Local, State, and National

Community Beautification Award | Best Free Gardening Advice | Bill Thomas Parks Service Award | Communication Award – NACAA | Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award | FOUA Golden Radish | Green Patriot Award | Millennium Green Project | Outstanding Community Organization | Serve Virginia Honor Roll

Award Recipients

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Listed by Award Name

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Not sure how to combat the aphids that have infested your hydrangeas, or why those newly planted azaleas are already turning yellow? Ask one of the experts of Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV), a volunteer organization that partners with the Virginia Cooperative Extension to promote environmentally responsible gardening practices. To receive the Master Gardener designation, volunteers must complete more than 60 hours of classroom and field training, plus another 60-hour internship, so rest assured they know their subject and won’t steer you wrong. MGNV maintains six local demonstration gardens, and its plant whisperers offer a help desk (703-228-6414) and various horticultural clinics at local libraries and farmers markets.

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The Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award
Arlington Park and Recreation Commission

If you have ever been to Arlington’s Bon Air Park, you will notice right away what makes it special. With incredible plant and flower species, Bon Air is a well-known spot for photo shoots and weddings. Five Master Gardeners who steward Bon Air Park’s Quarry Shade and Sunny Demonstration Gardens – Joe Kelly, Carolyn Vincent, Dina Lehmann, Karen Smith and Tom Golojuch are recognized as the 2021 Bill Thomas Park Volunteer Award winners.

These gardens serve as a teaching platform, promoting best management practices and ideas on selection of plants best suited for our area. They have all given hundreds of hours of time and talent while leading volunteers to remove invasive plants that are damaging our natural spaces and adding native plants that contribute to Arlington County’s commitment to environmental sustainability. In 2021 alone, these volunteers held a total of 58 work parties totaling 200+ hours maintaining these spaces. 

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Working tirelessly to transform Arlington’s green areas into natural havens, Elaine Mills has logged more than 7,000 hours since becoming a Master Gardener with the Arlington/Alexandria unit of Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) in 2012. With a focus on education, Elaine uses her knowledge of native plant species from ground covers to trees to develop content to share with the community on best landscaping practices. This effort is supported with her personal library of 10,000 plant photos that she has taken in Master Gardener demonstration gardens, at Arlington nature centers, and in local public gardens.

Examples of her online education work include fact sheets for the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV) website. These describe and illustrate numerous local native plants and 45 plants that have been designated as invasive in Arlington County.  In addition to regularly contributing articles to the website on regional gardens and various gardening topics, she also creates several series of weekly MGNV Facebook posts and daily Instagram and Twitter posts.

In person and via Zoom, Elaine leads public education programs about pollinators, selecting native plants, native plants for winter interest, and native alternatives to invasive plants. Through the MGNV speaker’s bureau, she also gives talks on climate-conscious gardening techniques to garden clubs, neighborhood civic associations, and the local Audubon at Home program’s ambassadors. In addition, she participates annually in the training of local residents as future Master Gardeners with class lectures, mentoring, and supervision of intern projects.

At the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden, she developed a labeling system for visitors to learn more about herbs, native plants, and what grows well in Arlington. Under her leadership, Glencarlyn has also hosted Master Gardener intern projects, Garden Talks, and other educational programs. The garden also obtained an Audubon At Home certification thanks to Elaine and some of her fellow garden coordinators. As one of the primary organizers for Glencarlyn’s twice-annual native plant sale and a regular participant at the MGNV booth at Green Spring Gardens’ annual plant sale, Elaine not only gets hundreds of native plants into the hands of residents each year, she also shares her infinitive wisdom about how to care for and manage native gardens.

It has been well-documented that native fauna species are returning to the area – thanks in large part to Elaine and the MGNV’s native flora-focused efforts. Whether you see Elaine at the Glencarlyn garden, at a community event or online in her role as the MGNV Instagram curator, be sure to thank her for her significant contributions to Arlington’s green spaces.

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A member of Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia since 1995 and of Arlington Regional Master Naturalists (ARMN) since 2009, Joanne has years of natural resources volunteer work under her belt.  She trained with ARMN upon retiring from the Parks Division, where for five years she had served as Horticulture Technician, training VCE Master Gardeners and overseeing the county’s Community Garden program.

Of her many service ARMN projects, Joanne worked with the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia to establish a native plant demonstration garden at Potomac Overlook Regional Park, and continues to lead the ongoing maintenance of that garden. Additionally, she helped form the Audubon at Home (AAH) Ambassadors program for Arlington and Alexandria. AAH volunteers visit individual homeowners to offer guidance on how to use best environmental management practices and increase use of native plants to improve habitat in their yards. A third major project has been Joanne’s work as part of the Steering Committee for the Plant NOVA Natives Campaign, helping edit its published guide, Native Plants for Northern Virginia, encouraging property owners to buy and plant locally native plants.

