MGACRA :FREDERICKSBURG & THE COUNTIES OF STAFFORD, SPOTSYLVANIA, KING GEORGE & CAROLINE
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.MGACRA-SPONSORED EVENTS CALENDAR FOR |
September 2021
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Some MGACRA lectures and events will be offered via You-tube or ZOOM technology. The Free Lance Star and MGACRA Facebook page will also be used to post/advertise all activities.
All gardening, insect, plant disease, and horticultural related questions can be called into our VCE office: 540-658-8000. Guy Mussey is our VCE Agent for the four-county area and Fredericksburg. Additional resources are available at: ext.vt.edu where subjects of interest can be searched.
MG Monthly Meetings: Monthly GENERAL meetings will be held via ZOOM until October 2021. Registration will be required to access any meetings being conducted via Zoom prior to October 2021.
8 Sep - MGACRA Board Meeting, 1:30 p.m., Via ZOOM (link will be emailed to Board on April 9). POC: Tina Will, brianandtina.will@gmail.com.
15 Sep – MGACRA General Meeting, Time 7:00 p.m., Guest Speaker/Subject: Mike Callahan, Manager and Instructor at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center, Nanjemoy, MD/”Monarch Butterflies: How They Live and Travel”. Please click the following link to register for the FREE and open to the public event! Zoom Link: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd--grjIvHNBfRm7UoHsmoHpO9wLxcXAa POC: Kathie Holliday, klholliday7@gmail.com
Other Calendar Events: None
MG Volunteer Opportunities:
Choose Your Own Workday Adventure, Sept. 25 (see times by location, below): National Public Lands Workday is Sept 25, 2021. Master Gardener Project Coordinators Alvin Calhoun and Beth Daly hope you will join in and help get some of the work done at one of two Demonstration gardens. These are great opportunities to see and work with fellow MGs, earn some hours, and help develop and beautify these gardens. Be sure to bring your own snacks, water, and tools!
Workday Locations:
VA State Fair: Coordinator Laurie Clarkston has secured October 1st as our unit’s day to work at the State Fair! Laurie will send out more details as they become available, but in the meantime please email Laurie if you are interested in volunteering for this fantastic annual event. Perks of volunteering include free parking and tickets to the Fair! You can email Laurie at: garadh56@gmail.com
MGACRA Annual Picnic: Sunday, September 26th at Pratt Park, Pavilion G (near the tennis courts), 4:30 to dusk: The annual MGACRA Picnic is just around the corner. There will be a Plant Swap, so please bring a labeled plant to trade. A short educational talk is also being planned. Come see your fellow gardeners! It is time to get back together as safely as possible. Outdoors is the place to be!!! Please come and reconnect with this wonderful team of volunteers. Check your email for more information.
The Rte3/Gordon Rd Plant Clinic: Ray Mikula needs plant clinic volunteers for the month of September. Ray has put together a SignUp Genius page to make picking your dates easy and breezy. Please consider volunteering for the clinic, and please contact Ray if you have any questions! Embers418@aol.com. The SignUp Genius link is here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044DA9A623AAFF2-rt3farmers
Cedell Brooks: Coordinator Alvin Calhoun welcomes volunteers to join him at Cedell Brooks Park workdays every Thursday from 8am - 11noon! can let Alvin know you're coming by signing up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Thursday works for you!), or you can just turn up. Don’t forget your tools! Please contact Alvin if you have any questions at aac.a4@gmail.com
Native Garden at Widewater State Park: Coordinator Beth Daily welcomes all volunteers to join her at Widewater State Park. Reach out to Beth with any questions, and the park rangers on site are also happy to answer any questions you may have while working in the garden. Snacks and water are available for purchase in the gift shop, and parking is free for garden volunteers! Beth can be reached at elizabethdaly@juno.com.
MG Class Facilitators: We still have several slots open for facilitators for this year’s MG class. For those that have not facilitated before, duties include arriving a little before class starts to help start coffee and gather any handouts or other materials for the class, passing out handouts during class, keeping Guy in a steady supply of coffee, and generally making sure things run smoothly. We also ask facilitators to stay a few minutes after class to help tidy up. Please let me know if you’re interested and what dates you’d like to volunteer! The syllabus was sent out via email. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you can facilitate or have additional questions.
