MG Practicum
What is it?
As the name says, the Practicum is the practical part of the Master Gardener certification process. In addition to the online training courses, Interns are asked to complete 40 hours over two years of approved volunteer service in gardening-related organizations in their community. This is what we call the Practicum or Internship. You can do it while taking the courses or after you finish. The Manitoba Master Gardener Association supports you while you complete it and approves your hours once you have finished. Then you can go on to the next step, the exam.
How the Practicum prepares you to be a Master Gardener
Master Gardeners play an educational and a service role in their communities. Their volunteer work (20 hours/year) can take many forms, but their basic mission is to help other gardeners learn how to garden better. They promote scientifically proven and ecologically sound gardening practices. By working with gardening-related organizations, including the MMGA, Interns gain experience in the same kinds of volunteer roles they will fulfill as Master Gardeners.
Selecting your Practicum volunteer activities carefully will give you opportunities to:
- Apply and test the knowledge you have gained
- Boost your confidence in fulfilling the role of a Master Gardener
- Build networks with other gardeners, gardening organizations and the general public
- Encourage people to implement sustainable, proven gardening practices in Manitoba
How to get started with your Master Gardener Practicum
Once you have registered in the online Manitoba Master Gardener Certification course, you will be invited to join the MMGA. As a member of the MMGA, you will be enrolled in our volunteer management program Better Impact/Volunteer Impact (VI). VI is an online tool that lets you sign up for scheduled MMGA volunteer activities and record your volunteer hours in order to have them approved. You will receive full instructions on how to log in and start. Previously, Interns reported their Practicum hours on paper sheets, but they can now do so on VI.
What qualifies as approved Practicum hours?
Volunteering in the Manitoba Master Gardener program should have a connection to gardening education. It should involve active, unremunerated service to identified community organizations or institutions, including the MMGA. Anything you are paid to do, even if it involves gardening education or service, cannot be counted toward your Master Gardener volunteer hours. The best Practicum experience occurs when you plan to involve a variety of experiences that fill in the gaps in your personal background or assist you in pursuing areas of particular interest.
Examples of acceptable Practicum volunteer hours
1. Assisting Master Gardeners with their projects such as community flower and vegetable gardens, community pollinator gardens, healing gardens, and other demonstration gardens
2. Volunteering at MMGA-sponsored events and fundraisers
3. Volunteering in local garden clubs/horticultural societies or other horticultural organizations to support gardening-related events such as Gardening Saturday, Seedy Saturday, Plant Sales, gardening fundraisers, special speaker events, gardening trade shows, recycle sales
4. Speaking to the public and local community groups throughout Manitoba about gardening topics and to promote the MMGA; responding to gardening questions at gardening events or other community events
5. Participating in a variety of community projects, including horticultural therapy programs in hospitals and other health care institutions
6. Volunteering with teachers in local schools to teach students about gardening, growing food, setting up garden structures, etc.
7. Designing, planting and continuing to assist with community gardens in public places such as schools, hospitals, parks, personal care homes, community centres
8. Writing articles for the MMGA newsletter, local newspapers, magazines and garden club newsletters
9. Developing and delivering educational seminars, presentations, workshops or demonstrations for community groups. Delivering presentations in MMGA Discussion Groups can help you develop skills and topics that could be presented to the public
10. Providing information via gardening hotlines/forums, responding to questions on the MMGA’s Ask@ service, and other information-providing forums
11. Serving on the Board and committees of the MMGA or other local horticultural groups or serving on committees that are developing community-based gardening or horticultural projects.
Please be assured that you can complete your Practicum in your home community, wherever in Manitoba you may reside.
Approval of Practicum hours
The MMGA must approve Practicum hours prior to Master Gardener certification. When Practicum volunteer hours are clearly in line with the MMGA guidelines of approved criteria for Practicum hours and are one of the examples of acceptable hours noted above, the volunteer activity should be readily approved.
NOTE: If there are volunteer opportunities outside the MMGA guidelines for approved hours that you would like to participate in, contact the Director of Interns (training@mgmanitoba.com) before you begin the activity to request approval.
Tracking and submission of Practicum volunteer hours
As noted above, Interns track their Practicum hours in Volunteer Impact in a special category under Hours, Inactive, Select activity: Intern Volunteer Hours. They will be periodically approved. When you have reported 40 hours over a two-year period, contact the Director of Interns to request final approval.
Download instructions for using Volunteer Impact (VI)
Until the end of 2026, Interns may still report their hours on the old printed paper log sheets. Follow the instructions on the sheet.
Download printable (paper) Intern log sheet (.pdf)
Timing of your Practicum
1. You may complete your Practicum while you are taking your online courses or after you finish your courses.
2. Your 40 Practicum hours must be completed in any 24-month period within the five years you have to complete the full training program.
3. You must complete your Practicum volunteer service, and have the completed Practicum hours approved by the MMGA, before you take your Master Gardener examination.