HARDIN COUNTY--Penny Hudson was one of five individuals recognized as “Outstanding Master Gardener Volunteer” at the 2022 MGV State Conference Awards Program held October 7-8 in Cuyahoga County near Cleveland.
The local Hardin County OSU Extension group was also nominated for five other state awards at the conference.
- The project ‘Children’s Garden’ was recognized in the “Environmental Horticulture Outstanding MGV Project” award category for small sized groups.
- Cessna Transport was recognized for the “Friend of the OSU Extension MGV Program.”
- Mark Badertscher was recognized by his peers for being nominated as an “Outstanding MGV Coordinator” in the paid staff category.
- Hardin County was also one of four counties recognized for the “Pandemic Perseverance Award” for their efforts restoring the educational Friendship Gardens after the pandemic. In addition, the Hardin County group was recognized as a platinum “Standards of Excellence” award winner. Awards presented at the conference were for the previous program year.
Outstanding MGV award winner Penny Hudson has provided educational opportunities for Hardin County in 2021 by chairing the Friendship Garden revitalization committee.
The Friendship Garden is an interactive community garden that is used to educate people of all ages. In 2021, Hudson worked tirelessly as the chairperson of the Friendship Garden committee. In this role, she helped the MGV group make the garden even more interactive by improving a children’s play area. One activity was a scavenger hunt of plant and insect challenges. Hudson’s knowledge of plants helps other MGVs be selective in working, passing on her knowledge in a kind way.
Work to create an area for a Children’s Garden began in 2018 when ground was cleared to add this space to the Friendship Garden maintained by Hardin County Master Gardeners. In the beginning work focused on installing permanent structures such as an in-ground tic tac toe board and pretend bridge, with plans to add sensory and cognitive activities in the following years. Covid restrictions shut down those plans, but in 2021 many exploratory activities were installed making the Children’s Garden a popular part of the Friendship Garden.
The Hardin County Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program nominated Cessna Transport as their 2022 Friend of the MGV program award nominee. In 2021 the Hardin County Master Gardeners wanted to rejuvenate the Friendship Garden, which became an unattended overgrown garden. in 2020. Cessna Transport of Kenton donated $500.00 to purchase plants for the Perennial Garden area to begin the renewal process. All planned areas were complete enough to have an Open House in June, followed by multiple gardening workshops.
Outstanding MGV Coordinator nominee Mark Badertscher has been the paid Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator for over 9 years. Encouragement and motivation provided by Badertscher has helped volunteers stay focused and rebuild as a stronger organization following the impact of COVID.
The Hardin County Master Gardener Volunteers were recognized with the platinum ‘Standards for Excellence’ distinction. This is the highest degree of accomplishment for a county Master Gardener Volunteer program, based on guidelines set up by Ohio State University Extension.
