It’s time to think about becoming a Wasco County Master Gardener!
Want to meet us? Come to our “Meet & Greet” on Monday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m., downstairs at The Mid-Columbia Senior Center. Hear more about our projects; get a chance to ask questions, and chat with current Master Gardeners about what we do.
We hope to see you there!
Do you like to “dig in” to the art and science of gardening and horticulture? Do you enjoy teaching and connecting with your community on the things you love? You should consider becoming an OSU Master Gardener.
Applications are due Wednesday, Jan. 16, so now is the time.
The program consists of two parts: classroom training from horticultural specialists, and volunteer service sharing home gardening information to others in your community. Both parts must be completed to become a certified OSU Master Gardener. New volunteers receive at least 42 hours of intensive horticulture education in exchange for 42 hours of volunteer time.
The OSU Master Gardener training is offered once each year in Wasco County, on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. TO 4 p.m. beginning Feb. 6 and running through March 27.
The Master Gardener curriculum provides the volunteers with information and references on subjects such as botany, entomology, plant diseases, pesticide safety, lawn care, plant identification, greenhouse strategies, and more. After that, Master Gardeners volunteer their time as Extension educators, in our Master Gardener projects.
In Wasco County, we have several great projects for Master Gardener volunteers to participate in. Here is a sampling of what we offer:
Master Gardeners are teamed up with detained youth in a greenhouse mentorship program at the juvenile correctional facility at NORCOR. Together, Master Gardeners and juvenile inmates grow hundreds of varieties of annual and perennial plant starts, which are sold in May at the annual Spring Fair plant sale at City Park in The Dalles.
Proceeds benefit both the Master Gardeners and NORCOR. The program serves as a sustainable horticulture work-study relationship with the youth, and it provides the students access to a hands-on learning environment to explore plant propagation, as well as community-building and teamwork.
Master Gardeners help teach an after school garden club for students at Colonel Wright Elementary School. The kids learn about plants and wildlife by playing garden-themed games, creating plant and insect art, and building gardens for the school.
The DIG is a colorful, engaging, user-friendly, educational garden that stimulates the interest and imagination of children and their families. Master Gardeners and 4-H teach workshops for the community, partner with schools to teach gardening clubs, hold day camps for children, and maintain an interesting exploration environment for families.
Master Gardeners help the general public with their gardening questions. We hold several plant clinics a week during the growing season, both at the Extension office and around town. We invite our community to come to us with questions, concerns, identification mysteries, and other gardening needs. OSU Master Gardeners are trained to research and recommend the most up-to-date and research-based horticulture information around!
For additional information or to obtain an application, visit our website at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/wasco, or you can contact the Wasco County Extension office at 541-296-5494, email Michelle at michelle.sager@oregonstate.edu or stop by at 400 E. Scenic Drive in The Dalles (at the Columbia Gorge Community College, Building 2, Level 2).
— Michelle Sager is the Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Oregon State Extension Service in The Dalles.
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