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Featured volunteer plant clinic opportunities!
[T] various dates Plant Clinic at Benton County Extension Office. Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct.
[T] various dates – Special Event Plant Clinics at the Corvallis Farmers’ Market and beyond. Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct.
Shoutouts
- In memory: Dr. Bernadine Strik (Via Gail Langellotto): I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. By now, you may have heard that Dr. Bernadine Strik, a true friend of the Master Gardener Program, recently passed away after a nearly 3-year battle with ovarian cancer. Bernadine was generous with her time, knowledge, and enthusiasm about berry cultivation. She regularly taught at Master Gardener annual classes, conferences, and webinars, even though her position was focused on serving Oregon’s commercial berry growers. Some may not know that the work she did for Oregon’s community and home gardeners was above and beyond the expectations of her position…. She was an amazing scientist and a genuine and wonderful human being.
- The celebration of life for Bernadine Strik is planned for Tuesday, April 25, 2:00pm at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on the Oregon State University campus. There will be time for folks to share stories about Bernadine at the end of the service.
- Dam Proud Day. On April 26, Beavers everywhere will come together to support the things we do best: transformative educational experiences and life-changing research.
- Oregon Master Gardener Program is excited to be raising support specifically for our Seed to Supper program and updating our foundational resource, the “Sustainable Gardening Handbook” to reflect current knowledge. Please join us in gathering your friends and colleagues to give to support the Master Gardener Program on Dam Proud Day, at any donation level. See you (online) April 26th!
- I volunteered! How do I log my hours? Here are some resources to help!
- How do I use the Volunteer Reporting System?
- What categories do I use for various activities?
- Please check out page 27 of the Volunteer sourcebook for examples.
- Volunteer opportunities [T] = includes opportunities that trainees can join now!
- Plant clinics! See the featured opportunity above.
- Trainees and returning volunteers are invited to help with BCMGA’s biggest fundraiser of the year! Unless otherwise noted, you are invited to sign up for as many slots as you wish.
- [T] 5/5-5/6 BCMGA’s Plant Sale, Contact Leslie Hauser, Plant Sale Volunteer Coordinator, with questions or if you need help signing up. lesliehauser107@gmail.com, 702-340-6513. Report service as: Fundraiser: support
- [T] Various dates Plant Propagation! Potting up perennial starts, labeling, and preparing thousands of plants for our upcoming sale. Report service as: Fundraiser: support
- [T] Various dates BCMGA Veggie enthusiasts! We are ready to start planting veggies at the Philomath High School Greenhouse for the Plant Sale (Saturday, May 6). Sessions are planned (mostly) on Tuesdays (one Thursday) 1:00 – 3:00 pm. Please sign up for ONE session. This is a pretty popular activity, so we want to share the time. We’ll send out another reminder if needed to fill slots. Questions? Contact Jennifer Klammer, 541-602-0431 Report service as: Fundraiser: support
- [T] various dates – Community science – Contribute data to research on gardens, plants, and wildlife. Explore and sign up. Many projects are remote and on your own schedule. Report the time as Citizen Science: Indirect
- Continuing Education [G] = opportunities that Trainees can use for Garden Lab credit.
- [G] New! 5/2 Know Your Weeds Community Workshop, 6-7:30pm, Corvallis Community Center – Free! You may have some of our most noxious local weeds in your own backyard! These invasive species can spread quickly and negatively impact agriculture, forests, and waterways. Learn about some of our “Most Wanted” local weeds, how to spot them, and how to remove them in your own backyard. This workshop is presented in partnership with OSU Master Gardeners and the Benton Cooperative Weed Management Area. RSVP. Please bring a bagged sample of one or more weeds shown HERE.
- 5/4 Public Seed Library Talks – Thinning, weeding, and succession planting – 6:00pm – 7:00 pm, Corvallis Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis.
- 5/10 Public Seed Library Talks – “Weather Wise” Gardening – 6:00pm – 7:00 pm, Corvallis Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis
- [G] 5/12 Growing Together LCMGA classes in the Demo Garden – Care & Maintenance for your Garden 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
- Anytime: Growing Oregon Gardeners – Level Up 2022: watch recordings HERE
- Anytime: Recordings of Zoom Master Gardener training from Curry County with your favorite guest lecturers from OSU and beyond, are available for any volunteer to take as continuing education. Trainees are also welcome to watch and supplement their classes. More links are being added weekly, see the current list HERE.
- Anytime: The Oregon Master Gardener Program Online is available for returning volunteers, free of charge. Refresh your knowledge of MG basic training topics. Look for a link to apply in the email version of this post.
- OSU Extension Master Gardener Program News
- Congrats Elza on your new role! Via Brooke Edmunds, Interim Program Coordinator: “I’m writing with news of a transition in our program. Elza Records has taken a new position with OSU and May 3rd is her last day with our Master Gardener Program. Please see her message to you HERE. Thank you, Elza, for all you did to elevate the Master Gardener Program in Linn and Benton Counties! And congrats on your new role! So, what’s next for our Master Gardener Programs? Over the next few weeks, I’ll be working with Elza, the Extension office managers, our regional administrator, and Association leadership to map our next steps to ensure that your activities are supported. Thank you in advance for your patience as we negotiate this major transition. (Note: I do expect some delays as our regional administrator is out of the office until next month.) I will keep you updated.”
- OSU Extension Service is hiring for Statewide Extension Master Gardener Program Manager to lead the statewide program after Gail Langellotto takes a new job this summer. Learn more and share this application with anyone who might be the right person for this job!
- Stormi’s story: Master Gardeners are on-the-ground community scientists. Stormi is heavily involved in her local community work of Master Gardeners working to help preserve the threatened Oregon Silverspot Butterfly (OSB). In a partnership with the Lincoln Soil and Water Conservation District (LSWCD) Stormi worked with fellow Master Gardeners “to conduct very small-scale “tests” that could help increase the adult OSB’s feeding area and determine how far adult OSBs will travel. Read the post.
- OSU Extension FREE Catalog – Popular this Week
- EM 8677 Analytical Laboratories Serving Oregon
- EC 1304 Growing Blueberries in Your Home Garden
- EM 9027 Growing Your Own
- BCMGA News
- Congratulation to the new Public Seed Library! The driving force behind this effort is Master Gardener Jill Farrow. It is a community collaboration with OSU Extension, Corvallis Public Library, and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition. Several Benton Master Gardeners have participated as speakers and as volunteers at the Saturday plant clinics. Our BCMGA volunteers have reported back that it has been a great experience and very worthwhile for the community. Thank you to all MGs who have helped to make this a huge success. The seeds are virtually gone, however, individuals can still make donations of new or partially used seek packets, especially for those crops whose seeds do not save well.
- 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.)
- The Corvallis Sustainability Coalition’s Food Action Team is beginning to plan for the Edible Garden Tour ’23. The project lead has asked for the following message to be shared with gardening groups. Would you please share the word? Thank you. Note responses are requested by April 30.