Deacon Commons Community Garden: Coordinator Jen Lin is looking for a few volunteers to help her with planning a selecting plants for this brand new project, which will include a native plant area! If you’d like to lend your design eye and plant expertise, please contact Jen at ravin@vt.edu
Berea Church “Joy Fellowship”: Lisa is still on the hunt for a speaker for the Berea Baptist Church “Joy Fellowship”, a 50 and older group, that would like to invite a Master Gardener to attend their luncheon and lead a 20-30 minute Gardening Q and A session at their March 9, 2022 meeting. The luncheon begins at 12 noon. Please contact Lisa if you are interested!
Mary Washington ElderStudy: Mary Washington ElderStudy (www.elderstudy.com), in Fredericksburg, VA, is a community organization of (mostly) retired seniors interested in lifelong learning opportunities. They would like to invite a Master Gardener to do a presentation for their group in 2022! Many of their members are big fans of our annual Symposium, so they are hoping that the presentation could also serve as free advertising for that event. Contact Lisa if you are interested.
Smart Green Lawns: Smart Green Lawn volunteers are super busy and the season is just getting started! Additional volunteers are needed. No special lawn knowledge is necessary, and one-on-one training will be provided via via zoom or in the Extension office. New volunteers will be work with our veteran SGL volunteers to really learn the ropes. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the project!
Belmont Nature Trail: MG Jody Wilken is the Grounds Coordinator at Belmont, and she is looking for some volunteers to work on the Nature Trail giving educational walking tours to visitors. Though you would be volunteering as an MG, Belmont has its own internal volunteer process as well, which includes a background screening (paid for by Belmont). Don't let that process scare you off, though, you'd still be earning Master Gardener hours! Please contact Lisa Ellis or Jody (jwilken@umw.edu) to get started!
Chatham Historical Gardens: Did you know that you can earn volunteer hours every Wednesday, year-round, from 8am-1pm by joining project Coordinator Carol Hyland in the beautiful Chatham Historical Gardens? Interested? You can sign up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Wednesday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your pruners. Please contact Carol if you have any questions at cahyland@cox.net
Continuing Education:
Soil Sample Video: The Extension Office has prepared a short video on how to take a good soil sample! The video is now up on YouTube and will be posted on our website. You can also click on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J93LtWMTs0 Watching the video WILL COUNT towards your Continuing Education hours.
(Page last updated: 9/12/2021 RF)
All gardening, insect, plant disease, and horticultural related questions can be called into our VCE office: 540-658-8000. Guy Mussey is our VCE Agent for the four-county area and Fredericksburg. Additional resources are available at: ext.vt.edu where subjects of interest can be searched.
MG Monthly Meetings: Monthly GENERAL meetings will be held via ZOOM until October 2021. Registration will be required to access any meetings being conducted via Zoom prior to October 2021.
8 Sep - MGACRA Board Meeting, 1:30 p.m., Via ZOOM (link will be emailed to Board on April 9). POC: Tina Will, brianandtina.will@gmail.com.
15 Sep – MGACRA General Meeting, Time 7:00 p.m., Guest Speaker/Subject: Mike Callahan, Manager and Instructor at Nanjemoy Creek Environmental Education Center, Nanjemoy, MD/”Monarch Butterflies: How They Live and Travel”. Please click the following link to register for the FREE and open to the public event! Zoom Link: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwkd--grjIvHNBfRm7UoHsmoHpO9wLxcXAa POC: Kathie Holliday, klholliday7@gmail.com
Other Calendar Events: None
MG Volunteer Opportunities:
Choose Your Own Workday Adventure, Sept. 25 (see times by location, below): National Public Lands Workday is Sept 25, 2021. Master Gardener Project Coordinators Alvin Calhoun and Beth Daly hope you will join in and help get some of the work done at one of two Demonstration gardens. These are great opportunities to see and work with fellow MGs, earn some hours, and help develop and beautify these gardens. Be sure to bring your own snacks, water, and tools!
Workday Locations:
- Cedell Brooks Park 11215 Henry Griffin Rd, King George, VA 22485 from 8 a.m. to 11pm. New shrubs to plant, other maintenance tasks. Contact Alvin Calhoun at aac.ac4@gmail.com.
- Widewater State Park, 101 Widewater State Park Rd, Stafford, VA 22554 at 10 a.m. Identify and tag plants, weed. Bring food, water, and tools. Contact Beth Daly at elizabethdaly@juno.com.
