Biweekly Update - August 12, 2025
- Brenda Bye
- Aug 12
- 5 min read
President’s Message
From Paula Lupcho
🌻At yesterday’s board meeting we had a great report from BCMGA Webmaster Rich Taylor. Rich has admirably provided the stewardship of our site from its inception in 2019 to the present. He reported that in the last month we have gotten 7 new subscribers and have had 209 views for a total viewing time of 4,675 minutes. We have over 700 subscribers to our YouTube channel. The most watched program is Bernadine Strik’s raspberry presentation. These programs come from recordings of our Gearing Up for Gardening lectures, presentations at Membership Meetings, and Public Seed Library talks. If you haven’t taken a look at the website, it would be well worth your time to do so at bentonmg.org. If you want access to the Members Only section, the password can be found on the inside cover of your directory.
More good news comes from Clinic Table Chair Elaina Bauer. Elaina reports that BCMGA has been represented at nine markets and five other community events as of mid-July. The first event of the year was at Shonnard’s nursery in February and the season will end on Halloween at the Corvallis Farmers Market. To date, these clinic tables have had 1,510 contacts with the community. MGs and trainees have logged 72 hours with 63 hours logged by trainees. The clinic table has also added the Garden Future program to its outreach activities. This Extension driven program collects data from gardeners from across the state to better understand the impact of climate change in Oregon gardens. Thanks Elaina for the wonderful job and effort you have put into our community outreach clinic tables. And, thank you to all of the MGs and trainees who have participated. Both of these community outreach programs demonstrate our success with our educational efforts.
Lastly, on behalf of BCMGA, I would like to extend our very best wishes to Otillia Schreuder. Otillia is getting married and will be out of the office from August 28 to September 9.
BCMGA Membership News
🌻 Mark Your Calendars: Linn and Benton Counties Master Gardener Graduation - Plan to come and celebrate our Trainee Class of 2025 with a potluck brunch and awards ceremony. More details to come.
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Central Electric Training Center in Tangent, Oregon
🌻 Annual BCMGA Summer Picnic - Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM at Avery Park in Corvallis. More details will be announced soon.
Attention Trainees! Plant Desk Wants You
Plant Desk is a crucial part of BCMGA’s public outreach and a wonderful way to expand your knowledge base. Desk trainers are available for all trainees and veteran Master Gardeners who would like a refresher on desk procedures. The desk is open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 pm. For trainees, these count toward your 20 hours of public outreach. For veteran MGs, these hours count toward your volunteer service hours for recertification. Go to 2025 Signup Genius.
🌻 VRS Raffle Announced. Don’t wait to put in your hours, start today!
Volunteered and haven’t put the hours in VRS? Win a $15 gift card for a nursery of your choice for entering volunteer hours into VRS by August 25 (vrs.osumg.org/sec_Login/). If you need help please email Otillia at otillia.schreuder@oregonstate.edu
Veteran Master Gardeners enter by logging 10 hours of volunteering and 5 hours of Continuing Education.
Trainees enter by logging 14 hours of volunteering and 6 hours of Plant Clinic.
Volunteer Opportunities
These activities are approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🌻 Garden Future Tabling - Garden Future is an OSU Project that aims to increase resilience for gardening in a changing climate. The Garden Future material is being featured at tabling events around Linn and Benton County. For more information on this project please see this OSU Extension webpage there is also a Volunteer Guide PDF available. Email Otillia for more information.
William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge
Date: 08/22/25, 09/27/25
Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Location: William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
26208 Finley Refuge Rd,
Sign Up Link: Finley Wildlife Refuge Signup Genius
🌻 August Propagation Workshops at PHS - There are still a couple of spots left for volunteers for propagation sessions, including some weekend and evening hours. There are a lot of 4 inch native and perennial plants that need potted up into gallons. These are some of our most popular activities so check out the SignUp Genius right away.
🌻 Citizen Science Volunteer Opportunity with OSU and the USDA Forest Service. These agencies are leading an effort to collect Oregon ash (Fraxinu latifolia) seeds this fall from all over the tree’s natural range in the search for genetic resistance to Emerald Ash Borer.
A virtual workshop on seed collection and shipping protocols will be held for interested volunteers on Thursday, August 14, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. This workshop will cover how to gather seeds from your area and prepare them for shipment. Anyone interested in joining seed collection efforts, including individuals, community groups, clubs, youth organizations, may volunteer. Advanced registration is required. For more information and to register, visit https://beav.es/xJw or contact OSU Extension Forester Dan Stark at dan.stark@oregonstate.edu
Continuing Education Opportunities
Approved for CE by OSU Extension
🌻Grow A Row (or More) - Linn Co Extension, Community Heath and Linn Benton Food Share will teach you about the local emergency food distribution center and how you can “Grow a Row” to help your community.
Date: Thursday, August 28, 2025
Time: 6:00-8:00 PM
Attend: In person at Linn County Extension or Zoom https://beav.es/xUE
🌻Growing Oregon Gardeners OSU Level Up Series - Lectures for 2025 are all about gardening with resilience in this changing climate. To register for a webinar or to view past lectures please see the Growing Oregon Gardeners website.
Topics:
August 12: Stress Re-leaf: Saving Trees from Climate Burnout
September 9: Better Watch Your Backyard: Tracking Oregon’s Seasons
Time: 12 pm – 1 pm
Location: online webinar, free
Extension News
🌻 Thank You from MG Program Coordinator Otillia! Thank you to all of you who volunteered at the Benton County Fair this year! It was a success with many people stopping at the table. Additionally, thank you to all of the people who have been volunteering out in the community at farmers markets and plant clinics. It is a privilege to work with you all in the community.
🌻 Need a Replacement Badge? Otillia will be ordering badges again soon. Reach out to her if you need a replacement.
Community News
These are interesting items submitted by MGs. They are not approved for credit.
🌻 Corvallis Sustainability Coalition 2025 Edible Garden Tour - Thursday August 14, 2025 from 5:00 -8:00 PM. This tour is open to the public and features seven Southwest Corvallis Gardens including MG Cherie Pereira. For more information see the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition website.
🌻 Open House for the Institute of Applied Ecology’s 25th Anniversary - The public is invited to join in celebrating this milestone with live music and food as well as family-friendly activities and conservation program exhibits. See the event website for more details.
🌻 Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture Open House - Friday September 5th from 11 AM to 1PM. Join OSU Faculty and students to celebrate another year of garden learning with a free lunch. Topics on display and items of discussion will include Sustainable Urban Horticulture, Ornamental Plant Breeding, Landscape Management, Lawn Care, Pollinator Habitat, Beekeeping, Organic Gardening, and Dry Land Farming. RSVP to Alec.Kowalewski@oregonstate.edu by August 29, 2025
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