• Program Updates

Via OSU Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, here is the latest on OSU’s public health measures. OSU’s policy of vaccine carding for certain events is going away, and most indoor settings will become mask-optional. Understanding that our community has a wide range of needs around these issues, the local Master Gardener program will continue to offer a selection of activities including inside, outside and online.

Please also note that County policies affect Extension activities, and in Benton County as of today (3/4/22), we are still waiting for County policies to be announced. Next week we should know more.

– Elizabeth Records – program coordinator (interim)

• Shoutouts
  • Thank you Nancy, Ranee, Rich and Susan for taking the lead on a successful 8th Annual BEEvent! Thank you Bobbye and Diane for leadership in bee gear pick ups, and countless others who have lent a hand! And special thanks to Brooke Edmunds for tech support and Q&A moderation. Together, we put Linn County on the map for pollinator education!
  • Spring schedule for program coordinator: March-June, Elizabeth’s weekly schedule is Wednesday-Sunday, 8-5.
  • eNews spring schedule: MGV eNews for Linn County volunteers will be published second and fourth Thursdays with occasional updates inbetween.

• Volunteers needed
  • Trainees welcome – help plan the Linn County demonstration garden for 2022 and get involved in this fun hands-on project. For more information contact raneewebb66 (at) gmail.com
  • In-person outdoor community plant clinics coming up this spring to a garden center near you. Locations and times still TBD – likely Saturdays, with an opportunity to engage trainees. If interested, please contact Elizabeth Records.
  • Speakers’ bureau: are you an organized, outgoing person interested in helping connect interested volunteers with community organizations needing gardening education? Please contact Elizabeth Records.
  • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page

• Continuing education opportunities:
  • BEEvent – shortly, tickets to view recordings will be available at linnmastergardeners.com
  • OSU Extension Master Gardeners announce 2022 Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up Series schedule It’s a new year and a new slate of free online learning webinars with Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up Series. Whether you want to learn how to finally be better with your irrigation, understand if cleaning up leaves in the fall is really good or not so good for the insects in the garden, or get excited for all things roses, there’s a class for you.  
  • Growing Oregon Gardeners – Level Up 2022:
    • April 12: Plant Grow Harvest Repeat: Succession Planting
    • May 10: Growing Great Roses!
    • June 14: Irrigation Choices and Design for the Home Garden and Landscape 
    • Find more HERE.

• Extension News
  • Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Urban Greenspace: To observe Oregon State University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, the Master Gardener Program hosted a screening of the movie ‘The Ants and the Grasshopper’. The movie follows Anita Chitaya, as she travels from her home in Malawi, to farms and gardens across the United States to share her story of how climate change is impacting her village. Afterwards, Dr. Vivek Shandas of Portland State University joined us to discuss the intersection of historical racism, landscaping and greenspace, and environmental justice. Read the blog.
• Community news (Please note that anything in this section is not eligible for MGV volunteer service nor endorsed by Extension, but is mentioned as a courtesy to our community.)
  • None this week.