Tag: Recertification

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Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up webinar series launches a year of getting good at growing food

The cost of food keeps climbing. One in five people faces hunger in Oregon. And the pandemic showed us the fragility of our supply system. Growing our own food—for us, for our families, for our neighbors—is an action gardeners can take to strengthen food security in our local communities. This year’s Growing Oregon Gardeners: Level Up series is aimed at helping gardeners take a bite out of hunger.

Nine free closed-captioned webinars will be broadcast via Zoom and streamed via our Facebook page on the second Tuesday of the month, at noon, February through October 2024. Experts in their field, from OSU and beyond, present on topics such as how to get the most yield from cool season veggies to growing produce to donate to food banks to how to grow culinary mushrooms.

This series is open to the public, for the experienced gardener and OSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers receive 1 Continuing Education Credit for each class. You can take one, or take all. This webinar is being recorded and will be available to view on our website within two weeks of airdate. Register today!

Here’s a bonus: if you can’t wait to attend these live events, we’ve pulled a collection of eleven past webinars devoted to growing food in this series and made them available on our website. That’s eleven hours of free education to get started with right now! We’re predicting a bumper crop of successful gardeners growing plants for food all across Oregon this year: see you online and in the garden!

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How does 2020 effect my standing as an OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer and what do I need to do to continue as one in 2021?

  1. Master Gardener Volunteers remain active in the program into 2021, no matter the number of educational or volunteer service hours accrued.
    We encourage continuing Master Gardeners to pursue opportunities to complete their continuing education hours, as circumstances allow. Please report your 2020 volunteer service hours and continuing education hours using your program’s volunteer reporting system. Remember that reading relevant OSU Extension publications can be applied to continuing education requirements.

  2. Master Gardener Volunteers who were certified in 2019 or 2020 (meaning that they completed required educational and volunteer service hours) can carry over their certification to 2021, and are eligible to receive recertification stickers for their badge.
    Current Master Gardener certification is required to work in the plant clinic, teach workshops, or write articles on behalf of OSU.
  3. Master Gardener Volunteers are eligible for the 2021 training program, which will be focused on skills building for current Master Gardeners.
    This includes 2020 students and will be offered at no charge.

What now? What do I need to do to continue as a Master Gardener Volunteer in 2021?

  1. Complete OSU’s required “Conditions of Volunteer Service Form.” Your local Master Gardener Program coordinator distributes and collects forms, each year. Please wait until you receive the notice from your local Master Gardener Program coordinator, to fill out and file your annual paperwork.
  2. Complete 10 hours of continuing education*
  3. Complete 20 hours of volunteer service*

*If limited volunteer activities are available in 2021, as a result of COVID or other factors, this requirement may be suspended.

Recertification stickers on Master Gardener volunteer badges are a quick and easy way to identify certified Master Gardeners. Each year, a new set of stickers are printed and given to Master Gardeners who have met recertification requirements.
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New Option for Continuing Education Credit

In order to make more continuing education (CE) opportunities available to Master Gardener Volunteers we are now officially approving CE credit for reading approved research-based publications that relate to sustainable gardening. These publications will provide in-depth information on a variety of gardening topics that volunteers can draw on when working in the plant clinic or providing community education. In addition this process will encourage volunteers to read OSU and other research-based publications with the added benefit of familiarizing volunteers with up-to-date resources that can be shared with clients.

Each publication will qualify for one hour of CE.

Some publications may take more or less time to read but 60 minutes is a good average.

How to determine if a publication qualifies for CE.

Publications from the following sources are generally deemed appropriate: OSU Extension Catalog, other Extension Services, governmental organizations (i.e. Department of Agriculture, USDA, etc.).

Where possible, OSU publications should be given preference. Publications should relate to sustainable gardening, home horticulture, or backyard and local food production. Coordinators may want to provide a list of suggested and approved reading with web links. This will make it easy for volunteers to access the publications and should prevent them from finding out of date publications that have been archived.

Example of a suggested reading list for August from the OSU Extension Catalog

How to receive credit for reading research-based publications.

