educational programs for children. The donation will be used in part to help pay for school bus transportation expenses to the Learning Landscape at URI.
Art has been a Master Gardener for more than 20 years and has more than 5,000 volunteer hours to his credit. At 82 years of age, he is also one of the oldest and still very active members.
“I’ve always been partial to kids,” says Fischer who lives in North Kingstown. He reflected on his experiences in talking to school children in various towns on beekeeping and composting and how interested the children seemed to be. “It was very rewarding to me. I think the younger generation has to have training as to how plants grow and without a program like the one at URI it is difficult for them to get a handle on it,” he says.
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