Master Gardener bridges classroom and community
The Learning Garden was established in 2008 to teach gardening at the YMCA day care in Grand Rapids. Passersby from multifamily housing and trails took interest, which prompted Rachel Newman (pictured left) and other Master Gardeners to ask: What if the Learning Garden was for everyone?
So they volunteered 500 hours to expand and revitalize the space, which now serves 50-70 children and 30 adults weekly. Newman incorporated permaculture principles learned in a University of Minnesota sustainability class. “I love sharing research. And I really love the University of Minnesota. To volunteer with them, I feel a lot of pride,” Newman said.
Today, The Learning Garden is a sprawling library of horticultural knowledge and the perfect garden set for Itasca County TV educational programming. Local businesses donate supplies, and Newman’s husband, an engineer, ensured ADA accessibility in garden design, pro bono.
“The garden is open for EVERYONE to enjoy,” Newman said. “The gate is just closed to keep the bunnies out!”
Highlights
- Extension’s Leadership and Civic Engagement team coordinated a year-long program with Blandin Community Learning Network grantees living in small communities in Itasca County. Participants connected with regional leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities in their communities.
- Bigfork 4-H Afterschool puts engineering skills to the test, including a new unit on Simple Machines that starts with the inclined plane. Each week, youth explore a new simple machine and use the engineering design process to design, build and improve their creations.
- 4-H Youth Teaching Youth provides teens, guided by 4-H staff, the opportunity to develop and deliver after-school programming for elementary students enrolled at Greenway, Bigfork, and Deer River schools.
- U of M Farm Family of the Year: Heart & Hooves Horsemanship (2026)
- Minnesota Master Naturalist training: North Woods, Great Lakes biome (Meadowlands)
- Extension faculty and educators taught a free cover crops and perennial pasture management field day in Grand Rapids, including Axel Garcia y Garcia, sustainable cropping systems specialist; Eric Mousel, beef systems management specialist; Liz Stahl and Angie Peltier, Extension crops educators; and Gabi Bolwerk, Extension water resources and soil health educator.
Itasca County office
Extension has 14 regional offices supporting all 87 counties in Minnesota.
Itasca County partners with Extension to deliver practical education and research you can use at home, at work and in your community. More about Extension in our county.
About the Minnesota 87 project
Spend time in any Minnesota county, and you will almost certainly encounter University of Minnesota Extension. Our faculty and staff, volunteers, participants, alumni and partners are woven into the fabric of rural, urban and suburban Minnesota life. This project showcases Extension in action through photos, stories and a sampling of the many ways Extension has touched the lives of people in every county.