Biweekly Update for November 25, 2025
- Brenda Bye
- 16 minutes ago
- 5 min read
President’s Message
🦃 Happy Thanksgiving to all BCMGA members and your families. I hope you have a wonderful day full of family and friends.
On November 15, we celebrated our 2025 BCMGA award winners and welcomed the graduating class of 2025. Our Master Gardener of the Year was Susan Hoffman. She was acknowledged for her hard work in revitalizing the Mt. View School Garden. Susan was very insistent that this was a group effort of Master Gardeners, teachers, BCMGA associate members, parents and grandparents, but it was Susan who got the ball rolling and was very deserving of this award.
Our Behind the Scenes award winner is Deb Kern. Deb has been the Plant Problem Scenario Chair for a number of years, as well as serving on the board. Currently, Deb is co- secretary. Deb has also been desk training and remains dedicated to this job.
BCMGA also awarded 2 lifetime membership awards. This is the highest award that the association offers. The criteria for this award are logging 1000 hours or more and making a significant contribution to BCMGA. The two recipients for 2025 are Janet Magedanz and Richard Taylor. Janet has served as Gearing Up for Gardening Chair since 2013, she is a past president of the association and is currently serving as treasurer. Rich served for a number of years as the BCMGA representative to OMGA. He generously contributed to making the OMGA Joy of Gardening conference a success when it returned to Corvallis in 2023. Rich also created the association’s website and has been webmaster since 2020. Congratulations to all of our very deserving award winners.
Finally, I would like to thank Nancy Tovar and Carol Walsh for using their creative talent by taking charge of the decorations for the awards celebration. In just a few hours, Nancy and Carol turned a bland room into a beautiful one. It made our event very special. Many thanks!
- Paula Lupcho, President
BCMGA Membership News
🦃 Renew Your BCMGA Membership for only $15. Please complete your renewal by Thanksgiving for the benefit of our treasurer and membership secretary.
You can mail your cash or check to: BCMGA
5060 SW Philomath Blvd., #197
Corvallis, OR 97333.
If paying by credit card, use this link: https://square.link/u/vAZplhAF There will be a swipe fee of $0.76 for a total of $15.76.
🦃 Greens Party Announced - Join BCMGA and Corvallis Evening Garden Club for an afternoon to celebrate the Winter Solstice and holiday season. Cut greens and bow making supplies will be provided along with coffee and cider.
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM
Location: Guerber Hall, Benton County Fairgrounds
Bring: Wreath making supplies rings, personal embellishments, clippers and gloves.
Share: Holiday treats like cookies. Consider bringing special greens like beauty berry, English laurel, holly, and pinecones.
Volunteer Opportunities
These activities are approved by OSU Extension for volunteer hours
🦃 Plant Desk Sign Up Remains Open - Shifts at the Extension Office help desk are open, morning and afternoon on Tuesdays and Thursdays (unless there’s a holiday). Questions are still coming in, though not as fast. That makes winter an excellent time to read in our library, practice working with the microscope, or getting refresher training on aspects you’d like to know better. Please sign up when you can! 2025 Signup Genius
🦃 Mountain View Elementary School Garden wants your help in the garden and classroom. Join this enthusiastic crew for a fun curriculum that grows interesting foods. This program is inspiring future gardeners and scientists. If you are interested in putting some of your time into this NW Corvallis based garden, contact Susan Hoffman or Nancy Tovar.
🦃 Join CGET Leadership - The Community Garden Education Team (CGET) is one of BCMGA’s most public-facing committees and a cornerstone of our garden education mission. These are some of our most popular activities, but the committee needs an additional Co-Chair to help in planning. As a reminder, hours working on committees are approved volunteer hours and can often be flexible for our working members.
If you love vegetable gardening and want to make a meaningful impact in the community, this is a rewarding opportunity. To learn more, contact CGET.BentonMG@gmail.com.
Continuing Education Opportunities
Approved for CE by OSU Extension
🦃 Mark Your Calendars for Gearing Up for Gardening 2026 - Lectures will be held Tuesdays from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM in the Benton County Library throughout January and February. The full list of interesting lectures will be posted to the Benton County Master Gardener website soon.
🦃 How Can I Help? How We Can Save Nature in Our Own Yards
A Talk by Dr. Doug Tallamy
Author, Entomologist, and Professor, University of Delaware
Founder of Homegrown National Park
Join acclaimed author and entomologist Dr. Doug Tallamy for an inspiring and practical presentation on how we can all make a difference—starting right outside our doors. Discover simple, effective steps to help restore and protect nature through the choices we make in our own landscapes.
You’ll Learn:
How to transform your garden into a thriving, healthy habitat
Why native plants are essential--tough, easy to grow, and provide “comfort” food for wildlife.
What “keystone plants” are and why they matter
How native insects and plants are the foundation for healthy bird populations. No bugs, no birds!
Saturday, January 24, 2026 1:00-2:00 p.m. Book signing to follow. Doors open at noon.
CH2M Hill Alumni Center
725 SW 26th St., Corvallis, OR 97331
Tickets: $20 in advance | $25 at the door
Get your tickets now before they sell out! Go to www.bentonmg.org to purchase.
Questions: bcmgatallamy@gmail.com
🦃Benton County Master Gardeners YouTube Channel - Winter is a great time to get ahead on Continuing Education Credits. Consider catching up on past lectures from our Membership Meetings. They are available on our YouTube Channel at:
🦃Outdoor Learning School & Store: An on demand, online webinar that counts towards Growing and Belonging credit.
Extension News
🦃 Invite a Future Master Gardener! Applications for the 2026 Training Open Soon - Know someone who would make a great Master Gardener? Please help spread the word—the 2026 OSU Master Gardener training application process begins in December!
December 3: Applications open for those on the interest list
December 9: Applications open to everyone on the Extension website
If someone you know is curious about the program, encourage them to join the upcoming Open Houses to learn more, ask questions, and meet Extension staff.
Open House Dates:
Dec 9, 6–8 p.m. – Benton County Extension Office, Sunset Room
Dec 11, 6–8 p.m. – Linn County Extension Office
Dec 17, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. – Benton County Extension Office, Sunset Room
Dec 18, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. – Linn County Extension Office
Community News
🦃OSU Healing Gardens: A Place for Healing and Growing
The OSU Foundation, Beavs Give, and the Campus Arboretum are launching a new initiative to create Healing Gardens across Oregon State University’s campus. This will make OSU one of only 3 college campuses nationwide to feature this therapeutic resource. If you are interested in donating to this new initiative please look at their website:
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