The Marin Master Gardeners recently received the Marin Conservation League's 2009 Ted Wellman Water Award for the "Bay Friendly Garden Walk" program launched in 2008 in partnership with the Marin Municipal Water District. The garden walk program was developed to give home gardeners customized information about water-wise landscaping.

Under this new program more than 40 Marin Master Gardener volunteers conducted free Bay Friendly Garden Walks at the homes of 127 MMWD customers last year. This represents a 17-percent increase in onsite water conservation consultations district-wide in just one year. By sharing their knowledge and passion about gardening with others, Marin Master Gardeners help keep Marin's urban landscape healthy while using as little water as possible. During the onsite consultations the master gardeners walk through the garden and advise the home gardener on Bay Friendly gardening practices such as water-efficient irrigation, healthy soil management and good plant choices to help conserve Marin's precious water resources.

Marin Master Gardeners is a community service and educational outreach program operated by the UC Cooperative Extension. Marin UC Cooperative Extension Director Ellie Rilla says, "The garden walk program has been a wonderful partnership between our office, the district and our Master Gardener volunteers. The Master Gardeners, who are Marin residents, are all about education and providing service to their communities. The garden walks program is another great way to get the message out about sustainable and Bay Friendly landscape practices from plant selection, to care, to irrigation. Hopefully, it will  encourage homeowners to take a more active role in caring for their gardens and reduce water use."

Although Marin Master Gardener already participate in an extensive training program to become master gardeners, they undergo additional specialized training from MMWD to perform the garden walks. All 43 master gardeners who led garden walks last year have signed up for the 2009 season and an additional 18 master gardeners are taking MMWD's garden walk training program this year. Homeowners interested in scheduling a free garden walk can contact the Marin Master Gardeners at 415/499-4204. The garden walks usually take about one hour.