The Gardening and Environmental Hotline addresses the everyday (and not so everyday) problems encountered by gardeners.  It is staffed by trained URI Master Gardeners who have completed rigorous program requirements and have communally docked tens of thousands of volunteer hours working gardens in the field and answering landscape and environmental questions over the phone, through email and in person at numerous horticultural and environmental events, the hotline hopes to create an open venue for anyone interested in gardening and gardening related activities. The vast knowledge of the URI Master Gardeners is backed by the University’s College of Environmental and Life Sciences’ many research endeavors, allowing for our call center operators to answer your questions with the latest and most pertinent information. If a Master Gardener is unable to answer your questions, you can be assured that you will be directed to a university faculty member who will.

Hours of Operation

Monday - Thursday  (March through October)

9am - 2pm

1-800-448-1011

(toll free in RI; please dial the '1')

We also answer questions via email. On average 125 responses are answered each month. This volume has nearly quadrupled from the first year (2003) when the average was 29 emails a month. The emails have come from 72% of the United States including Alaska and Hawaii and 18 countries including Canada (several provinces), Australia, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq and South Africa. Most are military or diplomatic embassy personnel.