We want to ensure that you carefully and comprehensively read each publication, so that you are able to incorporate your new-found knowledge in your volunteer activities, as well as in your own garden. For each publication that you read, please report the following information in the Volunteer Reporting System (VRS), or turn in the following information to your Master Gardener coordinator.

  1. Author. Year. Title. Publication Number or other identifying information.
  2. Where you found or accessed the Publication
  3. What is the overall goal of the publication?
  4. List three things that you learned from reading this publication.
  5. List two ways you can use this information in your volunteer service and/or your own garden.
  6. Report 1 hour of CE per publication, in the VRS system (or the reporting system used in your county).

Example:

  1. Jones and Sells. 2004. Rufous hummingbird. EC 1570.
  2. I found it on the OSU Extension Catalog site. The direct link is https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/catalog/files/project/pdf/ec1570.pdf
  3. This publication teaches people about rufous hummingbird life history, behavior, and habitat.
  4. I learned:
    • Rufous hummingbirds migrate to warmer climates in the fall, because there is no nectar in northern climates in fall and winter. In fact, they follow manzanita blooms as they migrate. I had thought that they migrate because they can’t tolerate cold weather (which is probably also true, but I had not considered the nectar connection).
    • Rufous hummingbirds use spider webs to ‘glue’ together their nest materials. So cool!
    • Hummingbirds can live up to 5+ years. I had thought that their small size and high metabolism would promote a shorter lifespan.
  5. I will use this information to:
    • Tell people what to plant for hummingbirds:  bleeding hearts, red-flowering currant, salmonberry, columbine, fushias, orange honeysuckle.
    • Encourage people to consider how their cat might be impacting hummingbird populations.
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October 2018 Update

Updates from the Statewide Master Gardener Program

  1. MG Instructor Database: for those of you searching for instructors for your 2019 MG classes, please remember that the list of MG instructors is annually updated, and housed in the ‘Master Gardener Program’ on Box. If you need access to this folder, please let me know. Specifically, the Excel file with the list of MG Instructors is in the sub-folder called ‘MG Basic Training Resources’, which can be accessed via https://oregonstate.box.com/s/alop5gv86az1q5zjscomgghds1v4y2mn
  2. MG Core Courses: Signe Danler recently sent out a information on how to access online Master Gardener modules, to supplement your in-person MG trainings. The required classes for MG training (Oregon MG Program, Botany Basics, Understanding Pesticides) are FREE for use. Other modules are available on a sliding scale ($50-$150 per module). If the sliding scale is out of your range, but you are interested in using an online module, please let us know. We charge a modest price to help cover basic program costs, but want to be flexible for counties without resources.
  3. MG Re-certification Stickers: I have 2019 Re-certification Stickers to send out for veteran MGs who have completed at least 10 hours of continuing education and 20 hours of approved volunteer service. If you have not already done so, please let Gail know (via email) how many stickers you need for your Master Gardener Program. They will go out in next week’s mail.
  4. Best Management Practices for MG Plant Sales: I have received feedback on our first draft from our task force. My goal is to synthesize all comments into a revised draft, by the end of this week (October 12th).
  5. 2018 CHAP Update: The 2018 Consumer Hort Advisory Panel came up with three recommendations to make annual MG trainings more fun, interactive, and accessible. These recommendations were to: a) move towards active learning in MG training classes; b) consider ways to keep costs low for MG trainings (scholarships, payment plans); c) lower the minimum number of required volunteer service hours for new MG trainees, to 55 or fewer hours. You can see the full description of recommendations on the hypertext entitled CHAP DRAFT Recommendations April 2018 on this page. At our working group meeting in July, recommendations 1 and 2 were adopted. Recommendation #3 received majority support, but there was still a lot of concern related to this recommendation. We are thus tabling this third recommendation, for the moment.
  6. Working Group Innovation Grant Funded:  Several Home Hort working group members advanced a proposal for a two-day retreat, to carefully consider what changes are needed to build a more inclusive EMG Program, but also how to implement change. Our Innovation Proposal for the Home Hort Working Group was funded!!! We are targeting May or June for the actual two-day retreat. Keep an eye out for the first step in this effort ~ a survey of MG coordinators.
  7. Fall OMGA Newsletter: The fall issue of the Gardener’s Pen Newsletter has been published and posted online. Please make sure that your Master Gardener volunteers have access to this statewide MG newsletter.
  8. 2019 International Master Gardener Conference (IMGC): If you will be attending the 2019 IMGC (June 16-21, 2019 in Pennsylvania), the room block is now open for reservations. Registration is not yet open, but the full slate of speakers and tours has been posted.
  9. Professional Development Opportunity, “Achieving the Extension Mission through Volunteers“: an instructor-led, online course offered by the University of Minnesota. This course has received positive reviews from other Extension Master Gardener coordinators. The cost is reasonable ($250), but the timing coincides with Oregon’s Master Gardener training. Topics include ‘Identifying and Recruiting Volunteers’, ‘Selecting and Matching Volunteers’, ‘Supporting Volunteers’, and ‘Communicating Public Value’. If you are interested in taking this course, but cost is an issue, please let Gail know.
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Advanced Webinar Training for Master Gardeners