Trained in Arlington’s first Tree Steward class in 2001, Joanne was also one of several volunteers who surveyed trees in 2010 on the 256-acre Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall to help them better manage their tree population.  She has been a community gardener at Parks’ 10th and Barton Community Gardens since 1999, and served as Chief Gardener for three years, continuing on its steering committee. Her focus as a Master Gardener remains public and continuing education.

An active participant in Citizen Science projects, Joanne has contributed to Christmas bird counts, monitors bluebird nest boxes at Fort C. F. Smith, and assists the Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas to determine distribution and status of breeding bird populations.  She participated in Arlington’s first BioBlitz in 2017, a citizen science inventory of plants and wildlife during a 24-hour period.

In her time with ARMN, she has brainstormed ways to attract new members and make them feel welcome, served as a mentor to new members, and created an overall sense of inclusion within the group. As Joanne’s neighbor and fellow ARMN member Bill Browning puts it, “Joanne is a literal force of nature by her knowledge of the natural world, her willingness to share this knowledge, and her desire to make members in the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists feel welcome and have a sense of camaraderie.”

From youth to senior adults, Joanne serves a multigenerational cohort to ensure that Arlington residents have the skills and information they need to be good stewards to the environment. Joanne’s service has inspired and encouraged others to join the community of active volunteers in Arlington. The natural world in Arlington has a true ally in Joanne; the benefits of her volunteer work can be seen throughout the County.

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It’s rare to find a community member as dedicated to beautifying our green spaces and educating our residents as 2015 Bill Thomas Outstanding Park Service Volunteer Award winner Judy Funderburk. In addition to taking meticulous care of the Glencarlyn Branch Library teaching/demonstration garden, she empowers others to join in and help the cause. Resident Max Ferlauto recalls his time assisting Judy in the garden and credits her with deepening his lifelong love of nature.

Judy became a certified member of the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia 20 years ago and has logged over 6,000 volunteer hours as part of that organization. In addition to her extensive work at the stunning Glencarlyn Garden, Judy has participated in many other projects, including meadow restoration along the W&OD Trail in Bon Air Park where she rounded up more than a dozen other Master Gardeners to remove invasive plants and planted over 300 native perennials in their place. Additionally, Judy is a strong advocate of Arlington’s street tree effort, and notifies County staff of potential areas for expanding our tree canopy.

Judy is described by her peers as an energetic, outgoing person who has a passion for what she does. According to fellow Master Gardener Mary Free, Judy is “able to connect with people, project her enthusiasm, and impart her vast knowledge about horticulture and nature.” The hands-on training that she provides to groups such as the Girl Scouts of America, preschool children, fellow Master Gardeners and others ensures that the Glencarlyn Library Community Garden will remain a treasure for years to come. Judy’s passion is fueled by the knowledge that her volunteer work helps create places of respite and beauty here in Arlington. She hopes all who enter are renewed and find resources to take with them that will make their own lives and homes more beautiful.

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Since the onset of the 2020 Covid 19 shutdown of our offices and the style of public education outreach and venues we had known, a new programming style, born of necessity and supported by Virginia Tech technology, was adopted and has been so successful that we have adopted it as the go-to method of public education that our ANR program offers in our urban landscape.

With two years of experience with Zoom technology, our number of presenters and our outreach has grown exponentially in depth and breadth.  Not only have the recipients of our live public education delivery efforts grown, but recorded presentations have given our program extraordinary exposure. From 2020 to 2021, our public education attendance at live events grew to 4040 attendees- a 500% increase over the previous year.  In 2022, attendance at our 37 classes was reduced slightly as people took advantage of relaxed restrictions and back to work changes to only 3,127 unique attendees.  In addition, our recorded, close-captioned versions of these live Friday morning programs, has attracted many thousands of additional viewers who appreciate the convenience and easy access to these free on-line education programs. The MGNV YouTube channel includes 155 recorded public education classes, educational shorts, and nature videos. The channel has 2,392 current subscribers and we have a monthly high in 2022 of 7,938 views of our content with over 3,400 hours of watch time. The most popular video, Native Ground Covers for Sun and Shade, has had 61,444 views since it was published in September 2020.

