President’s Message
🌲 Once again, our Greens Party was great fun, well attended, and some beautiful creations left Guerber Hall. It was the opportunity to just relax, get some great arrangement tips, and chat. Thank you to Lynn Trimpe, Vice President, and her crew for organizing this event.
The training schedule for the new MG class of 2024 has been established. Otillia shared the complete schedule with me, but, for some reason, only the month of February will properly paste into the Update. The class begins on February 21. You can see the February schedule at the end of this Update (just after the Gearing up for Gardening pdf).
Also, OMGA is looking for a board secretary. All meetings are on Zoom. There are 4 board meetings, 4 executive board meetings, and the December retreat that would need minutes. The other duty is to collect and collate for dissemination the quarterly chapter reports. If anyone is interested in this position please contact OMGA President Chris Rusch at crusch3837@gmail.com . This is a very important position as all non-profits in Oregon are required to have a president and a secretary.
One great, big thank you to all of the committee chairs for getting your committee reports to me in record time. These will be posted on our website in the very near future.
I have a bit of fun history to share. Alan Taylor was cleaning his office and came upon an Extension newsletter from 1984. This is the year that MG training began in Linn and Benton Counties. I have included a scan of the first page that talks about the MG training class that was about to begin.
Our last board meeting of the year was yesterday. We welcomed our four new board members for 2024, three of whom are graduating trainees. We are so happy to have you. I also brought the “presidential” gavel that is only seen once a year and turned it over to our incoming president Brenda Bye. I want to thank the 2023 board and the membership for continuing the great work that we do for Benton County gardeners, especially as we went through the leadership changes that occurred. This really demonstrates the strength of our organization. I would also like to thank the office staff for doing a fantastic job in supporting our work despite their reduced numbers. Fortunately, this situation is going to improve in 2024.
Happy holidays, everyone, and safe journey if you are traveling.
Message from MG Coordinator Otillia Schreuder
🍂 Hello All,
Thank you for all of your hard work during the year! Have a wonderful holiday and I will see you in the new year!
A new resource is available to help manage pests around your home and garden with reduced risk to people, pets, and the environment. Solve Pest Problems, was designed to provide a more user-friendly resource to OSU stakeholders than the Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks, and is now housed within the Oregon Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Center, which works to promote IPM strategies of pest control. Solve Pest Problems (SPP) provides peer-reviewed biological and ecological information about common and emerging pests in one convenient-to-use website.
Solve Pest Problems can be found at: https://beav.es/qeV
The 2024 Master Gardener Course is now live! The course this year provides extensive opportunities for in-person interactive learning. More details are provided on the website.
The application can be found at https://beav.es/qe9
Happy Holidays,
Otillia Schreuder
Message from Lynn Trimpe, Vice President
🍂 The BCMGA Membership Meeting will be held on Monday, January 29. This meeting is open to all BCMGA members. The program counts toward Continuing Education recertification hours. The meeting will be hybrid (in-person and via Zoom). The doors at the Sunset building open at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7:00 p.m. Everyone should use the East side entrance as all other doors to the building are locked at night. We encourage you to come in person and enjoy some social time before and after the meeting. Coffee and tea are provided and we would welcome any treat you would like to bring. We also have a raffle for those who attend in person. You get 1 ticket for attending, 2 tickets if you wear your badge, and 3 thickets if you wear you badge and bring a treat.
Please note that the 29th is not our regular meeting day. Association meetings are on the 3rd Monday of the month (January thru May). The next meeting is October, our annual membership meeting.
The program for January will be by Michael Ahr, Natural Resource Conservation Program Manager, Benton Soil and Water Conservation District. Michael will talk about common yard invaders that have a threat of causing ecological impact as they move into natural areas. He will emphasize the importance of tracking oblong spurge (Euphorbia oblongata) specifically, but will cover several other species as well. He will highlight some seasonal actions that gardeners can think about to reduce the spread of noxious weeds as spring rapidly approaches. Attendees are welcome to bring various questions, or even samples of noxious weeds that they’ve found. He tells us that he may not have all the answers, but often other participants can help with some advice if I don’t have an answer.
**If you have ideas about speakers/topics for our membership meetings, please contact Lynn Trimpe or Michelle Brown with your suggestions. trimpelynn@gmail.com michellegbrown88@gmail.com
BCMGA News
🍂 Gearing Up for Gardening: The program for this very popular lecture series has been set. You can view the schedule at the end of this Update. Lectures begin on Jan. 9.
🍂 Desk Winter Hours: Plant Clinic in the Office will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. Morning and afternoon shifts are available.
Volunteer Opportunities
🍂 Insights into Gardening: The committee will be meeting Thursday, Dec. 14, in the Conference Room at the Extension Office. The meeting starts at 1:00.
🍂 Master Gardener Desk (Office Plant Clinic): Winter hours are now in effect. The desk will operate on a Tuesday & Thursday schedule.
Alan Taylor, Mentor Coordinator, would like to let people know that certified MGs could come in at other times to work on voicemail or email submissions or to get a refresher training on working at the desk. In the latter case, contact Alan Taylor (alantaylor@alyrica.net ) to arrange for a trainer. Without an advertised “open desk” it should give some opportunities for quiet time to get these things done.
Find more opportunities on the Benton Volunteer Opportunities Page.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Each program year current Master Gardener volunteers are asked to recertify by completing 10 hours of approved continuing education and 20 hours of volunteering. This ensures that your horticultural knowledge stays current. All the opportunities in this section count towards that goal. Try to get one hour of CE on a diversity, equity, or inclusion related topic.
🍂 Webinars. Opportunities from across the state are listed on the OSU Master Gardener Program’s event page. Record each as one hour of continuing education.
🍂 New OSU Publication. Gardens are for Everyone. Read and write a summary paragraph of how you will apply this as a Master Gardener volunteer for one hour of continuing education.
🍂 Anytime. Recordings of Zoom Master Gardener training from Curry County with guest lecturers from OSU and beyond, are available for any volunteer to take as continuing education. Trainees are also welcome to watch and supplement their classes. More links are being added weekly, see the current list log on to the attached website.
Community News and Opportunities
🍂 Lupe’s Community Garden (Philomath), is seeking a new Program Manager beginning early Spring 2024.
The purpose of the Philomath Community Garden is to develop a beautiful and nurturing space where individuals, families and groups may grow nutritious, organic vegetables and fruit for themselves and for community food banks and gleaner programs. Workshops are offered by Benton County and OSU Extension seasonally.
Community members have volunteered more than 600 hours and shared approximately 1000 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruit this past season. The Garden Manager would be committed to about 30 to 40 volunteer hours per month during planning and planting times. Hours would be less as the garden gets underway. Mentoring will be available.
If interested in this opportunity to contribute greatly to the fight to eliminate hunger in the community, we would love to tell you more. By using the links below, you can explore this historical project. Please contact Cheryl Stratton for more information.
Extension News
Need help finding information from Extension? Here are some important links to access information.
Have a gardening question? Get help at:.
Interested in gardening classes and events?
Want to join Master Gardeners? Contact Benton County Extension Office, 541-713-5000
Want to partner with Master Gardeners? Please contact Otillia Schreuder to get connected: otillia.schreuder@oregonstate.edu
Current volunteers:
Need information about training, volunteering, or logging hours? First check the Volunteer Sourcebook and website.
Need a sign-up, promotions, or printing for an upcoming event?
First, use the Event Checklist to collect all needed information
Need to update your contact information? Need a badge?
Contact Otillia Schreuder otillia.schreuder@oregonstate.edu