Another opportunity for Master Gardener Continuing Education Credits. Remember that 10 CEUs are needed to satisfy Master Gardener recertification requirements in Oregon.

Discussing pesticides with the public can be tricky, even for trained professionals. Master gardeners are on the front line, providing information directly to the public on a wide range of topics. In this webinar, pesticide specialists with the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) will provide resources that master gardeners can use to navigate these conversations. We will discuss topics including protecting pollinators from pesticides, comparing organic and conventional pesticides, how to minimize exposures to pesticides, and how individual risk perception influences behavior. Join us for live Q&A after the presentation.

A recording of the webinar will be posted to the NPIC YouTube channel.

Thursday, April 12th at 1:00pm EST (10:00am PT)

Target audience: Master Gardeners, County Extension Agents, Universities
Presenters: Alicia Leytem & April Strid, Pesticide Specialists, NPIC
Duration: 1:00 hour

Cost: Free

To join:

Registration is required for this free webinar.

Registration will be accepted up to the day of the webinar.

Participants may join the webinar up to 10 minutes early.

To Register: https://oregonstate.webex.com/oregonstate/onstage/g.php?MTID=e730999a7bf8a7580242869dc7c96dd02

Event number: 921 552 205

For audio by phone:

+1-415-655-0002 (US Toll)

Access code: 921 552 205

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Advanced Training Webinars for Master Gardener Continuing Education Credit

In reading through the survey responses coming in for our CHAP survey, it is becoming obvious that:
1) many veteran MG volunteers express frustration at not having options to maintain their MG certification ~ particularly for the continuing education requirement. To maintain certification, volunteers need to accrue 10 hours of continuing education and 20 volunteer service hours, annually.
2) many of these same folks seem not to know about the Advanced Training webinars that Brooke Edmunds has put together. These webinars are all eligible for MG continuing education credit (one hour per class). The 2018 webinars and the 2017 webinars, combined, equal nine hours of continuing education credit ~  just one away from meeting the continuing education recertification requirement.
Please make sure that your veteran MGs know about this option.
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Where Do Your Order Certificates, Badges, Stickers?

Certificates can be ordered by contacting Lee Ann Julson, in the Horticulture Department Office at OSU. There are four types of certificates that are available:

  • Certificates of Appreciation: to thank program supporters in the community
  • Certificates of Home Horticulture: for those who successfully complete the training class, but did not complete volunteer service hours, and are thus not certified Master Gardeners
  • Master Gardener Recertification: for veteran Master Gardeners who complete recertification requirements (minimum of 10 hours of continuing education and 20 hours of volunteer service)
  • Master Gardener Certificate of Completion: for those who complete the training class and volunteer service hours. These individuals also receive a Master Gardener badge.

Badges are ordered from A to Z Engraving. Use this form, and email to Gary Nelson (gnelson217@sbcglobal.net).

A to Z Engraving, Co. Inc., 1150 Brown Street, Wauconda IL 60084

847-526-7396 | 847-526-7399 (fax)

Recertification stickers (for badges) may be ordered from Gail.