Gardening is a foundation of civilization. When people began to plant the food they had formerly gathered, a sense of place developed and soon villages were settled near garden plots. In the modern world, people are more apt to plant food and ornamentals for pleasure rather than need, allowing time to consider other aspects of gardening. Nineteenth century technology gave us numerous types of chemicals to apply to gardens to produce lush, huge crops. Our present knowledge of pesticides and herbicides and the harm caused to water bodies and groundwater has changed attitudes and behaviors when applying those chemicals, today. When the Master Gardener (MG) Program began, the environmental movement was still in its infancy. (See Part 1, PNW074: http://www.pnwwaterweb.com/initiatives/pnw_074.htm). As water quality issues began to rise to the top of the political and environmental agenda, a water quality component was added into the Master Gardener training curriculum. The Oregon-Washington training manual Sustainable Gardening has a full chapter and training session devoted to “Your Yard and Water Quality.” In 1988, the King County horticulture team obtained one of WSU Extension’s first extramural water quality grants funding the “Sound Gardening” program (referring to both Puget Sound and sound practices). They produced 10 “Sound Gardening” fact sheets, a display, and trained Master Gardeners to present Sound Gardening programs in the county. According to Mary Robson, Extension Agent, the contents of these fact sheets were later adopted by the Chesapeake Bay protection group in Maryland and Delaware. In Seattle, Sound Gardening evolved into a three agency effort funded by the City of Seattle’s Hazardous Waste Program and renamed “Sustainable Gardening.” Currently it is called the Green Gardening program. With each name change the goal to protect human and environmental health has remained constant. Many of the Master Gardener programs throughout the region focus on water quality and quantity as well as related issues such as invasive species, drought tolerance, restoration, etc. Master Gardeners in Spokane County are actively involved in protecting the Spokane-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, Spokane’s drinking water source. Master Gardeners promote a series of fact sheets distributed at public events. http://www.spokane-county.wsu.edu/spokane/eastside/ WSU Master Gardeners are identified in the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Generic State Pesticide Management Plan as an important component of public outreach and education. In Whatcom County, Washington, European crane fly is the number one pest people are concerned about. Since 2001, Master Gardeners surveyed 200 lawns in the Lake Whatcom watershed and have not found one lawn that needed to be treated, thus preventing needless applications of pesticide. They also are involved in public education about fertilizers to protect Lake Whatcom – the drinking water source for the city of Bellingham. In Oregon, “When the Master Gardener program began in mid-1970, its focus was primarily directed at diagnosing plant problems and offering solutions. While still a major focus, Master Gardeners are now designing and presenting proactive educational programs that address critical issues such as safe pest management practices, water quality protection, yard waste management …”

Pacific Northwest Regional Water Quality Coordination Project Partners Land Grant Universities Alaska Cooperative Extension Service Contact Fred Sorensen: 907-786-6311 http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/index.html University Publications: http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/ Idaho University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025 http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html University Publications: http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html Oregon Oregon State University Extension Service Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316 http://extension.oregonstate.edu/ University Publications: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/ Washington Washington State University WSU Extension Contact Bob Simmons: 360-427-9670 ext. 690 http://wawater.wsu.edu/ University Publications: http://pubs.wsu.edu/ Northwest Indian College Contact Michael Cochrane: 360-392-4299 mcochrane@nwic.edu or http://www.nwic.edu/ Water Resource Research Institutes Water and Environmental Research Center (Alaska) http://www.uaf.edu/water/ Idaho Water Resources Research Institute http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/ Institute for Water and Watersheds (Oregon) http://water.oregonstate.edu/ State of Washington Water Research Center http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/ Environmental Protection Agency EPA, Region 10 The Pacific Northwest http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/ Office of Research and Development, Corvallis Laboratory http://www.epa.gov/wed/ For more information contact Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or seago.jan@epa.gov
	The magnitude of these efforts is extensive. In Oregon, over 2,918 volunteers donated 144,446 hours of service to the OSU Master Gardener™ (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/) program in 2005 — the equivalent of an additional 69 OSU Extension employees with a monetary value of $2.3 million! And OSU Master Gardeners™ had direct contact with 157,051 Oregonians in plant clinics and education programs. In Washington in 2006, the total number of active MG volunteers was 3,667. They donated 205,593 hours, worth $3.7 million dollars, and provided information and education to 355,242 homeowners and gardeners. In addition to garden and landscape information and plant problem diagnosis, documented impacts included water conservation and water quality. The end result is that 76 percent of participants (http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/summary/summary.html) indicated an intention to change their water quality practices. Clean water for gardens and gardens for clean water are inseparably linked in the Master Gardener Programs and their educational efforts in the region. Other Resources on Master Gardener water quality related projects: Stewardship Gardening: http://gardening.wsu.edu/stewardship/stewgard.htm Goundwater Protection: http://gardening.wsu.edu/stewardship/grdwater/grdwater.htm Invasive Aquatic Species and Shoreline Protection: http://gardening.wsu.edu/text/nvaquatc.htm Landscaping by a Lake http://www.spokane-county.wsu.edu/spokane/eastside/Fact%20Sheets/C198%20Landscaping%20By%20the%20Lake%2005.pdf MG Demo Gardens in Washington often focus on drought tolerant plants, water conservation techniques, water quality protection ideas: http://mastergardener.wsu.edu/demo/dg.html Master Gardeners: A Quarter of a Century of Service, highlights some of the water quality programs in WA including Skagit County Master Gardeners who recently completed a video, “Keep it Clean: Environmentally Sound Gardening” promoting water quality enhancement. http://www.wsu.edu/NIS/Universe/Master.html Idaho Landscapes and Gardens highlights not only how to irrigate a residential lawn, but how the type of grass, time of year, and soil type also affect the timing and length of irrigation. http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/idahogardens/lt/lw.htm#sprink
	National Water Quality Program Areas The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight themes of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension System. Animal Waste Management Drinking Water and Human Health Environmental Restoration Nutrient and Pesticide Management Pollution Assessment and Prevention Watershed Management Water Conservation and Agricultural Water Management Water Policy and Economics
	CSREES is the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service, a sub-agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is the federal partner in this water quality program.

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