Lil Quaranta researches a plant for identification in the Mahoning County Extension Plant and Pest Clinic. (Submitted photo)

At the recent Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Conference, the Mahoning County Master Gardener Volunteers received several awards for outstanding service to the community.

Awards are for projects and programs that Master Gardener Volunteers are engaged in around our community and are categorized in groups and by the size of the Master Gardener Volunteer programs throughout Ohio.

Columbiana County volunteers are part of the Mahoning program.

Applications were submitted for awards, and applications were judged by horticulture experts from across the USA.

Awards received included:

• Back Yards and Local Food: Mahoning County — First place. Project: Junior Master Gardener program.

This program is focused on youth in the inner city of Youngstown. Youth learn all aspects of gardening for an entire growing season and harvest their own vegetables, flowers and more.

• Community Service: Mahoning County — First place. Project: Smucker House.

Our volunteers are involved in a restoration project for the Smucker House in Salem. Some may know it as the purple house on Broadway Avenue. Master Gardener Volunteers have been charged with designing and overseeing landscape care.

Due to their cooperative work with others in the city, Salem has become a Bee City USA. The Smucker House now has bee and other pollinator -friendly plants as a focus in the landscape. Educational programs for the public are being held in the garden.

• Integrated Pest Management: Mahoning County — First place. Plant and Pest Clinic.

Master Gardener Volunteers staff this clinic in person two days a week in the summer and continue to answer questions through the winter. Calls are accepted as well as specimens that may be presented daily at the Ohio State University Extension office. Plant problems and issues with pests are diagnosed.

Customers are given suggestions and recommendations for dealing with pests, improving plant growth and encouraging beneficial insects.

• Best Overall Project of the Year in Ohio — Mahoning County — First place for its Plant and Pest Clinic.

• Perseverance Award — Mahoning County.

This was a special category for 2020, highlighting those counties that made things happen despite the challenges of the pandemic. Mahoning County volunteers quickly pivoted to online programming, continued to offer clinic services by phone and Zoom, and worked to include all volunteers to build an even stronger bond with multiple options for online meetings and programs.

• Volunteer County Coordinator of the Year: Marilyn McKinley, Mahoning County.

Marilyn’s work to connect volunteers to the program and make them feel part of the Master Gardener family has been instrumental in growing the program in Mahoning County. She has served as president of the group, wrote numerous articles for the Valley Grows page and coordinated the mentor program.

• Mahoning County also was awarded a platinum status for fulfilling OSU-required parameters and going above and beyond those requirements. The county program is managed through the OSU Extension Office in Canfield.

Are you interested in becoming a Master Gardener? Applications are now being accepted at the OSU extension. Classes begin Feb. 1. Details are at http://go.osu.edu/gardenvolunteer.

• Barrett is the Ohio State University Extension Educator for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Mahoning County.