UC Master Gardener volunteers are not only educators but are life-long learners who regularly engage in growing their skills and gardening knowledge. Although the current circumstance surrounded COVID-19 has disrupted our in-person public events and affected our daily lives, it doesn't mean we can't continue learning. Sharpen your mind from the comfort of your own home with these online learning opportunities for the gardener in you. 

Online Continuing Education Resources

Horticultural Topics: 

1. eXtension Campus (no log on required but recommended to be able to access most courses)

a. UC Master Gardener Program Recorded Training - This course acts as a repository of UC and UCCE trainings and was put together as a response to COVID-19

b. eLearn Urban Forestry Citizen Forester

2. eXtension Learn (no log on required)

a. All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series

b. Gardening for Pollinators

 3. UC Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

a. Introduction to Pesticides

b. Moving Beyond Pesticides

c. Online Scavenger Hunt

d. Biological Control

e. Household Pests

f. Less Toxic Pesticides

g. Managing the Argentine Ant

 4. Oregon State University (log on and registration required)

a. Vegetable Gardening Course

 5. Xerces Society

a. Classroom Series

b. Monarch Butterfly Conservation: What Farmers and Ranchers Can Do to Help This Imperiled Species

c. Pollinators, Plants, and People

Volunteer Development Resources: 

1. Extension Master Gardener Social Media Training

a. Module 1 Social Media Toolbox

b. Module 2 Building Online Community

2. University of California Implicit Bias Trainings

a. UCLA Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – Implicit Bias YouTube series

b. UC Managing Implicit Bias Series

3. North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension

a. Civil Rights Training for Extension Volunteers and Advisory Group Members

Attend a training and enter your Hours

During this time, it is crucial to enter hours into the Volunteer Management System (VMS) to continue to share impacts with partners and county leaders. Please take this time to track and record your continuing education hours and any volunteer hours you may not have entered yet. If you are unsure about how to enter continuing education hours in VMS watch the video How to enter continuing education and volunteer hours, or utilize the Volunteer Management System User's Guide which offers step-by-step instructions for using VMS.

The amount of continuing education hours you enter should include the training and any supplemental reading you may be directed to complete as part of the training. All of the trainings suggested in this blog qualify for continuing education hours for UC Master Gardener Program volunteers.

Staying connected with one another is important during this time. Consider teaming up with a fellow volunteer to take the same training as you and then talk about what you learned after. Although we cannot be together at this time we can expand our knowledge and connect with each other through online learning opportunities!