Join Friends of the Greene County Extension!

Join Friends of Greene County Extension which is now working to save Extension financially. There is a Giving Form that can be used to join now. Make your check out to University of Missouri Extension. Just write Friends of Greene County Extension on the memo line of your check and the front of the Giving Form.

Why is Greene County Extension important to the Springfield Botanical Center & Gardens?

That is a great question. The reason is simple, Extension is more than just a resident of the Botanical Center building at 2400 S. Scenic Avenue. It is the “heart” of university research based information available to residents of Greene County plus others from outside the county. For example, there are many people calling and coming into the Master Gardener Hotline service (nearly 2000 last year alone) looking for answers to the many hundreds of questions that come up regarding horticulture.

Other contacts with the Extension offices deal with 4-H, agriculture and other issues. The Extension office is where people wanting a soil test or to have a plant analyzed for disease, etc come to leave their samples for processing.

In addition to horticulture and agriculture other main Extension programs focus on parenting, entrepreneurship, and personal finance. The Botanical Center meeting rooms are used to present many topics of interest to the public, all of which bring large number of visitors to the Springfield Botanical Gardens.

Once visitors are exposed to the Hotline service, meeting rooms, etc. at the Botanical Center they will either be spending some time exploring the grounds or return to visit the 114 acres with it’s 36 gardens and other features later. Word of mouth will then bring their many contacts to the Springfield Botanical Gardens if they enjoyed what they saw and the way they were treated by Extension and other staff members.

All of this activity leads to more potential members for organizations like Master Gardeners of Greene County, Friends of the Garden, Greater Ozarks Hosta Society, Friends of the Gray-Campbell Farmstead, Ozark Daylily Society, Federated Garden Clubs and the many other Park Partners. Additional park visitors will mean more rentals of park facilities and park volunteers. Of course with the increased visits and conversation the park will become recognized even sooner as a “must see” location for regional residents and beyond.
Please help us spread the message!