Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the second or last Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

Congratulations 
Graduation and celebration 
We all bee-long
Small bites & treats potluck
+ awards

To RSVP CLICK HERE.

Saturday, November 19, 2022 @2-4PM
Event Address:  Central Electrical Training Center Tangent, OR 97389
Contact: Elizabeth Records, program staff: elizabeth.records@oregonstate.edu 541-730-3471

We gather to honor your achievements as a Master Gardener volunteer and celebrate what our community can do together.
Be recognized for your commitment to growing knowledge, gardens, and communities.
Enjoy a dessert/small bites social (please bring something to share and label food suitable for particular dietary restrictions).
Celebrate our graduating class of new Master Gardeners.
Honor volunteer achievement with awards and prizes.
Family, friends and loved ones welcome. To RSVP CLICK HERE.

Best from your hosts—
Linn County Master Gardener Association
OSU Extension Service Master Gardener Program

with support from–
Benton County Master Gardener Association

  • Shout outs
    • Coming soon! 10/6 – Gardening in the PNW: Insect Explorations with Rich Little. 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. Albany Library, 2450 14th Avenue SE. FREE, drop in. Retired entomologist Rich will introduce you to pollinators and pests alike.
    • Linn County Extension Open House – Oct 17, 2022 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm – free, drop in. Network and visit with Extension stakeholders, volunteers, employees, and the community. Enjoy door prizes and refreshments.
    • Volunteers needed – cocoon care helpers
      • Trainees welcome! Fall 2022 Mason Bee Cocoon Harvesting Classes. 10/8-10/25 (various dates/times including weekends). Assist instructors, support learners, and sell supplies. Learn more and RSVP. Report service as “instructor: direct”.
    • Volunteer service hours and continuing education are due 10/31


  • LCMGA news
    • The Fall 2022 OMGA (Oregon Master Gardener Association) newsletter, ‘The Gardener’s Pen’ is now out. Please take a moment to review the newsletter, which includes important updates on OMGA advocacy to improve MG Program funding.
    • We have two positions open on our board: The 1st VP is responsible for scheduling the PNW talks and any talks for our membership meetings. The treasurer is responsible for maintaining our financial records on Quick Books, issuing checks, and providing a report of expenses for our monthly Board Meetings. I and the entire Board will help and support our new officers to make this a fun and rewarding experience. As a Board member, you can help shape the future of Linn Master Gardeners. Please if interested in joining our board in any capacity, call me, 541 990 5624 or email goergenb (at) gmail.com

  • Volunteers needed
    • 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”. 
    • Pop-Up Plant Clinics need people to “talk plants” with our communities. Sign up HERE. Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct
    • Anytime – Become a Forest Pest Detector and report observations of potentially invasive species. Report hours as “citizen science: indirect”. Returning volunteers may report time spent with training as continuing education, and time spent spotting and reporting possible pests as “citizen science: indirect”.
    • Trainees welcome – Demo Garden: Join us for work parties at the Linn Demo Garden on Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 10:00am-12:00pm. Report service as Educational Garden (Maintenance): Indirect.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page

  • Continuing education
    • New! 10/11-10/25 (various sites and times) Mason Bee Cocoon Care classes! If you have mason bees, learn how to triple their survival (and increase your fruit) through cocoon care. Join a FREE hands-on workshop taught by Master Gardener volunteers! If you are a returning volunteer who is new to this class you can report the time as continuing education. Learn more and RSVP.
    • Rich Little entomology learning: Rich is at the plant clinic most Thursday afternoons from 1-3ish. RSVP and bring an insect, or a plant damaged by insects, and hone your diagnostics skills with this longtime MGV and retired entomologist.

  • 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.)
    • 10/8/2022 Houseplant & cuttings swap. 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Albany Library, 2450 14th Avenue SE. FREE, drop in. Please bring cuttings and starts of healthy houseplants to share. (Note, volunteer plant clinic spots for this event are filled, and volunteers serving at this event CAN earn service hours. Attending the event as a guest is not eligible for MGV service, but we hope you’ll bring and share houseplant cuttings!)

Bookmark our page: Find newsletter archives, volunteer handbook and more volunteer opportunities at https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/activebentonlinnmg/

Share an item for eNews by contacting your program staff by the second or last Wednesday of each month. Please use this event checklist to ensure all needed information is included in your request.

