2021 Elevated Master Gardener Trainings – OSU Extension Master Gardener Program News

If you are an Oregon Master Gardener volunteer, and haven’t already checked out the 2021 Elevated Skills Trainings for Master Gardener volunteers, now is the time to do so. Altogether, the 14 classes that are being offered have over 3,000 combined enrollments! Seven classes have already opened, and the other seven will open over the coming weeks.

Although the courses, themselves, will remain open for self-paced learning that you can complete at your own pace, and when it is most convenient to you ~ the discussions boards will only be monitored, and instructors will only be available to comment on your assignment submission, through the end of April.

Early reviews for the courses include this note about the Woody Plant ID course: “Plant ID has been my nemesis for my 12 years as a Master Gardener. I pushed through. When we got to the plant ID tool I felt like a whole new and wonderful world opened up for me. I honestly am excited about identifying plants with this tool as a guide. This has me stoked and I have never been “stoked” in my life.“

The 2021 Elevated Skills Training offers Oregon’s Master Gardener volunteers a chance to expand and grow their skillset in ways that include plant and insect ID using technological tools, databases to support Plant Clinic work, and more. (Video created by Elizabeth Records, OSU Extension)

Please Note: We have changed the original guidance on CEUs for the Elevated Skills Training. Instead of one hour per course taken, you can count and report your actual time in each class, as your number of CEUs. In other words, if a class took you two hours, you can count two CEUs. If a class took you three hours, you can count three CEUs.

I am also working with MG coordinators to see if any part of course participation (such as time spent on the hands-on assignments and practical application of knowledge) can count towards required volunteer service hours. Stay tuned.

Want to sign up for classes? Visit THIS LINK for a full list of courses with enrollment links.

Last night, I presented an overview of some key events within Oregon’s Statewide Master Program over the past year ~ including challenges and how we’ve responded ~ as well as a look forward to 2021.

I mention the following links or resources during the talk:

OMGA: The Oregon Master Gardener Association (OMGA) normally provides the space for this talk, at Master Gardener Mini-College.
Garden Ecology Lab website: where we post updates related to our applied research program.
Enhancing Urban and Suburban Landscapes to Protect Pollinators: I have a garden design screen cap that comes from this Extension publication.
Seed to Supper at Home: videos of the Seed to Supper course at home, delivered by the Benton County Master Gardeners.
Clatsop County Master Gardener Blog: where they posted a series of Seed to Supper / Food Security posts across the spring and summer of 2020.
An Introduction to Being a Master Gardener volunteer: where page 21 has a table of roles and responsibilities of the different groups that make the Master Gardener Program work.
Introduction to the Master Gardener Program short course: where parts 3 and 4 of the recorded lectures go over the different roles and responsibilities of the different groups that make the Master Gardener Program work.
Food Hero: link to gardening tips and newsletters.
Interview with Abra Lee, Keynote Speaker in the 2021 Culture of Gardening series.

We’re wrapping up our week-long celebration of Oregon’s Master Gardeners, this evening, with beneficial insect trivia hosted by Nicole Sanchez. Details are posted within the event course page.

Tag: 2021 Elevated Master Gardener Trainings

Elevated Skills Training Update

Celebrate Oregon Master Gardener Week, Day 5: Statewide Program Update