IPM Outreach Project
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project is a pesticide user public education and awareness program. It is in partnership with the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District, and UC Master Gardeners of Fresno County.
Welcome to UC IPM's Urban & Community Webinar Series!
Join us at noon on the third Thursday of every month to learn about pest identification, prevention, and management around the home, garden, and landscape.
This series is free and open to the public but advance registration is required. Please share with others who may be interested. No continuing education units (CEUs) are available to licensed professionals. Master Gardeners should check with their program coordinator about credits.
Valley Children's Roots of Resilience
Valley Children Roots of Resilience Research project:
Valley Children’s Hospital Rehab Therapy Garden
Located on the shady, eastern end of Valley Children’s Hospital, a featureless strip of mostly grass and concrete, that was mostly ignored by staff and visitors, caught my imagination. There were unused raised metal sand play boxes in the space, with good drainage and a nearby water source, which I thought would make them ideal for some form of plant life, once soil could be added and mixed with the sand.
As a Master Gardener and Occupational Therapist, I was aware of the therapeutic benefits of horticulture and outdoor activity, so I set about turning the space into a resource for the Rehabilitation (Rehab) unit of the hospital, which happened to be only a few hundred feet from the proposed therapy garden.
With the assistance of interested staff members, some of the Physical Rehabilitation patients, volunteers from Fresno State Horticulture Department, Home Depot and an Eagle Scout candidate, a plan was drawn up and a therapy garden designed.
Using donated top soil, paving slabs and lumber, the space was transformed. The design included raised herb beds, a wheelchair accessible path, shade tolerant plants, some fruit trees and a succulent garden planted to look like a miniature landscape, with spaces for fairy houses and other fun play accessories. The space inherited some concrete seats and picnic tables, a tool storage box and "hey presto", the space was transformed into the Rehab Therapy Garden!
Now the therapists from the hospital, Occupational, Physical, Speech and Recreation, can take their patients out of doors for therapy sessions. A child can walk or wheelchair-push the short distance to the garden and use the space to play, water, dig, plant, pick herbs or flowers, or just talk about aspects of the garden.
It has become a feature of the east end of the building, with staff and parents often sitting on the benches to enjoy the shade, as well as admire the fairy landscape which changes frequently when patients come to play.
Of course, like any garden, the space has needed occasional sprucing up and as a Master Gardener, my role has been to provide guidance for pruning, planting of replacement plants, (using the ‘right plant, right place’ principle), as well as coordinate seasonal volunteer clean up sessions and provide instruction on therapeutic uses of the garden to Rehab staff. The care of the garden is IPM oriented, which fits with it’s role as a place safe for children to interact with nature.
THANK YOU MG YVONNE!
St Paul Newman Center Community Garden
The St. Paul Catholic Newman Center Community Garden Ministry is in its final stages
of completion after two years of planning, fundraising, and construction of the half acre
plot just west of the Cardinal Newman Center. As of October, they have allocated 68 of the
74 raised beds and many of the gardeners have already harvested numerous fruits and
vegetables with two of the gardeners winning awards at the Fresno County Fair.
The Community Garden Program is a partnership of 5 non-profit organizations – St.
Paul Newman Center, Fresno State University, Fresno Metro Ministry Community
Garden Program, Master Gardeners of Fresno County, and Stone Soup Fresno.
As the two videos show the Community Garden Ministry is a beautiful addition to the
Newman Center by expanding it's mission to bring the transformative power of Christ to
the needy of their community through WORD AND ACTION by the shared growing of
fruits and vegetables in community garden plots.
Visit their website for more information.
Veterans Home of California- Fresno
Thank you for your service! Master Gardener volunteers are back to visit and provide gardening support to our local CA Vet's Retirement Home.
- Exposure to vitamin D. Vitamin D increases your calcium levels, which benefits your bones and immune system. ...
- Decreased dementia risk. A 2006 study found that gardening could lower risk of dementia by 36 percent. ...
- Mood-boosting benefits. ...
- Enjoyable aerobic exercise. ...
- Helps combat loneliness.
- Make time to get outside and garden this week!
The Yosemite Village Permaculture Garden and Urban Farm
A educational garden and small farm incubator located in South West Fresno. Started from bare ground on October 5, 2019 with help from the Fresno Master Gardeners and community volunteers.
The garden is thriving with garden plots adopted by locate residents.
For more information about Fresno Metro Ministry click here
Plant a Row for the Hungry
Plant a Row for the Hungry Nationally sponsored by the Garden Writers’ Association, Plant-A-Row encourages gardeners to grow a little extra to donate to food banks. You can also donate any surplus of fresh garden produce, even it it wasn’t planted for donation!
Food Gatherers and their partners invite gardeners and farmers to join the annual campaign to alleviate hunger in our community. Visit the website to learn more about this program!
(PAR) is a nationwide, people-to-people program sponsored locally by UC Cooperative Extension Fresno Master Gardeners and Community Food Bank. Planted at Garden of the Sun.