The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.
Harriet Ann Jacobs
The arrival of spring has metro area Master Gardeners eagerly awaiting so many opportunities. The opportunity to return to active gardening once again by plunging hands into the warm soil, sowing seeds and nurturing garden dreams. It also means a return to favorite Master Gardener service activities or trying new ones. So much is in store for our Master Gardener Program this spring season.
Save the Date! Celebrate our Master Gardener Community!
Metro area Master Gardeners are invited to a celebratory gathering to cultivate community and seed our future! The date is Sunday, June 4th, from 1:00pm-3:00pm at Millennium Park Plaza in Lake Oswego.
Look forward to an afternoon filled with informational and educational displays, door prizes, food, drink, and festive celebration!
We hope you will join in, and bring family and friends as we joyfully reunite and celebrate our Master Gardener Community, together.
More event details to come!
“Let’s Talk Plants” at Markets and Community Events
Our Master Gardener ‘Let’s Talk Plants’ information tabling opportunities at area Farmers Markets and community events are launching soon! Check your schedule and get ready to sign-up for your favorite market or try visiting a market new to you.
Please look for an email notification this week announcing the opening of registration on CERVIS for most market/community events. Continue to check CERVIS throughout the season as more opportunities are posted.
Important Note: to allow as many MGs as possible to volunteer for their favorite market, we are limiting sign up for one specific market to 2 shifts maximum, for the first two weeks that registration is open. Please honor this request so that we will not need to unregister those who sign up for more than 2 shifts.
Update Your CERVIS Profile
Sign-up for upcoming volunteer shifts at Farmers Markets and other special volunteer opportunities will be on CERVIS. In order to be ready to sign-up, when the time comes, please visit CERVIS and update your profile, including your email address, mailing address and phone numbers.
Weston Miller, A Grateful Farewell
It is bittersweet as we send a fond and grateful farewell to Weston Miller. In February Weston sent a letter to all metro area Master Gardeners sharing the news that he was moving on to a new career opportunity.
Read more as we wish Weston the best on his new venture.
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Welcome Amy and Lisa!
We are pleased to welcome two new members to the metro area OSU Master Gardener Program team.
Amy Espinoza is serving as an Education Program Assistant based in Washington County. She supports the Master Gardener volunteer program with a focus on expanding community outreach and service.
Amy holds a bachelor’s degree with a dual major in Spanish/Arts & Letters, and a Master of Education in Library Media/K-12 classroom teaching. She brings over 20 years of professional experience working with several school districts and libraries, including teaching adult Spanish classes through Portland Community College.
Amy has a passion for gardening, instilled in part by her mom and aunt, both accomplished gardeners. This year she is keenly focused on ensuring that her one-year-old Pix Zee peach tree will bear fruit despite our cold, wet start to spring.
Lisa Kirby joins the Master Gardener team as an Education Program Assistant based in Multnomah County. She is enthusiastic about the OSU Master Gardener Program having served 10 years as a Master Gardener volunteer.
Lisa has a broad outreach and engagement background with non-profit organizations. Recently Lisa served as both a volunteer and staff member at the Leach Botanical Garden. Her experience with plants extends to working for a number of nurseries in the area.
Lisa is a dedicated sustainable gardener and readily speaks about the impact gardeners can have taking care of the earth and each other. Whether a gardener grows native plants to support pollinators, veggies and fruits to bring to the table, or flowers to share beauty with others.
Both Amy and Lisa bring a wealth of skills and enthusiasm to support the Master Gardener program. Welcome, Amy and Lisa!
Dam Proud Day – One Day, Everyone Together
On April 26, 2023, Master Gardeners and supporters will come together to show our belief in the Master Gardener program and Oregon State University’s Dam Proud Day.
This 24-hour period is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of the Oregon State community, including supporting Master Gardeners, and stretching ourselves toward our aspirations.
The Master Gardener Program as been chosen as a featured fund on Dam Proud Day, so we have a special opportunity to raise money to support our work.
On one day, can you imagine what we could do together?
Here’s how Master Gardener volunteers, past and present, can help NOW.
