Coconino Master Gardener Association: March 2018

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.

Friday, March 2, 2018

BIO 112 Wildflowers of Arizona at CCC

Subject: Summer Field Botany Course at Coconino Community College

Hello All,
I'm writing to advertise an upcoming field botany course offered through Coconino Community College this summer. The course is BIO 112 - Wildflowers of Arizona (preliminary syllabus attached here). The class will take place over the course of two weeks, M-Th June 4-7 and 11-14; we will meet from 12 pm - 6:45 pm each day.
This will be an intensive two week course that is a great introduction to botany. Throughout these two weeks we will explore the following:

* Basic plant morphology
* Basic botanical vocabulary
* Basic plant taxonomy
* Basic plant ecology
* Practice using a dichotomous key to identify plants
* Identification of plant families and species common to northern Arizona
* Proper collection, documentation, and processing methods for plant collection in the field.
* We may be contributing to a floristic inventory of a local site.

Class will include regular field trips to local destinations, and students should be prepared to hike up to approximately four miles at a steady pace across uneven terrain. Being in good physical condition is a necessary requirement.

For more information contact wendy.mcbride@coconino.edu

Thursday, March 1, 2018

See opportunities for registration above in our intro. You can mail or sign up online.

2018 UA Viticulture Symposium

March 23, 2018 from 8A - 4P in Benson, AZ

If you are an Arizona grape grower and interested in research-based knowledge specific to grapes for Arizona wine, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension invites you to the 2018 UA Viticulture Symposium. This educational program is set for Friday, March 23, 2018 at the Cochise College Benson Center located in Benson, Arizona. Check-in is at 8:00 A.M. and the program will begin at 9:00 A.M. Keynote speaker, Dr. Gill Giese, is a Viticulture Specialist at New Mexico State University. He will discuss “Cultivating Grapes in the Desert and Calendar of Events.” Other presentations include University of Arizona specialists in plant science, natural resources and environment and agriculture and resource economics. There will be a vendor marketplace to showcase agricultural services and products as well as booths with other important non-profit agricultural groups.

The cost is $60 for general admission. To register OR for more information and the complete agenda of speakers and topics at the Symposium, please go to: www.uagrapes.eventbrite.com

Coconino Master Gardener Association