VMGA Unit Reports December 2008
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Southwest
District:
Unit:
Master Gardeners of the Blue Ridge, (Carroll, Grayson, City of
54 active members, 4025 service hours in
2008.
Programs/Projects:
Completed training class adding 17 new interns
in November.
Extension agents &
members planning pruning sessions to restore the heirloom apple orchard at
Matthews Historic Farm & Forest. This is part of a larger effort to utilize heirloom produce
from the orchard and farm for local food banks, to teaching food prep and
nutrition and entrepreneurial skills working with the 4H Youth
Development. Agents from both counties
with MG assistance will conduct apple grafting sessions for the general public
in March in Carroll and
Unit
rep: Charlie Whittle, cwhitjr@embarqmail.com,
Website/Manager:
Site under development.
Central District:
*
Our
School Programs in five of
The
School Programs will resume in late February.
Some of the programs will include the children potting up Spider Plants
to take home and planting petunias in their respective school gardens.
VMGA
Rep: Debra Straw
Website
– www.hcmga.com
Our unit is very proud of ourselves!!! We
won not only the Central District's but the entire Commonwealth's Program
Impact award. We have worked hard with a water quality program; selling
reusable shopping bags and putting soil sample kits in retailers' stores to
change our community's attitudes and actions toward waste in
We finished the year with a Christmas
dinner. All who attended brought canned food for our local Good Samaritan.
Unit Rep: Meredith Bowman
Northeast District:
There were 18 new MG graduates on
November 18 with their mentors and the press in attendance. The new MG class of
2009 has been interviewed and selected and now mentors will be assigned. The
plans for another round of rain barrel workshops are being planned for March.
They will cost $35 and about 100 barrels will be constructed. The MG
coordinator, Susan Edwards, has been working with Habitat for Humanity to help
new homeowners with plantings for their new homes.
A display was prepared for Veterans
Day and MGs provided cookies for the Veterans who came to the open house.
December was the end of the Winter Workshop series of 6 workshops. In 2008 738
participants attended horticultural public seminars. There are more workshops
planned for January and February. The first advanced training for 2009 is
protecting pollinators.
Chesterfield MGs are working
closely with Boulevard Flowers to have speakers and be part of the Extension
Extravaganza on March 14.
This year the extension held an
open house for all volunteers on 12/12 and it was a huge success.
The planning for the Horticultural
Horizons on April 21 at Lewis Ginter continues, early registration will take place
starting in January with an early registration fee of $40 before March 1, 2009.
VMGA Rep: Lynne Foote
Web Site: www.chesterfield.gov/extension
*Hanover – Unit:
Programs /projects: New Master Gardener Class: Starts Jan. 09,
two sessions afternoon and evening: 35 enrolled. Spring Public Education
Events: Maymont Flower Show: in
partnership with VMGA, Maymont: Herbs Galore, Maymont Day at
Hanover Spring Plant
Plant Clinics Scheduled throughout
Youth and Education: Roots and Shoots Program, Lewis Ginter
Children’s Garden Programs
Advanced programs: Active Landcare
Stewards program: composting, vermicomposting, firewise landscaping,
Speakers Bureau
VMGA Rep: Christy Brennan
*
We also have members living in
Major projects includes: Community Outreach Projects, Farmer's
Market, Habitat for Humanity, Incredible Edibles,
Therapeutic Gardening, Landscape Love,
Pruning Clinic, Turf Love, Speaker's Bureau, Mobil MG
Meet the Gardener, Orchard, Vegetables
Colonial
Steward Programs: Tree Stewards, Water Stewards
Youth Projects: Botanical Garden
Youth Environment Education
VCE Special Projects:
Farm Tours - New Kent County,
Detention Center Garden Guidance program,
Plant Diagnostic Clinics
As of mid December there were 151 active Master Gardeners and 8
emeritus MG's. Active MG's contributed 12908 hours. So far (mid Dec.) we have
made 25,498 contacts, 8,506 of which were on our web site, so we had 16,992
face to face or telephone contacts
VMGA Reps: Jim and
Nelda Pressly
Web
Site:
www.jccwmg.org
*
The
Unit
rep: Don Snipes
Web
site; www.nmgv.org
Northern District:
*MGNV
(Arlington- Alexandria)
we finished off a very busy year with a
festive Holiday Party and General Meeting, where we took just enough time away
from food and fellowship to elect officers and new board members for 2009 and
to recognize service milestones for various members.
Looking back at 2008 highlights included intensified efforts to provide
several new public education events. These included some very well
attended programs sponsored by the combined forces of our Public Education and
Continuing Education Committees. We also made some needed capital improvements
to some of our demonstration gardens and, along with holding "open
house" programs, increased the attractiveness and public awareness
of those gardens. Perhaps our most welcomed event was when our parent
Arlington VCE office returned to its permanent and beautifully
renovated location after nearly two years in temporary quarters, giving us
meeting, storage and lab space.
