Build Friendships While Staying Mentally and Physically Active
Do you aspire to live a fulfilled life? Are you interested in staying mentally and physically active? Do you value building meaningful friendships?
Volunteering offers the opportunity to achieve all these goals and more! Volunteers play an essential role in supporting the organizations they serve. Master Gardener Volunteers with UF/IFAS Extension are dedicated to a mission to ‘assist Extension agents in providing research-based horticultural education to Florida residents.’ This mission addresses a challenge that would be impossible for a single Extension agent to achieve, especially in counties experiencing rapid population growth.
Through their efforts, Master Gardener Volunteers deliver education on sound, research-based horticultural practices. Their work not only enhances public knowledge but also fosters positive behavioral changes related to gardening, landscaping, and conservation practices among residents in the communities they serve.
However, an often-overlooked aspect of this volunteer program is the significant benefits it provides to the volunteers themselves. Numerous studies highlight the social and wellness benefits of engaging in volunteerism, revealing its profound impact on personal health and community connections.
UF/IFAS Extension faculty dug into research and collected data to prove that volunteering is, in fact, good for you!
Volunteering, when combined with the therapeutic benefits of gardening and nature, offers a valuable remedy for addressing the increasing isolation and depression commonly experienced by many individuals. Connections made through volunteering can turn into high-quality social relationships, and The Mayo Clinic indicated that: ‘volunteering increases social interaction and helps build a support system based on common interests. One of the best ways to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to participate in a shared activity.’
Rooted in education, the Master Gardener Program volunteers have indicated an improvement in physical health, an increase in skills, and a reduction in stress. Digging into this work with their fellow volunteers also has social benefits that extend beyond volunteer work. Master Gardener Volunteers connect and create community. If you are new to Florida or feel like you want to expand your circle, it is a great way to engage with interesting, motivated people from all over the country (and the world)!
If you are interested in learning more about the Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program, including ways to become involved, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Service: Find Your Local Office.
The Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program is a volunteer-driven program that benefits UF/IFAS Extension and the citizens of Florida. The program extends the vision of the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, all while protecting and sustaining natural resources and environmental systems, enhancing the development of human resources, and improving the quality of human life through the development of knowledge in agricultural, human and natural resources and making that knowledge accessible.
Anne Yasalonis is a residential horticulture agent, UF/IFAS Extension Polk County. Contact information: Anne Yasalonis UF/IFAS Extension Polk County, anneanne@ufl.edu; David Outerbridge UF/IFAS Extension Lee County, douterbridge@ufl.edu.
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