- Author: Marcy Sousa
Oh Snap! It's time to show off your photography skills!
Attention UC Master Gardener volunteers! The UC Master Gardener Program invites you to capture and share your creativity in the garden. Enter the Official 2017 UC Master Gardener Photo Contest for a chance to win great prizes and receive recognition among the entire UC Master Gardener community.
UC Master Gardener volunteers can showcase their amazing photography skills and submit a photo in any of the five contest categories:
- California friendly gardening
- Creatures in the garden
- Incredible edibles
- UC Master Gardeners in action
- Outstanding ornamental
How to enter
Entry is free and open to active UC Master Gardener volunteers. Entries must be submitted electronically by midnight on Friday, June 30, 2017 using the online photo contest submission form. Only one entry allowed per category per participant. Please read and review the official photo contest participation guidelines before entering.
Winners
Photographs will be judged on the overall image quality, subject, originality and composition. First, second and third place category winners will receive a gift certificate, professional print of their winning shot and be featured on the 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference website. Winners will be celebrated and displayed in a photo gallery at the 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference in Long Beach, Aug. 22-25.
The first place winner of each category will be entered into the “Gardeners Choice” contest, to be voted on at 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference in Long Beach, Aug. 22-25. The winner will be announced on Aug. 25 and awarded a $75.00 gift certificate.
More information about the 2017 UC Master Gardener Photo Contest and the 2017 UC Master Gardener Conference can be found online. We can't wait to see your beautiful photos!
Questions? Contact:
Marcy Sousa
Program Coordinator, San Joaquin
Phone: (209) 953-6111
Email: mdhachman@ucanr.edu
- Author: Aubrey Bray
Program rosters now tell us that statewide we have 5,404 volunteers who dedicate themselves to extending UC research-based home horticulture information to the public. Programs range in size from fourteen to over three hundred Master Gardeners, but the thing they all have in common is their passion for horticulture and the desire to not only learn more, but share what they learn with other Californians. From July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013 UC MGs donated over 348,132 volunteer hours to their respective communities. If we want to think about this monetarily (and who doesn’t?!), the value of this time to UC ANR comes in at over $8.6 million!* Another way to think of it, is to compare these hours to current resources UCCE has at its disposal. As of this last year the University of California Cooperative Extension had 171 advisors listed in the directory that were categorized as specializing in “Plant Commodities or Products” –only forty of which specialized in “Ornamental Plants, Landscape, and Turf”. When we compare the staggering number of volunteer hours, we find that this figure equates to approximately 180 full time employees** for the University of California. In effect, with the Master Gardener program in place, we more than double our “staff” available to answer plant and pest-related queries from the public and provide that invaluable arm of extension by connecting California residents with UC research.
Volunteering for their communities is not the only way UC Master Gardeners spend their time, however. Last year over 76,480 hours were logged in continuing education as Master Gardeners worked to keep themselves informed about new or advanced horticultural topics and trends. In addition to presentations and workshops presented at the local program level, the Statewide Master Gardener Program hosted six 2-day regional trainings on Edible Landscaping and four regional workshops on Advanced Citrus and Avocado Care (including special focus on new citrus threat, Asian Citrus Psyllid). The Statewide UC IPM program also hosted opportunities for Master Gardeners to expand their knowledge of home and garden pests and treatment options via three regional Advanced IPM trainings.
The volunteers aren’t the only ones putting in the hours, though! The Statewide Master Gardener Program has also been hard at work this year working to support and provide developmental opportunities for the 45 Master Gardener programs around the state. One of the most exciting ways we were able to offer support in the last year and moving forward was a grant opportunity for programs to seek partial or full funding for a Program Representative (local MG coordinator) position starting July 1, 2013 and continuing through June of 2015. Many applications were submitted and in total the grant funded 19 county-based positions, including one brand new program that will take shape in the Lassen, Sierra, and Plumas counties. In order to aid programs in continued development, the Statewide Master Gardener Program also hosted 13 webinars and a two-day training for Program Coordinators, ranging in topics from best practices for Social Media to Volunteer Recognition. In November 2012 the Statewide Program also hosted the first ever Volunteer Leadership Summit, in which we invited each program to send a Master Gardener volunteer who was directly involved with the leadership of the local program to attend a day-long training on Middle Management topics and provide an opportunity for networking across counties.
It certainly has been a year of many triumphs for the UC Master Gardener Program. Thank you for the time and effort that you put into this program. We are continually astounded by the work that is accomplished by California Master Gardeners and feel extremely lucky to work with such talented and selfless individuals. We look forward to another incredibly successful year and can’t wait to chart the leaps and bounds we are sure to take statewide this year!