We
have everything in place for our 2009 Training Class, where we anticipate more
than 30 new MG volunteers; we're looking forward to continuing and expanding
our mission as educators.
Unit rep: Joe Kelly
Website: http://www.mgnv.org
* Central Rappahannock
Area: Stafford, Spotsylvania, Caroline,
King George and
In
November 26 new Master Gardeners graduated from the 2008 Master Gardener class
and were honored at a reception given by MGACRA in December. In January
MGACRA will be hosting our annual awards banquet honoring those who achieved
Master Gardener milestones in 2008. One of
our Master Gardeners, Cathy Smith, has just launched a website Wildlife
Gardeners, www.wildlifegardeners.org .
Linda
Dunn, VMGA representative
*Fluvanna
:The Fluvanna
Master Gardeners provided consultative services to
The Units ongoing projects and programs are the Children’s Garden at FLuvaan
Elementary School, the Help Desk in the County Office Building and Farmers’
Market Help Desk (seasonal), the Senior Garden in Fork Union and the Beautification
Coprs at Lake Monticello, the Community and Demonstration Gardens at Haden
House, as well as the garden at Holland-Page Place, Old Farm Day and the Heritage Harvest Festival
Participation. No new projects have begun. We are evaluating our current
projects and their impact in the community. The unit has 45 active volunteers and the 2009 Master
Gardener Class begins in January.
Unit
rep: Joann Henry
Website: www.fluvannamg.org
* Fairfax, Local
Association:
Program:
The annual logistical and time
consuming effort to sign up 260+ Master Gardeners for service hours will take
place on a Saturday in January before the new training class commences later
that month. This new and novel approach
will result in a time savings that will allow for another day of training. Space will be reserved for volunteers to
commit to various “competing” programs such as plant clinics at farmer’s
markets, county public libraries, help line, and special events. Additionally, Master Gardener support will be
required for Ready-Set-Grow, Senior Citizen Outreach programs, and others. A “recruiting” desk will be available to
encourage membership in VMGA.
VMGA
Rep: George Graine
Website: www.fairfaxmastergardeners.org,
Green Spring MGs graduated 20 interns in November. The
interns will begin working the Help Desk at the Fairfax County Cooperative
Extension office in December following Help Desk training. Green Spring
MGs are responsible for the Help Desk from November through March.
MGs who act as docents leading
MGs met Saturday, December 6 for a special education session
on Winter Tree Identification led by Adam Downing, VCE Agent from
Green Spring MGs will present their 5th annual
EcoSavvy Gardening Symposium: Techniques for keeping our Planet Healthy on
Saturday, February 28. To register call 703-642-5173.
VMGA
Reps: Cindi Bishop, Joan Richards
Web
Site: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgpntative
*Piedmont Unit serving
Good
Idea- Encourage VMGA
At
the December 2008
Unit
rep: Joyce Grunewald
*
New Programs.
SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND ACCEPTABLE
ALTERNATIVES – Thursday, February 5, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm. Will Ameen with the PWC Health Department will discuss the
maintenance and operation of both conventional and alternative systems
installed throughout the county.
WORM COMPOSTING – February 26, 7:00 pm-8:30 pm -Master
Gardeners will explore the world of vermicomposting.
*
The Virginia Beach Master Gardeners will be working the
Mid-Atlantic Horticulture Conference in January and also the Mid-Atlantic Home
and Flower Show in February.
Also, the City of Va. Beach has given the VBMG an area at
our Farmer's Market to begin an educational Kitchen Garden. The city will
provide the materials, soils, fence, etc., and the MGs will develop the garden
and educate the citizens of
Unit rep. Fran Shelton
*
Statistics: 75 RAMGA Members contributed 5000 volunteer
hours of service in 2008.
In
New RAMGA Web Site www.ramga.org. The 2009 Master Gardeners Class,
scheduled to start in mid-January under Margaret Fletcher’s able leadership.
“Downsized Gardening”…HELLO-O-O. What trickery! Faith Vosburgh’s presentation at our November
meeting had just the opposite effect at my home. While pretending to convince us that “less is
more”, she showed so many wonderful “plant substitutes” that Rockbridge Area
gardens will undoubtedly grow in size to accommodate these new arrivals next Spring.
“Restoration of a Pasture” was a Fall Education Event shared by
Phyllis and Fred Fevrier …an ongoing labor-of-love at their 27-acre homestead
in the shadow of
Mary Adkins, our “Queen of Dig &
Divide” led a dozen MG’s
in potting seedlings of trees and ornamental shrubs at
A Plant Clinic …the fifth in a series… “plant clinics are always enjoyable social events…and also
educational!”
MG Emeritus Award was presented to Caroline Norrington of
David Mims, Unit Rep
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