Putting on the 2021 Master Classes for Norfolk Gardeners

You remember what the world was like back then, in full pandemic mode, there were just too many unknowns to have an in-person class. "How about having a training class by Zoom?" someone asked. The overwhelming response was “No way!” because that would completely leave out the camaraderie, the socializing, the group bonding that comes with an in-person class and is a critical part of our intern training. And how would they navigate the 50-hour volunteer requirement, which was already problematic for the 2020 class? Then Chris Epes piped in, "You could skip a training class next year. Could you try offering a shorter series for the gardening public instead?”  "Hmmmm, are we allowed to do that?" mused the Team. Yes we were, and thus was born the Master Classes for Norfolk Gardeners, a public education series for home gardeners of Norfolk.

For the next few months, the Team plotted and fretted over how to pull this off. We wrestled over big questions such as: which basic classes to offer? Who should the speakers be? When do we hold the series? How do we register everyone and send them emails? What medium do we use for the class? How do we publicize the class? How much do we charge and how do we get paid? How many people would register for the series, is there demand for something like this, and is it really worth the effort? There were a million other questions as well. We basically started from scratch, and it took a great team effort to work through all of these questions.

The Team figured it out slowly, and bit-by-bit the series took shape. Finalizing the topics, speakers and the schedule was critical, as it gave us a framework to work around and fill in the details, and also allowed us to publicize the event (thanks to the Communications Committee for a great effort). As to the all-important question of how many people would actually take the course, enrollment gradually gained momentum. We ended up with 285 paying registrants and 33 non-paying registrants (employees of the city), about two-thirds of whom were Norfolk residents and most of the other one-third Tidewater denizens.

The high number of registrants really surprised us and did two things simultaneously: First, it told us that clearly there was great demand for this kind of horticultural training/education, that we had tapped into something that was needed; and second it severely ratcheted up the pressure on us to provide a polished product.

In January we started the first of our rehearsals. Fortunately, all the speakers were generous with their time and talents, and each one did at least one pre-presentation run through with us. These rehearsals were critical to the success of the series, as they helped get the speaker and us on the same page as far as content, delivery, production, and mutuality of purpose. It was not just the speakers who practiced; we practiced every introduction multiple times, including when the core rehearsal team met each Monday to fine tune expectations for the next day’s presentation.

February 9 was opening night.  As would become customary, the team logged on at 6:30 to make sure everything was in place, and this night in particular the nervousness was palpable. Will opened exactly at 7:00, peering into the dark, blank screen of his computer, a thousand thoughts streaming madly through his head: Was the Zoom technology working right, could people see and hear him, had he unmuted, was he talking too loud or too fast, had he combed his COVID hair properly, did his master gardener shirt show well? We had decided in advance to mute and turn the video off for all participants to save bandwidth. That meant no audience to see or hear, which was really weird, rather like jumping off a high dive blindfolded. To make matters more stressful, a few slides into the opening, the PowerPoint Kate painstakingly assembled to go with the introductory narrative simply would not advance. Arrrrggg, the first major glitch in the third minute of the first night -- would this happen every week? Thankfully, we were redeemed by a great presentation by Theresa Augustin of the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Later, Joey was able to work her magic with the recording so that the slides presented properly.

In short order the smoothness of the production increased dramatically, and there were fewer hiccups as we gained experience. By the fourth class we were on a nice roll, ‘in the zone’ as basketball players say. It also helped that by mid-March we had finished the last of our

rehearsals, so we were no longer meeting three times a week: on Monday to prep, Tuesday for the live presentation, and Thursday for a run-through before the following week.

Of course, little fires continued to pop up, but we were able to deal with them. For example, we were not prepared for the sheer number of questions in the chat box. Oh, those questions! Most weeks they seemed to come thick and fast, and the speaker could not get to everyone. Thankfully, Kate’s years of practice with the Helpline meant she could guide the team’s research to fully answer each question, though this did require another “chat box” Zoom meeting and more hours to investigate and email the answers.

We were very pleased with the overall results. According to the evaluation polls after each class, the speakers and the material were very well received. The end-of-series survey indicated that 60 participants were willing to participate in our long-term impact study, and another 55 individuals signed up for details on the 2022 Intern Training class. And we received lots of nice compliments from participants, passed along in various ways.

Putting on something new like this requires an excellent and experienced team, and we were blessed with that. Team members included Maggie Brown, Kathryn Bush, Michael Cole, Susan Dudley, Ginger Farrell, Jill Lewis, Debora Mosher, Anna Thurmond, Vicki Trexler, Donna Van Keuren, and Blanch Wise. Special shout-outs to Joey Rothgery, who before our eyes blossomed as a true Zoom Master; Kay Egan, who gently but firmly managed the chat box discussion; and Barb Wilson, who followed up on every detail. Lastly, thanks to Chris Epes for the excellent idea in the first place, his continued support, and the wonderful help in the chat box. Great Team! Super shout-out to our fabulous speakers: Theresa Augustin, Daniel Haworth, Pete Peterman, Laurie Fox, Paul “Ziggy” Ziegler, Mimi Rosenthal, Gill Gillespie, Kate Melhuish, Debora Mosher, Blanch Wise, and Chris Epes.

Of all the lessons we learned, perhaps the biggest is that there is a demand for this sort of horticultural education for home gardeners, particularly at night (for those who work in the day) and also accessible without leaving the comfort of home (Zoom or similar). Was this year a COVID bump? Of course, but if we can reach our original optimistic estimate of 50-100 Norfolk residents by offering a similar series, this fits exactly within our educational mission.

So, as to the question of will we do it again next year? YES. While the plan is to resume Intern training – and in 2022 we may have a bumper crop of candidates – we want to continue to respond to the hunger for horticultural education for home gardeners. This has been a long-time goal for Chris Epes as our VCE Agent. With a bit of juggling, Norfolk Master Gardeners can do it. Coming up soon, you’ll be invited to step up as a volunteer educator. The Intern Training Team will be reinvigorated for its original purpose, to recruit and train new Norfolk Master Gardeners. The Master Classes will move to the Speakers Bureau category, with some new classes added by popular request. Please think about how you can contribute to one of these programs. 

We look forward to working with you!