Linn County Master Gardeners will again offer in-person blue orchard bee cocoon harvesting classes. Rich Little will offer a drop in “Train the Trainer” class at the Linn Extension office on Wednesday, September 14th from 10:00-Noon.
You will learn more about mason bees and learn how to guide people in harvesting cocoons. The cocoon harvesting classes will be held in October (mostly in Linn and Benton County). A few have let us know that they are ready to teach the cocoon harvesting classes, but we need lots of volunteer helpers! We will need 5-6 helpers for most of the 9 classes and will have sign-up sheets ready for you to volunteer. Bring your calendar, so you are ready to sign up. Come even if you don’t know much about mason bees.
  • Shout outs
    • Volunteer service hours and continuing education are due 10/31
      • Congratulations to the growing group of trainees who have completed learning and service goals to earn their first Master Gardener Volunteer Certifications! Save the date for graduation and celebration on Saturday November 19 from 2-4 in Tangent. 
      • Are you a trainee who needs help completing your service? Schedule a visit about volunteering or contact Elizabeth Records.
    • NEW volunteer op! 9/14 – Evaluating aesthetic qualities of selected landscape plants. 10am – 2pm (Arrive when convenient; ratings take about 60 min). OSU’s North Willamette Research & Extension Center in Aurora. Learn more and get directions. Report the time as “citizen science:indirect”. 
    • NEW continuing ed! 9/14 – 2022 Dry Farming Field Day: The Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Small Farms Program is offering the 8th annual Dry Farming Field Day. Come learn about multiple dry farming research projects, taste different varieties of dry-farmed produce and visit with other growers and researchers in the Dry Farming Collaborative. Sept. 14, 4-6 p.m. at the Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture (844 SW 35th St., Corvallis, OR 97331). This event is free to attend but registration is required. Space is limited. Farmers and service providers: https://beav.es/ib5; gardeners: https://beav.es/ibi. For more info and registration please visit: https://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/smallfarms/projects/dry-farming or contact Teagan Moran at 541-713-5011 or Teagan.moran@oregonstate.edu

  • LCMGA news
    • We have two positions open on our board: The 1st VP is responsible for scheduling the PNW talks and any talks for our membership meetings. The treasurer is responsible for maintaining our financial records on Quick Books, issuing checks, and providing a report of expenses for our monthly Board Meetings. I and the entire Board will help and support our new officers to make this a fun and rewarding experience. As a Board member, you can help shape the future of Linn Master Gardeners. Please if interested in joining our board in any capacity, call me, 541 990 5624 or email goergenb (at) gmail.com
    • General membership meeting Sept 22nd. LCMGA Board President Betty Goergen will let you know the time and place in her next email.

  • Volunteers needed
    • New – 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”. 
    • New fall dates – Albany Library Houseplant Swap and Extension open house! Pop-Up Plant Clinics need people to “talk plants” with our communities. Sign up HERE. Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct
    • New! 9/24 Fall 2022 Master Gardener BioBlitz. Grab your camera and join us on iNaturalist to capture the insects, birds, wild plants, and other wild organisms in your garden or a nearby community or public garden space. Your efforts will help to document garden biodiversity in Oregon! Online – all day. Learn more and join. Report the time as “citizen science: indirect”. 
    • Trainees welcome – Demo Garden: Join us for work parties at the Linn Demo Garden on Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 10:00am-12:00pm. Report service as Educational Garden (Maintenance): Indirect.
    • Find ongoing and anytime opportunities on the Linn Volunteer Opportunities Page


  • 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

Earn plant clinic hours and help kids learn to love gardening! We need volunteers from 9-1 (or as long as supplies last). Sign up: https://www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=w.manageSignUp#/35383828/slots/
Report service as Plant Clinic: Direct
  • Shoutouts
    • Linn & Dual MGV Trainees – online plant clinic mentor sessions. Please RSVP HERE with some dates and times that work for you. You can attend more than one of these dates:   
  • Friday June 3, 12pm-2pm (Elizabeth)
  • Saturday June 4, 10am-12pm (Elizabeth)
  • Wednesday June 8, 1pm-3pm (Diane) 
  • Friday June 10, 9am-11am (Elizabeth)
  • Saturday June 11, 10am-12pm  (Elizabeth)

If you need other days or times please let me know a few options that work for you.

  • Garden Tour Tickets Available Now! We’re pleased to announce that we will once again be hosting our annual garden tour event, on Saturday, June 18. After missing two years due to the pandemic, we can’t wait to see everyone again! At a very affordable $15 each, tickets are available online and will be mailed to you (USPS). They can also be purchased at the Albany Visitors Association, 110 3rd Street SE through the day of the event. Get your tickets HERE!
  • NEW – Trainees welcome–Urban Garden Row at OSU: Especially for busy folks or those with limited transportation: Work alongside Kathleen Dennis, formerly of the Oregon Garden, to learn plant identification, gardening techniques, landscape design for urban garden features like containers and trellises. Create Social media and blogs about projects in the Urban Garden to reach local and Statewide audiences, especially gardeners growing in small spaces, containers and community gardens. Based at Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticutlure on campus. To learn more, please contact Elizabeth Records. 
    • Save the dates: PNW Gardening Series returns to Albany Main Branch Library: June 2: Rich Little — insects
    • Don’t be scammed: Approximately 400 Oregon State University student, staff and faculty accounts have been compromised by an email phishing attack that took place on Monday, May 16. Please review available materials on Phishing.
  • LCMGA News:
    • 2022 LCMGA Board Meetings IN PERSON Tue 6/7/2022 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM at Linn County Extension. 33630 McFarland Rd, Tangent. If you would prefer to dial in please contact Elizabeth for directions.
  • Volunteers needed
    • Trainees and returning volunteers! – Through the Garden Gate Tour needs volunteers. Train on 6/11, then volunteer on 6/18. Learn more and sign up HERE.
    • Trainees and returning volunteers! Linn County Pop-Up Plant Clinics need people to “talk plants” with our communities. Upcoming dates at Farmers Markets and more to come. Sign up HERE.
    • Coming soon – Brownsville Farmers Market
    • Trainees welcome – Demo Garden: Join us for work parties at the Linn Demo Garden on Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 1:00-3:00.  Get volunteer hours by helping make the Demo Garden look great.