CMGA General Info

Christmas Amaryllis with Orchid to the right. Below Ruth Benson's holiday bears.
Photo by Loni Shapiro.

Welcome to the Coconino County Master Gardeners Association blog. The mission of the Master Gardener Program is to create a corps of well-informed volunteers, and to deliver quality horticultural education programs adapted to our regional high elevation environment. The purpose of the association is to provide support for those volunteers and Master Gardener graduates, continuing education, and opportunities to participate in community programs that increase the visibility and participation in the Master Gardener Program.
The Coconino Master Gardener Association (2009) began in 2009. This blog contains information on:
-How to become a member
-Volunteer and Education hours reporting
-Calendar of Events
-General gardening information articles
-Master Gardener Association Documents and forms
-References and Resources
-Interesting Websites and Blogs
-Old Gardening Etcetera columns
-Recipes
-Book Reviews
-How to contact Board or Committee Members
Meetings are held monthly on the 2nd Thursday from 600pm - 8;30pm. We meet at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church at 1601 N. San Francisco. This includes continuing education and a business meeting.

Reporting Master Gardener Hours

All master gardener trainees and certified master gardeners need to report their hours.
Beginning in 2010 certified master gardeners need to have 6 Education hours and 12 Volunteer hours in order to maintain certification.The on line reporting system allows you to report Education or Volunteer hours. You can sign in to record hours in the right hand column under Recording Volunteer and Education Hours. Just click on the U. of A.
If you have any questions or concerns about the new reporting system, please contact Brenda Smith (A - M) or Sue Madden (N - Z). Their contacts are listed at the bottom of the blog under
Contacts.



Ideas for hours------
--Attend monthly meetings
--Work on an association committee
--Work at an informational booth for the Master Gardeners
--Be a speaker about gardening topics at a variety of venues

--Host a garden tour
--Work at a fundraising event (Plant Sale - Garden Tour).
--Work at a MG site (Olivia White Hospice, the Arboretum, Riordan Mansion, or school gardens (many others)). Check out the Assoc. Doc. & Forms under Volunteer Sites.
--Work in the Extension office
--Write an article for the newspaper column -Gardening Etcetera
-Volunteer with the Seed Library
Be creative! There are many ways to fulfill your hours. Just remember for volunteering it needs to be a non-profit endeavor or an approved for profit site.

Change in Contact Information

Have you moved or changed your e-mail address, but would still like to be contacted about high elevation gardening information from the Extension? The Coconino County Extension Master Gardener Program has a site that will let you change your information on-line.

Click here to change your contact information!

Event Calendar

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Protect the Grand Canyon

Info from the Sierra Club about the Grand Canyon

Protect the Grand Canyon! Your opinion is needed NOW.Grand Canyon is threatened by a massive development outside its southern gate and a proposed expansion of the Grand Canyon Airport, to benefit the mega-development at Tusayan.
Your voice is necessary during the next few weeks to stop the airport expansion AND the massive commercial development it will support. Please attend one of the public meetings listed below and send in emails opposing these horrible plans. Thank you for caring about Grand Canyon!

1) Take Action: Oppose Airport "Upgrade" at Grand Canyon
A plan to funnel even more flights to Grand Canyon's south rim is advancing. Once again, the state of Arizona tells us that it is strapped for cash but wants to spend $2.3 million of state and local dollars -- and $22.8 million of federal dollars -- to dig more wells at and bring bigger jets to Grand Canyon National Park Airport. The plan will bring more noise, pollution, night lighting, and water depletion to the rim of Grand Canyon.
Please speak up on this issue! You can email fiveyearconstructionprogram@azdot.gov. Comments are due before 5 p.m. on May 26. Tell the Arizona Department of Transportation to invest our money in things that will benefit all of us, such as bike lanes and mass transit.
Download talking points at http://www.sierraclub.org//sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/sce/yavapai-group/airport%20outreach%20for%202016%20plan.pdf
View the entire transportation plan at http://azdot.gov/fiveyearplan.
You can also participate in the ADOT Transportation Plan Hearing in Chino Valley:
* Friday, May 15 at 9:00 am at Town of Chino Valley Council Chambers, 202 North State Route 89, Chino Valley

2) Take Action: Fight Massive Urban Sprawl Next to Grand Canyon
The U.S. Forest Service has begun paving the way for a sprawling urban development near the southern edge of Grand Canyon that would include more than 2,100 housing units and 3 million square feet of retail space, along with hotels, a spa, and conference center. The superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park has called the project one of the greatest threats to Grand Canyon in the 96-year history of the park.
The proposal, by Stilo Development Group, would transform the 580-resident community of Tusayan, Arizona from a small, quiet tourist town into a sprawling complex of high-end homes, strip malls, and resorts only a mile from Grand Canyon National Park's boundary. The developers have failed to identify a water source for the development, and scientific models have identified grave risks for Grand Canyon's springs if more wells are drilled below Tusayan. The massive development also threatens to bring more light pollution, litter, and noise to Grand Canyon's southern gate while burdening the park's aging infrastructure.
Now is the time for you to oppose urban sprawl next to Grand Canyon. Send a letter and attend a public meeting in Williams, Tusayan, or Flagstaff.
Tell the Forest Service not to grant the easements for roads and utilities across Forest Service land that would enable the development by sending a letter at http://bit.ly/TusayanScoping Or, go to the Forest Service website and find a link to send comments directly to them at http://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=46776. Comments due June 2.
We encourage you to attend a public meeting:
* May 18 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Williams Elementary School Auditorium, 601 N. 7th Street, Williams
* May 19 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Grand Canyon Squire Inn, 100 Highway 64, Tusayan
* May 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Doubletree Hotel, 1175 Route 66, Flagstaff

3) Please ask President Obama to issue a declaration to protect Grand Canyon's watershed as a national monument. It's easy - just sign this letter: https://secure.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=11811
For more information on any of these issues, please contact Alicyn Gitlin at (928) 774-6514 or alicyn.gitlin@sierraclub.org. **Thank you for taking action!**
To adjust your Sierra Club email preferences, please reply to this email with a description of your wishes. Thank you.
Sierra Club 85 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105


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