Continuing Education

The purpose of Continuing Education (CE) is to improve volunteers’ knowledge and skill base for performing work as community educators in horticulture and environmental stewardship. Volunteers must earn at least 10 hours of CE per year to be considered for reapplication. County coordinators have the option of allowing up to 10 hours of excess CE to be carried over to meet the following year’s CE requirement, but CE must be reported when earned. Program coordinators must preapprove CE and may limit certain categories of CE. CE hours do not count toward a volunteer’s internship or the annual service hour requirement.

What qualifies for Continuing Education?
  • Horticultural courses given by WSU, including retaking basic Master Gardener training.
  • Webinars, field trips, and workshops sponsored by the WSU Extension.
  • Classes offered by accredited institutions, including community colleges, technical colleges, and universities.
  • Washington State Department of Agriculture approved pesticide classes.
  • Classes taught by professional associations such as Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association, Washington Association of Landscape Professionals, International Society of Arboriculture, and so forth.
  • Time spent doing research preparing a Master Gardener presentation, which is then delivered to the community (limit of four times the length of the presentation).
  • Time spent doing research for a newspaper or Master Gardener newsletter article, which is then published (limit of four hours).
  • Other activities, including training on how programs are planned, delivered, or evaluated; presentation skills; meeting facilitation; etc. may qualify. Contact your program coordinator for preapproval before listing them on your report.

What does not qualify for Continuing Education?
  • Trips and tours that are not preapproved by the program coordinator.
  • Garden craft or photography classes.
  • Personal research or reading that is not related to a Master Gardener project.
  • Travel time to and from events.
  • Anything outside the state of Washington, unless preapproved by the State Master Gardener Program Leader.
Free online resources that meet CE requirements
Compiled October 2025 by Lene Symes, Kate Yturri, and Dray Longdon

One-time CE opportunity for handbook readers

Pacific Northwest Gardeners Handbook – Growing for the Future
With this one-time exception, volunteers may earn 10 hours of CE credit in 2025 or 2026 by affirming that they have read the revised handbook—specifically the new chapters:
  • Preface: Connecting People and Plants
  • Pollination
  • Climate Change
  • Creating a Sustainable Home Landscape 

Online presentations

Select presentations to the Orcas Island Garden Club