Note that there is a character limit to nomination fields. Since we print posters (displayed at Mini-College) and develop a press release for Master Gardener award winners, the character limit helps nominators (and us) to focus on the details that we should highlight about each nominee.
Nominations should be crafted and submitted in close consultation and collaboration with your Master Gardener Chapter Board (if your county has one) and your Master Gardener Coordinator.
Recognizing National Women’s History Month during the month of March, I invite you to explore these articles and videos highlighting gardening and landscaping accomplishments by women. The actions of these courageous females help pave the way for us, our granddaughters, and future generations. One of my favorites, Indigenous Spirituality inside Oregon Prisons is educational, inspirational, and thought-provoking. I shared the online video with others, creating meaningful dialogue about spirituality and inclusion. I encourage you to do the same. I invite you to select at least one article or video that touches your heart and share it with others.
Lastly, for fun, check out the two videos highlighting easy yoga exercises specifically designed for us…gardeners! Happy Spring gardening!
Cheers, Celina Ratliff Clackamas County Master Gardener | Statewide Master Gardener DEI Taskforce member
The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled the more I gain. —Susan B. Anthony
Women Making a Difference Yesterday & Today: Celebrating Women’s History Month
Garden design was a man’s world in the early 1900s. Learn how a few women landscape architects determined to practice in their chosen careers slowly made their way into the field. This short video is from Smithsonian Gardens.
Check out the #HorticultureHERstory hashtag on Smithsonian Gardens’ Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more tales of groundbreaking women!
Photographers Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864-1952) and Mattie Edwards Hewitt (1869-1956), separately and together as working partners, captured thousands of images of gardens and architecture around the country during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This video provides insight into how the Planting Fields Foundation archives are specifically informing landscape restoration plans, by showcasing a number of images by Mattie Edwards Hewitt that show the site in its prime circa 1925.
Garden Clubs of the Early 20th Century↗ Garden clubs of the early to mid-20th century were about more than just planting and socializing: they were an important force that brought women together to make change. Women’s clubs were one of the few means by which women could effectively exercise social power before universal suffrage.
Women’s Wartime Gardens↗ This collection highlights the history of how America confronted the rapid food shortages during World War I and World War II, primarily the role of women in sustaining the U.S’ food source.
Women’s Land Army (WLA) members participated in both urban victory gardening and rural farm labor, filling in for the 3 million farmworkers who had gone to war or industry since 1940. Image Life magazine, September 27, 1943
The Earth in Her Hands: Jamaica Kincaid in Conversation with Jennifer Jewell I New York Botanical Garden
Listen to celebrated author and avid gardener Jamaica Kincaid discuss one of her greatest loves, when she joins public radio host Jennifer Jewell for a riveting conversation about gardens, the plants that fill them, and the extraordinary women who tend them.
Indigenous Spirituality inside Oregon Prisons I OPB
In 1978 the American Indian Religious Freedom Act allowed Native Americans to practice spirituality in the open. This inspirational video highlights what female leaders are doing to enhance spirituality practices in Oregon prisons, including gathering and serving sacred foods from the earth.
Yoga for Gardeners↗ This all-level holistic practice is for everyone! Suited perfectly for the actual gardener, but also designed for the metaphorical gardener within each of us.