In partnership with the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV.org) webmaster and social media committee chair, Elena Rodriguez, and our Extension Master Gardener Public Education chair persons, Beth Buffington, Sandy Burkholder and Nancy Brooks, our Arlington Office of Cooperative Extension and our ANR program that also serves residents of the City of Alexandria , our expanded mode of public outreach is paying dividends and expanding awareness of our urban Northern VA  Extension presence.

MGNV.org Virtual Classroom  https://mgnv.org/mg-virtual-classroom/

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These gardens are maintained by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia. They heroically inspire & educate visitors about native & ornamental plants, trees & sustainable gardening practices. The garden showcases all four seasons & provides a habitat for local wildlife in the park. Simpson Park, 426 East Monroe Ave.

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Hylton was selected for this award because of her significant service as a Master Gardener through VCE, an outreach program of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, and the US Department of Agriculture. As a Master Gardener volunteer for the past 21 years, Hylton has contributed nearly 7,900 hours of volunteer service, supporting Alexandria residents in their gardening and landscaping needs, while encouraging and promoting environmentally sound horticulture practices.

“For over 20 years, Alexandrians have benefitted from Joyce Hylton’s knowledge, expertise, and generosity,” said Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. “She has led and trained over 240 volunteers, making a positive impact on so many people through various civic programs in Alexandria, while instilling a sense of responsibility to our natural environment.”

“Joyce Hylton’s volunteer work makes her an outstanding recipient for the Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award,” said AlexRenew CEO Karen Pallansch. “Her service and dedication to educating the citizens of Alexandria on sustainable landscape management to benefit our environment has established her as a role model for volunteers in our community.”

Through her extensive volunteer service, Hylton has served as an educator for Alexandria residents, providing 4-5 public programs per year on sustainable landscape management in various Alexandria community venues, including libraries and community centers – both in person and virtually. She is an active supporter of the VCE Master Gardener volunteer training program, at one time serving as the training coordinator while working to meet state standards for environmental best practices for Master Gardener educators.

Beyond her educator and trainer roles, Hylton is most often found behind the Master Gardener Help Desk supporting Alexandrians who call, email, or walk in to answer questions on a variety of subjects, including everything from tree care, soil testing, and plant selection to vegetable gardening and composting. Perhaps, the most important way she has served all Alexandrians is by being a fierce advocate for the presence and value of VCE, an organization that provides research-based scientific knowledge and services to our residents.

Joyce Hylton has passed along the values of environmental responsibility in her work for over two decades. Her service to the community, both as a mentor to over 240 Master Gardener volunteers and a teacher of sustainable landscaping best practices to so many Alexandrians, personify the Restore the Earth theme of Earth Day 2021.

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When the Plot Against Hunger program had to suddenly pivot when AFAC was unable to support it due to the pandemic, Rock Spring Church opened their doors to provide space for a produce donation and bagging site. Over 50 gardens made donations. Volunteers processed and distributed to neighborhood food pantries almost 7,000 pounds of donated produce, plus 2,700 pounds from gleaning! In addition, they have stewarded a garden for many years to grow fresh veggies for Plot Against Hunger.

The produce bagging site was an amazing collaboration with the church, Arlington Virginia Cooperative Extension, Marymount University, Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, Master Food Volunteers, FOUA, and dozens of volunteers. Rock Spring Church will open their doors once again in 2021 to be a donation and bagging site for Plot Against Hunger!

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Kirsten Conrad joined the Arlington Office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension in September of 2007. As the Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kirsten leads these programs in Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. She trains and supervises the efforts of two volunteer organizations: Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia and Arlington Regional Master Naturalists and supports Tree Stewards of Arlington/Alexandria with technical and training opportunities. She has lectured and developed workshops on many horticultural topics including, xeriscaping, IPM, invasive species management, basic garden design, pesticide safety, poisonous plants, tree and herbaceous plant selection, pruning, and plant propagation. Her professional interests include ethnobotony, school gardening, forensic botany, and sustainable landscape design.

Before coming to Virginia, Kirsten spent four years in southern Delaware advising homeowners on sustainable design and horticultural best management practices. Before moving East, Kirsten spent 12 years in Bloomington, Indiana where she owned and operated a landscape services business, revamped Indiana University’s Tree Donation program, and served on the Board of Directors of Hilltop Garden and Nature Education Center. She held a Visiting Lecturer position in the School of Recreation and Park Administration at Indiana University and received Advanced Master Gardener status while serving as President and Vice-President of the Monroe County Master Gardener Association.

Kirsten has provided significant leadership in advancing urban agriculture issues, programs and enterprises in Arlington.

