Growing Both Gardens and Community

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Jan Rice. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Jan Rice, 75, jokes that she spent more time inside Fairfax County Public Schools than out of it. Since her first day of kindergarten in 1956 to her last day as a librarian in 2005, with a short break for college, she was a valued part of the community. Moving away for the first time was overwhelming, but she soon found her place as a Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener and has been volunteering ever since.

There are Master Gardener programs in every state run by a university and taught by professors. Earning the title requires work. Those accepted into the program take several months of classes covering things like turf, native plants, trees and more. Jan now even teaches a class on houseplants. Following coursework, students complete an internship with 50 hours of experience in a variety of initiatives. To retain the title, they must volunteer a minimum of 20 hours each year.

Jan has spent more than 4,500 hours helping people address garden issues, take their yards chemical-free, learn about gardening and much more. Her flexibility and knowledge have made her an irreplaceable volunteer whom staff often depend on. She’s even done the occasional special project like creating seed packets for a free seed program. At home, Jan maintains what she calls a “chaos garden” with lots of cover for birds and places for skinks to hide, and cares for a house full of plants.

What inspires you to volunteer in general, and how did you get started with Master Gardeners?

I volunteered throughout my children’s lives as a parent–Girl Scouts, band and chorus programs, as trip chaperone and more. When I moved here in 2012, my mother-in-law needed care, and I was helping with my grandchildren. I saw an advertisement for a Master Gardeners’ class and thought I’d give it a try. It sounded like a fun outlet. I love nature. I’ve always been a gardener and a plant person, so it felt like a natural fit to help people who don’t have as much knowledge. I also learned a lot through the program. The people were absolutely marvelous and are now some of my best friends. It made a world of difference in my life.

Tell us about your volunteer role with the Virginia Cooperative Extension – Master Gardeners.

I will be assigned two of our interns to mentor in the upcoming class. It’s a steep learning curve, even if you know quite a bit about plants. It’s something new all the time. As a mentor, I’ll monitor their progress and encourage them.

I spend four to six hours a week on the Help Desk answering the public’s horticultural questions. It’s a phone number and an email through which people all over the county can contact us. Recently, a client sent in a photo of an issue with their poplar, and I had no idea what was wrong. I see my library training as important, because it’s a lot of research.

Twenty-five years ago, nuns from a local Benedictine monastery became Master Gardeners and proposed we create a public demonstration garden, known as the Teaching Garden, on their grounds. I work on the Bee-Butterfly Bed. There are beds that grow herbs, vegetables, native plants and more. Each one has a theme. I’m a bed helper, so I weed, prune and water. I also give tours when large groups visit.

Best Lawns is an educational program for homeowners who want to learn how to maintain their turf using fewer chemicals and protect the watershed. People sign up, and one of us comes to their house to give them advice. We send soil samples to Virginia Tech, and they send back the results with advice. Having a perfect lawn takes lots of chemicals, and those go into our water and air. I try to help people recognize that they can have a lovely lawn with some variation in color.

For the last 12 years, I’ve answered questions at our farmers’ market booth about once a month and give out information on local pests. We also help, for example, nonprofits start community gardens with funds and Master Gardener support.

I monitor a bluebird trail and have done water quality monitoring for local lakes. And I help with our plant sale to raise money for scholarships for people to become Master Gardeners.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I like helping people learn and grow. Meeting people is part of it, but making a difference in their life is what is gratifying. I think people are very grateful. They want to understand, for example, why their boxwood is dying and what they could have done differently.

Do you have any advice for people new to gardening?

Do your research. Find somebody who has a garden that you like, and talk to them. People in my neighborhood stop to talk to me when I’m in my garden out front. Gardeners tend to be happy to share, because it’s our passion.

Share your own knowledge, too. You also have something to share, even if you’re a beginner. It helps with all the negativity that seems to be flowing around us. If we can share something positive that will bring somebody joy, we should.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Be kind. Do something for somebody that takes you out of yourself. An older woman once called the Help Desk because some branches had fallen across her driveway, blocking her in, and she wasn’t capable of moving them. We were an odd choice to call, but I set her up with somebody who would take care of it for her.

That’s not our primary mission, but every so often you get somebody like her. Sometimes, we get people who just need to talk to somebody. They’re not calling because they have a problem but because they know you’re there. It’s not about whether your grass is all the same color of green. It’s about whether, as a community, we want to help each other.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Jan? Find local volunteer opportunities.