Ringing in the New Year! The ‘Master Gardener New Year’ That Is!
‘Ringing in the New Year’ may sound like we are pushing the seasons a bit – but for the metro-area Master Gardener program, October 1st is the beginning of our new year. Like the start of any new year – we take the time to reflect on the past and look to a promising future.
As we reflect, we see a dedicated group of garden educators who have provided generous committed service as OSU Master Gardener volunteers! Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge and passion with the community and your fellow Master Gardeners.
We look forward to a new year that will be full of fresh opportunities to educate and support our community in successful and sustainable gardening practices!
Thanks for the Volunteer Log Submissions!
Thank you to all of you who used our new online submission system or sent in your volunteer log sheets via email or snail mail! It is very impressive to see all the wonderful ways that you have been educating and serving the community! Immense thanks to you all for your dedicated service to the OSU MG program and the greater community!
It’s Not Too Late…Submit your Volunteer Log! For those of you, who have not submitted your volunteer log sheets, please send in your hours by Monday, October 8th. To review how to submit volunteer logs see the article at the bottom of this newsletter “New MG Volunteer Reporting System”.
We need all logs by that date to allow time to order new Master Gardener badges for those finishing their MG training and to have enough 2019 stickers for Veterans and trainees alike. Plus, we want to include your generous service contributions in the report sent to the state MG Program, which in turn is submitted to Oregon State University! Help us to highlight all the great garden education Metro Master Gardeners are spreading throughout the tri-county region!
Signed, Sealed and Delivered!
Remember every October a Conditions of Volunteer Service form needs to be ‘signed, sealed and delivered’. You can submit your signed form via the new online submission process (see article, ‘New MG Volunteer Reporting System’ at the bottom of this newsletter) or you can mail your signed form via snail mail to 200 Warner-Milne Drive, Oregon City, OR 97045 or email them to marcia.mcintyre@oregonstate.edu
For your convenience:
- How-to Maintain ‘active’ Master Gardener status (both Veterans and 2018 trainees)
- Conditions of Volunteer Service Form 2018-2019
- 2018 Metro-area Master Gardeners Volunteer Log Sheets
Expand your Garden Knowledge at the Fall MG Recertification Training
Our Fall MG Recertification Training is being held Saturday, November 10th, 8:00am to 3:30pm, at Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus, Event Center.
This annual event is a daylong continuing education opportunity. Earn 6 hours of continuing education/recertification credit by attending. Veteran MGs and new Veterans who trained in 2018 need 10 hours of recertification training annually to retain status as an ‘Active’ OSU Master Gardener. Fall Recertification is a great way to earn 6 hours of credit for 2019.
We have a stellar line-up of speakers. This year’s presenters all bring their wealth of experience from their work with OSU Extension Service.
- ‘The Science of Ecological Gardening: updates from the Garden Ecology Lab’ with Gail Langellotto Ph.D., OSU
- Plant ID – Beyond the Basics with Heather Stoven, OSU
- Update Japanese Beetle with Jessica Rendon, Oregon Department of Agriculture
- Pollinator Health with Andony Melathopooulos, OSU Assistant Professor, Pollinator Health Extensions
The event is free to all Master Gardeners both Veterans and those who trained in 2018.
Bring a snack to share on the community table and your own sack lunch.
2019 MG Training Spread the Word!
Some of you have said you have found your tribe, have nurtured a long-time passion or have expanded your garden knowledge through the Master Gardener training. Help spread the word about the MG training program and let your interested friends, family and colleagues know that registration for the 2019 Master Gardener training will open on November 1.
Interested individuals can sign-up for open registration notification on our Metro Master Gardener Website at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7EaeXLdybb-CBKZBje1gTJ8cFPnTqX4j_Gz6bTdHJgsxxOA/viewform
Once again, training classes are held in Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties.
More Continuing Education Opportunities
Many have enjoyed and learned from the Master Gardener Training Webinars, brought to us from Brooke Edmunds and her OSU colleagues.
3 more timely topics are being presented as live webinars in 2018.
- Monday 10/22 at 11am PT. Aaron Anderson (OSU Ph.D. student in the Department of Horticulture) will present First Look: OSU Research on Native Plants in the PNW Garden. Details and pre-registration here: https://learn.extension.org/events/3494
- Monday 11/19 at 11am PT. Melodie Putnam (OSU Plant Clinic) will present on The Weird and Wonderful World of Plant Galls. Details and pre-registration here: https://learn.extension.org/events/3493
- Monday 12/17 at 11am PT. Kaci Buhl (OSU Extension) will present on Weed Management in the Garden & Landscape: Understanding Herbicides. Details and pre-registration here: https://learn.extension.org/events/3501
If you missed any previous live webinars, recordings are also available from earlier 2018 webinars and the 2017 webinar recordings too!
New MG Volunteer Reporting System
We are excited to have a new online volunteer reporting system (via Qualtrics) to ease the process of submitting your volunteer hours and signed 2018-2019 Conditions of Volunteer Service form.
If you still need to submit your 2018 forms, please consider reporting using the online system – follow the links re-sent to you in an email from Marcia McIntyre on October 2nd
The online system prompts you through several questions to record your volunteer hours, a space to upload your volunteer log sheet, plus the opportunity for you to rate your satisfaction with the Master Gardener program. A separate link allows you to upload your signed, Conditions of Volunteer Service Form.
You still need to record your volunteer hours onto a Word or Excel form – but now you can upload those hours via the new online system.
NOTE: You can refer to your CERVIS log to track your hours – but you also need to log all CERVIS hours on your volunteer log sheet. Most “Program” hours are recorded in CERVIS. “Partner” events and activities are not recorded in CERVIS. Be sure to record all your volunteer hours and continuing education hours on your log sheet.