Beginning in 2009, the Arlington Office of Virginia Cooperative Extension developed a Sustainable Urban Agriculture Lecture series that offers educational “how to” workshops on topics like urban aquaculture, chicken keeping, mushroom production, organic labeling, vegetable gardening and demonstrations on how vegetable gardening can be a viable means to obtaining better nutrition and to stretching a food budget.

In 2010, Arlington VCE brought the Growing Communities workshop here from the American Community Garden Association to promote understanding and awareness of community garden development. In 2012, in collaboration with the Arlington Healthy Community Action Team and Alexandria Childhood Obesity Action Network, VCE organized and led 2 workshops on community garden leadership. In 2014, a pilot Garden Coaches program began to provide direct support to community garden grant recipients and the Big Book of Gardening Knowledge was created as a resource for community gardeners in both paper and electronic versions. Today, informal support is provided to 5 community gardens and 8 school gardens throughout Arlington and Alexandria via Master Gardener volunteers and VCE agent site visits.

Master Gardener volunteers are highly trained and motivated participants and educators in support of Urban Agriculture promotion efforts. Master Gardener volunteers maintain a public garden at the Organic Vegetable Garden at Potomac Overlook Regional Park in North Arlington. It is open daily and hosts monthly events that are advertised to the public. In its 40th year in Arlington, the Master Gardener program also helps provide 4 public programs per month on some aspect of urban agriculture, vegetable/herb culture, plant disease, and soil fertility management at Arlington and Alexandria libraries and community centers, and have been a partner with Wednesday Garden Talks program since their inception.

Master Gardener volunteers staff 2 Arlington plant clinic locations (5 total in the region), weekly from April through October and staff a daily horticulture help desk at the Fairlington Community Center. In addition, during the growing season, Master Gardener volunteers conduct weekly Plant Clinics at Arlington Central Library and Arlington Courthouse Farmers Market (plus two weekly plant clinics in Alexandria). In collaboration with the Arlington Extension 4H program, 6 schools host 6 week Junior Master Gardener education programs.

In 2012, Kirsten Conrad provided support and advice to Arlington County’s Urban Agriculture Task Force and provided information and recommendations for its Food Action Plan report submitted to the County Board in 2013.

In 2015, Arlington VCE created and implemented the first urban agriculture symposia. Repeated in 2017 and 2018, these day-long workshop style public education offerings brought regional urban agriculture experts to Arlington and showcased the County’s steady growth in urban agriculture infrastructure as well as the Extension Master Gardeners education skills and the work of Virginia State University and Virginia Tech.

In 2017, Arlington was the site of the state-wide Virginia Urban Agriculture Summit at George Mason University. Arlington VCE played a significant leadership role in planning and implementing this Summit.

In 2018, and 2019 as part of an urban agriculture exchange program, Professor Celso Albuquerque of UNISUL in Tubarao, and Professor Leo Rufato of UDESC in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil visited Arlington, Fairfax and Alexandria urban agriculture programs and sites. These visits followed Kirsten Conrad’s visit to Brazil in 2017. In 2019, in partnership with Friends of Urban Agriculture, Arlington Food Assistance Center and Marymount University, Arlington VCE helped plan and supported several events during October Urban Agriculture Month.

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Credit goes to all of MGNV who have over the years built a really vibrant organization dedicated to gardening and sustainable landscape management to VCE for training us, and to Kirsten Conrad, Agriculture & Natural Resource Extension Agent for leading the program and nominating MGNV for the award!

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2024 Governor’s Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree the Youth Education Program (YEP) is a Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia team of certified Extension Master Gardeners that provides hands-on youth gardening education at local schools and youth organizations. With a focus on sustainable practices, YEP’s 10-15 members collectively worked approximately 1,400 hours in the past year and served nearly 20 different youth organizations, including elementary schools in Alexandria and Arlington, the local Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, and the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center.

YEP members empower kids, caregivers, and teachers to practice sustainable gardening through fun activities related to researching, planning, and growing their own gardens. Working in small groups, YEP members engage students in key garden tasks, encouraging them to record observations, data, and drawings in their personal garden journal. YEP kids meet new friends, learn new skills, and engage collaboratively in groups, helping each other pull weeds, test soil, dig holes, and plant seeds.

YEP kids benefit from growing food and native plants, belonging to a garden community, experiencing the mental health boosts of gardening, and learning about healthy eating. Further, as an intergenerational program, YEP benefits its volunteers as much as the youth communities they serve, providing new-found purpose post-retirement.

YEP members also advocate for school garden space and outdoor water access by serving on local sustainability boards. Communities are created through YEP’s work. Caring for and nurturing a garden enhances feelings of empowerment and community by creating something good that all can enjoy.

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