Git yer learnin’ on! Master Gardener training ahead

One of the most frustrating aspects of the current COVID-19 pandemic is our inability to attend master gardener and community education classes. If you are like me, you are missing the camaraderie of seeing friends in person and having access to ongoing education. Our Jackson County Master Gardeners Association has been working hard to learn new ways to do our educational outreach to our current students and the community at large. I must admit, it has been a steep learning curve for me. But hope is in sight!

Oregon State University and the Oregon Master Gardeners program have been working diligently to provide information of all kinds on-line and in a virtual environment. At the recent “State of the Statewide Master Gardeners Program,” our coordinator, Gail Langellotto, shared some exciting news about programs that will be rolling out in January, 2021. I highly recommend you view her presentation. Grab a cup of coffee, and spend some time learning what a remarkable program we run in this state. To see Gail’s talk, you can follow this link, but in the meantime, I am delighted to give a brief overview.

All of the following programs are available on-line and free of charge.

What other Master Gardener Programs are doing around the state during COVID-19:

Clackamas County MGA: Has a YouTube Channel with Mini Gardening Lessons on a variety of topics, called 10-Minute University.

Clatsop County MGA: Has a Seed to Supper Blog that disseminates that curriculum. Scroll down the right margin to the 2020 blog archive to see their Food Security Posts, taken directly from the Seed to Supper Curriculum.

Benton County MGA: Seed to Supper at Home program, done as four Zoom modules.

OSU extension Spotify Podcast Gardening Q & A

Upcoming from OSU: Elevated Master Gardener training, focused on skills building. These are due to roll out in 2021 and Erika will keep us apprised of dates.
Basic Zoom: How to join a meeting and work on-line
Advanced Zoom: For moderators, facilitators and speakers – for running Zoom lessons, conferences and presentations.

OSU DATABASE and Plant ID trainings: How to use for plant ID
iNaturalist training: How to ID insects (any living organism).

Virtual Plant Clinic training: How to work in this on-line environment.

On-line Shareable Database of Plant Clinic Q&A: Available statewide
Youth Gardening: Training from Josephine County.

Superpower Your Demo Garden: Put education first in the demo garden.

Community Science and MG Program: Plug in to programs from around the state.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion presentations: From other programs around the state.

I hope every member of our association will take at least one of these fantastic trainings. Our mission is to help educate the public and OSU and our fellow organizations around the state have produced an abundance of information that we can help push to our local community.

Once again, grab that cup of coffee (or glass of wine) and “git yer learnin’ on”.
Enjoy!