1. Follow OSU Extension Master Gardener on social media. www.facebook.com/OSUMG and @mastergardenersOSU on Instagram. Share our stories and posts about Dam Proud Day with your friends and followers.
2. Show up on April 26th and make a donation online signaling your support for the Master Gardener program. It’s all online, all on one day. Donations large and small are all appreciated. Let’s see if the Master Gardener program can solicit the most donations on Dam Proud Day! https://www.damproudday.org/
For Oregon State University’s Dam Proud Day, the Master Gardener Program is fundraising to support the Seed to Supper Program and an update of our foundational textbook, the Sustainable Gardening Handbook. The Seed to Supper program is a introductory vegetable gardening course for beginning and low-income gardeners, that includes considerations for gardeners who don’t have easy access to land. Our Sustainable Gardening Handbook is the text used to teach new Master Gardener volunteers. We need to update this resource, to include advances in the science of sustainable gardening, as well as consideration of climate change impacts on Oregon gardeners.
Donations can be as low as $5. A symbolic gift of $50 recognizes the 50 years that the Master Gardener Program has been serving communities across the United States! Every donation helps us get closer to our goal, and unlocking the FIVE challenge grant gifts that we have set up.
On one day, we can show up for gardening and Master Gardeners in Oregon!
OSU Master Gardeners Showing their Pride
Check out the stories of OSU Master Gardeners who reached out to the statewide program team to share why they are #DamProud to be a Master Gardener. Plus see some familiar faces of your fellow metro area Master Gardeners. To read their stories visit the OSU Master Gardener Program News
Get Ready! It’s Plant Sale Season!
We are all eager for high gardening season and with that comes the excitement of the annual fundraising plant sales of the three metro area Master Gardener Associations. A chance to load up on wish-list plants and to sign-up for some fun volunteer opportunities
Spring Garden Fair!
May 6th and 7th the iconic Clackamas County Master Gardener Association’s Spring Garden Fair will satisfy anyone’s plant lust! Perennials, annuals, natives, ornamentals, veggie, fruit, herbs, garden art and garden supplies! 10-minute University classes, Soil pH testing, New Plant Introductions, a fabulous raffle and more! Clackamas County Event Center, Canby.
To volunteer for the Spring Garden Fair go to: https://springgardenfair.org/volunteers/
Gardenfest!
May 6th the vibrant Washington County Master Gardener Association’s Gardenfest Plant Sale guides home gardeners in creating beautiful gardens that thrive! Perennials, shrubs, vegetables, annuals, herbs, and garden tools! Classes that support successful gardening! Find ideas that inspire as you tour the Washington Co. Master Gardener’s Education Garden. PCC Rock Creek Campus, Portland
To volunteer for the Gardenfest contact Larina Hoffbeck: hoffbeck@frontier.com
Incredible Edibles Plant Sale!
Order TODAY! Plant orders are now open for the Multnomah County Master Gardener Association’s Incredible Edibles Plant Sale. The sale has moved to a pre-order format and is taking orders for organic veggie, fruit and herb plant starts now! Mini classes will guide gardeners in growing a bountiful harvest. Plant orders will be available for pick-up on Saturday, May 13th (NE 16th and Hancock Street).
To volunteer for the Incredible Edibles Plant Sale Set-up on May 12 go to: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/May12Setup
To volunteer for the Incredible Edibles Plant Sale on May 13 go to:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/May13Shifts
Be sure to mark your calendars to join in the fun volunteering and/or shopping to your heart’s content!
In remembrance: Dr. Bernadine Strik
Credit Dave King
We saddened to share that Dr. Bernadine Strik passed away on April 24. Dr. Strik was a renowned OSU berry researcher, and educator for 34 years. She was incredibly generous, sharing her time and vast knowledge teaching Master Gardener classes over the decades. No doubt thousands of Master Gardeners have benefited from her teachings, as she traveled across the state. We send our heartfelt sympathies to her family. Here is more about the dedicated, amazing, kind, generous, Dr. Strik. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/bernadine-strik-remembered-amazing-person-mentor-friend
Annual Master Gardener Requirements
Need a refresher on the annual requirements to maintain your Master Gardener certification? Visit here for all the details. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/metro/how-maintain-active-osu-master-gardener-status
