By Bill Sublette
The Piedmont Master Gardeners have named Fern Campbell the recipient of their first Exceptional Leadership Award, recognizing her extraordinary contributions to virtually every aspect of the organization and its service to the Charlottesville and Albemarle County communities.
Campbell joined the Piedmont Master Gardeners in 2013, when she completed Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener training class. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to fulfill PMG’s mission to provide research-based horticultural information to the public and to promote environmentally sound best practices for managing home landscapes.
A retired nurse practitioner in the University of Virginia Health System’s Department of Urology, Campbell is a longtime member of the PMG Board of Directors and served as president of the organization in 2017. She later became chair of its Projects Committee and in that role has shaped and expanded the many free and low-cost educational programs and advisory services PMG provides.
“Fern is a boundless bundle of energy. She runs nonstop to keep our projects moving forward,” said PMG President Judy Kirby. “Whether we’re helping to establish a new garden program at an elementary school, staffing a Help Desk at a farmers market or the County Fair, or helping to make a community garden more productive and sustainable, Fern is there, making sure we have the people and materials in place to get the job done.”
In 2019, Campbell spearheaded a committee that planned “The Future of Our Landscapes in a Changing Environment,” a program of distinguished speakers and panelists at Charlottesville’s Paramount Theater that examined the effects of a changing climate on our gardens and our community and what can be done to stave off harmful impacts. Commemorating PMG’s 30th anniversary, the event raised the organization’s profile as a champion of environmental stewardship.
She subsequently was a key participant in a strategic planning process for PMG that called for increased emphasis on sustainable horticulture, food insecurity issues and outreach to underserved populations. The resulting strategic plan was the impetus for new and enhanced collaborations with a range of community partners, such as the International Rescue Committee’s New Roots program, Cultivate Charlottesville, the Bread and Roses ministry at Trinity Episcopal church, the Yancey Community Center in Esmont, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, and Albemarle County Public Schools.
Campbell also has been instrumental in strengthening PMG’s partnership with The Center at Belvedere, where Master Gardeners have worked with other volunteers to establish a demonstration rose garden and a demonstration pollinator garden made up largely of native plants that support pollinators through the growing season. The Piedmont Master Gardeners offer a free evening program at The Center every other month.
“So often, Fern has a vision for how PMG can make a difference in the community, and then she brings together all the people and resources necessary to make it happen,” noted Kirby. “She not only provides direction. She is there on the ground, working side-by-side with her colleagues to make certain the project is effective and adheres to our commitment to science-based horticulture.”
Prime examples are new initiatives she helped design with the aim of meeting the organization’s strategic goals. These include the Healthy Landscapes program, which provides customized, site-specific advice to households interested in adopting conservation landscaping practices, such as the use of locally native plants, removal of nonnative invasive plants, and measures to protect water quality, support for wildlife and reduced energy use. She also assembled a team of PMGs to launch Share Your Harvest, a program that helps gardeners share their homegrown produce with local food banks and food pantries.
As a member of PMG’s Communications Committee, Campbell helps raise public awareness of the organization’s programs and events, develops content for the PMG website and writes articles for distribution to the media. She is active in the Virginia Master Gardeners Association and has been a presenter at the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners College.
“Fern is constantly learning and has acquired a vast wealth of horticultural knowledge,” Kirby said. “She is beloved as a mentor by our trainees, by her fellow Master Gardeners, and by people in the community who look to her for reliable horticultural advice.”
Campbell and her husband, Cleve Campbell, who is also a Master Gardener, maintain a 15,000-square-foot home garden in western Albemarle County, where they grow an array of edible and ornamental plants. Much of the output, fresh and preserved, is donated to local emergency food providers.
