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SAVE THE DATES
HOLIDAY POT LUCK Wednesday, December 6th
Between 11am-1pm, we'll be gathering at Suffolk County Farm, AG HALL for the annual MG Holiday party. Bring whatever you want to share at our pot luck as well as your own beverage, utensils and plates since we’re trying to reduce our paper and plastic waste.
SPRING GARDENING SCHOOL Saturday, March 9, 2024
The very good news is that the 2024 event will be held INDOORS in a new school building in Calverton in March. This also means that we can offer 40 different gardening sessions! This is like Spring Gardening School many of us recall. Who would like to offer a new garden topic or one not offered recently? Can anyone offer Wreaths for all Seasons or Garden Photography or ? SOS. WE NEED ABOUT 15 MORE PROGRAMS. Please drop me a note about a session you could offer or one you’d like to take. rz378@cornell.edu
Master Gardener PLANT SALE Saturday, April 27, 2024
The Spring Gardening School date and new venue also meant that we had to find another opportunity for the Master Gardener Plant Sale. The MG Plant Sale has been very successful at Suffolk County Farm where we’ll return on Saturday, April 27. The Plant Sale will be front and center having no competition from other MG events that day.
MG Volunteer HOURS
It may be November, but some of you have not YET reported ANY of your volunteer hours for 2023. One MG told me recently he has about the 200 hours not yet reported for this year. I wont "out" any of you, but I encourage those of you in a similar position to report your wonderful contribution of volunteer hours. The more volunteer hours we report, the brighter the shine on the Master Gardener program in Suffolk County. In a few weeks, I need every MG to complete 2023 reporting as I prepare my reporting for county, state and federal reviews.
Please submit any outstanding 2023 hours on this Qualtrics survey which sends you a copy of your report. . https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aiagRHzCO3z8smO
For those newer Master Gardeners among us and those from prior years who had about a dozen categories, let me take a moment to review how your report volunteer service.
MG activity is recognized in 5 categories.
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Adult Education: info tables, SGS instruction, delivering programs to libraries or other groups, workshops, demonstrations
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Youth Education: school gardens, lessons at Children’s Garden or other sites, youth events, public speaking
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Gardening: growing/demonstration/maintenance at MG sites, community gardens, projects, greenhouse
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CCE/MG Support: MG committees & projects, SGS, MG Training, CCE website, social media, mass media
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Continuing Education: attending workshops, programs, courses, in person or online training
Remember you’re responsible for keeping track of your hours which you describe in comments on the survey. We need the total number of hours per this calendar year 2023 as well as your legacy hours since you became a Master Gardener. These figures contribute to the annual award of green, red, blue, white and violet New York State MG pins. New MGs: Please send me a friendly reminder note once you reach your initial 125 hours.
The “Gardening” category above is where we’ve experienced the greatest number of issues. We don’t have enough Master Gardeners to ACTIVELY MAINTAIN the many existing MG Approved DEMONSTRATION GARDENs. As you well know, gardens require ongoing maintenance in years 1, 5, 15 and 20. Some of these demonstration gardens have been sorely neglected as the initial Master Gardeners who launched those gardens years or decades ago have moved on.
Under what circumstances is it fair or appropriate to neglect these gardens while we receive applications for new sites for the MG Approved list? And how can we be assured that the new gardens proposed today will be maintained 5, 10 or 15 years from now? Through what process, if any, might we re-evaluate a MG site?
MASTER GARDENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
APPROVED MASTER GARDENER SITES
These are the very questions that the Master Gardener Advisory Committee (MGAC) has been addressing. The MGAC has been deliberating the whole matter of generic MG Approved Site requirements and the specific features in the recent applications for new sites. We owe a debt of thanks to MGAC members Susan Leonetti, Kathy Readinger, Hope Kranidis, Kathy Murphy, Karen Brenner, Louann Rothe and Chris DeSantis for their time and considerable recommendations during this process.
MG Approved Sites are linked here
Here are MGAC recommendations going forward.
Action Steps:
1. If Action Projects proposed during Master Gardener Training center on developing a garden or other gardening activities per se, the instructor will encourage those participants to develop Action Projects that tie this gardening activity within the context of an already existing approved MG site.
2. The Master Gardener instructor will also balance volunteer hours in favor of approved sites during the first 125 hours. (Given the pandemic and its aftermath, current MGs in recent classes could complete about half of their gardening hours at non approved sites and the other half at Approved sites.) Going forward. The Class of 2024 and beyond will have to complete at least 90 of their first 125 hours engaged in MG Approved Categories such as Adult Education, Youth Education, Continuing Education, MG Support. If the primary activity is GARDENING, these volunteer gardening hours are to be completed at an Approved MG Site.
3. Tweak the application for new site consideration. We currently use 5 criteria to evaluate the viability of a new MG site proposal.
(1) the number of Master Gardeners currently volunteering at the site
(2) site commitment of support from the property staff or organization for irrigation, maintenance, plants, supplies, materials, other sources of volunteers and other critical support
(3) appropriate evaluation of MG responsibilities anticipated given current ongoing and future maintenance and sustainability over time
(4) site alignment with Master Gardener goals, mission, connection and purpose. How does the volunteer site activity go beyond routine maintenance and serves to educate or provide food security in some way?
(5) ease of public accessibility and hours of availability to the public.
We evaluate each of these criteria with a sense of the scope, scale/scale and support of the proposed Master Gardener initiative, existing site or launch and anticipated ongoing maintenance efforts over the next three years.
The MGAC wants to amplify these criteria to make it more clear that new gardens to be planted with MG volunteers are not primarily “beautification” efforts. Although gardens may be attractive, they should be demonstrating best gardening practices. This might possibly include native and pollinator features, rain garden elements, or drought and climate change resistance. In addition, there should be specific educational opportunities detailed. Signs are good, but not sufficient. What interactions or education will Master Gardeners have with members of the public at this garden site to advance and support the purpose of the garden? The inclusion of more detailed site plans, photos and/or sketches will be requested in the future to better understand the scope of the garden at the site.
4. Applications for new demonstration gardens will be accepted every OTHER year. There will be a moratorium on any applications for possible new sites in even numbered years. If Master Gardeners intend to apply for future site approval consideration soon, applications are due on or before Dec 1, 2023. Application forms for new site consideration can be found here .
5. All new Demonstration gardens, if approved by the MGAC, will receive PROVISIONAL status for two years. Provisional status is an attempt to bolster the success of a new garden by allowing a chance to review the timely site support proposed in terms of needs (supplies, plants, irrigation) along with active engagement of MGs and other volunteers. Too, this time frame provides a better opportunity for demonstrating the educational goals of the garden.
During these two provisional years, a member of the MGAC will visit the site. MGs who proposed the site will report the on its development in year one and year two. The goal in all of this is to make sure that any demonstration garden added to the approved Master Gardener list is worthy of our engagement 5, 10 and 15 years from now.
6. Last and not least… We need to form a subcommittee to explore the possible 'archiving' of Approved MG sites. This is no easy task. We need about 2 or 3 MGs to come forward to assist in this project. Please drop me a note if you’re so inclined. rz378@cornell.edu
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