*Value of volunteer time found by using Independent Sector estimate of $24.75/hour in California. Find current rate at: http://www.independentsector.org/programs/research/volunteer_time.html
** assumes 1928 working hours per year.
- Author: Amanda Crump
To provide continuing education for Master Gardeners, the Statewide Master Gardener Program provides regional trainings. An example is the Advanced IPM Training being offered next week in Davis, CA. Trainings like these are always popular and serve as a place for Master Gardeners to learn new things, refine their skills, interact with University of California scientists, and meet other gardeners. By promoting activities where Master Gardeners learn together, the Statewide Master Gardener Program ensures that Master Gardeners are up-to-date with the most recent research recommendations from the University of California.
The next set of regional training sessions will be the Edible Landscaping series. In this training, Master Gardeners will learn the ins and outs of incorporating edibles into their landscapes. The training includes planning and design, policies, maintenance, harvest and storage, and food safety. Attendees will then be certified to teach others in Edible Landscaping practices - a skill that is in high demand.
Master Gardeners might recall attending the Sustainable Landscape Train the Trainer series two years ago. The Statewide Master Gardener program surveyed the people who were subsequently trained by Master Gardeners and we found some wonderful things! For example, 77% of the people who did not compost at the time of training indicated that they had started composting after three months! That is a significant change in their behavior that definitely leads to a more sustainable California. In addition to composting, over 40% more people began leaving portions of their gardens undisturbed for wildlife, 20% of those surveyed began using better irrigation techniques, and just over 10% planted drought tolerant plants. These examples are just a handful of the practices that were influenced by the Sustainable Landscape classes.
Together, through these classes, the Master Gardeners and the Statewide Master Gardener Program are making a difference! See you soon at one of the Edible Landscape Training sessions!
- Author: Judy McClure
It can be challenging for a serious gardener to pass a shredding machine and not stop and use it to transform ‘paperwork’ into worm compost bedding. Sorry, your Master Gardener papers are no longer potential bedding material. Since the Statewide Office staff has embraced making the volunteer time submission and the annual recertification process as paper free as possible you’ll need to locate another source of worm bedding. Entering your volunteer experiences, completing the three recertification forms and submitting the insurance payment is now fast, easy and paperless.
Gardening tasks, family obligations and professional obligations fill our June days, leaving just a few precious moments for completing the Master Gardener recertification process. Why bother taking the time to recertify? During the past year you probably experienced the joy of learning about a new plant, memorized another botanical name, or identified an invasive pest. You most likely attended a monthly meeting or an advanced training developed specifically for Master Gardeners, plus your network of friends expanded to include new gardening buddies. Recertify by June 30 to assure you do not miss any of the many learning opportunities waiting for you in the 2012-13 program year.
During the 2012-13 program year the Statewide office will provide you the opportunity to attend advanced horticulture and IPM trainings and assist with planning the 2014 Conference. Your local program most likely has a wealth of rewarding opportunities available for you to educate and inspire the home gardener. Unfortunately, there will probably be another new invasive pest waiting to make your acquaintance.
Take a few minutes to document in VMS the valuable hours you contribute in your community. Not only do your individual volunteer projects have a significant impact on your local community, they also assist Pam Geisel and Aubrey Bray in prioritizing program development and training needs on the statewide level. As individual counties and the UC system continue to face financial challenges, your hours are a vital component in securing future funding. During the past year you chose to contribute your valuable time to the Master Gardener program. Now it is the time to verify that the benefits of your volunteer projects are recorded and acknowledged on both the county and statewide level.
Following the completion of recertification and the entering of your volunteer hours, enjoy a snack of fresh fruit or vegetables. The vegetable scraps make a wonderful addition to the worm compost bin. Don’t have a worm compost bin? Recertify and I guarantee before long a fellow Master Gardener will introduce you to the wonderful world of worms.
Thank you, for being a part of the UC Master Gardener program.
- Author: Sam Foushee
This is is the second in a series of short articles on the benefits we receive from the Statewide Master Gardener Office. The Office coordinates a Statewide Master Gardener conference every few years, with the last one being in Santa Rosa in 2011. Conferences have previously been held at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, San Jose, and Sacramento. They are always stimulating, informative, and enjoyable. They also are a tremendous amount of work, and the state office is essential in making it happen.
The next conference will be in 2014. The results of a statewide poll are now in, and the preference for location was heavily in favor of the Tenaya Lodge near the south entrance of Yosemite National Park. The Tenaya is a beautiful facility in a gorgeous location, and I'm certainly looking forward to spending a few days there when 2014 rolls around!
What are some of your favorite memories from past conferences? Will you attend Master Gardener Conference 2014?