VA State Fair: Coordinator Laurie Clarkston has secured October 1st as our unit’s day to work at the State Fair! Laurie will send out more details as they become available, but in the meantime please email Laurie if you are interested in volunteering for this fantastic annual event. Perks of volunteering include free parking and tickets to the Fair! You can email Laurie at: garadh56@gmail.com
MGACRA Annual Picnic: Sunday, September 26th at Pratt Park, Pavilion G (near the tennis courts), 4:30 to dusk: The annual MGACRA Picnic is just around the corner. There will be a Plant Swap, so please bring a labeled plant to trade. A short educational talk is also being planned. Come see your fellow gardeners! It is time to get back together as safely as possible. Outdoors is the place to be!!! Please come and reconnect with this wonderful team of volunteers. Check your email for more information.
The Rte3/Gordon Rd Plant Clinic: Ray Mikula needs plant clinic volunteers for the month of September. Ray has put together a SignUp Genius page to make picking your dates easy and breezy. Please consider volunteering for the clinic, and please contact Ray if you have any questions! Embers418@aol.com. The SignUp Genius link is here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B044DA9A623AAFF2-rt3farmers
Cedell Brooks: Coordinator Alvin Calhoun welcomes volunteers to join him at Cedell Brooks Park workdays every Thursday from 8am - 11noon! can let Alvin know you're coming by signing up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Thursday works for you!), or you can just turn up. Don’t forget your tools! Please contact Alvin if you have any questions at aac.a4@gmail.com
Native Garden at Widewater State Park: Coordinator Beth Daily welcomes all volunteers to join her at Widewater State Park. Reach out to Beth with any questions, and the park rangers on site are also happy to answer any questions you may have while working in the garden. Snacks and water are available for purchase in the gift shop, and parking is free for garden volunteers! Beth can be reached at elizabethdaly@juno.com.
MG Class Facilitators: We still have several slots open for facilitators for this year’s MG class. For those that have not facilitated before, duties include arriving a little before class starts to help start coffee and gather any handouts or other materials for the class, passing out handouts during class, keeping Guy in a steady supply of coffee, and generally making sure things run smoothly. We also ask facilitators to stay a few minutes after class to help tidy up. Please let me know if you’re interested and what dates you’d like to volunteer! The syllabus was sent out via email. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you can facilitate or have additional questions.
Deacon Commons Community Garden: Coordinator Jen Lin is looking for a few volunteers to help her with planning a selecting plants for this brand new project, which will include a native plant area! If you’d like to lend your design eye and plant expertise, please contact Jen at ravin@vt.edu
Berea Church “Joy Fellowship”: Lisa is still on the hunt for a speaker for the Berea Baptist Church “Joy Fellowship”, a 50 and older group, that would like to invite a Master Gardener to attend their luncheon and lead a 20-30 minute Gardening Q and A session at their March 9, 2022 meeting. The luncheon begins at 12 noon. Please contact Lisa if you are interested!
Mary Washington ElderStudy: Mary Washington ElderStudy (www.elderstudy.com), in Fredericksburg, VA, is a community organization of (mostly) retired seniors interested in lifelong learning opportunities. They would like to invite a Master Gardener to do a presentation for their group in 2022! Many of their members are big fans of our annual Symposium, so they are hoping that the presentation could also serve as free advertising for that event. Contact Lisa if you are interested.
Smart Green Lawns: Smart Green Lawn volunteers are super busy and the season is just getting started! Additional volunteers are needed. No special lawn knowledge is necessary, and one-on-one training will be provided via via zoom or in the Extension office. New volunteers will be work with our veteran SGL volunteers to really learn the ropes. Please contact Lisa Ellis if you are interested in volunteering or have questions about the project!
Belmont Nature Trail: MG Jody Wilken is the Grounds Coordinator at Belmont, and she is looking for some volunteers to work on the Nature Trail giving educational walking tours to visitors. Though you would be volunteering as an MG, Belmont has its own internal volunteer process as well, which includes a background screening (paid for by Belmont). Don't let that process scare you off, though, you'd still be earning Master Gardener hours! Please contact Lisa Ellis or Jody (jwilken@umw.edu) to get started!
Chatham Historical Gardens: Did you know that you can earn volunteer hours every Wednesday, year-round, from 8am-1pm by joining project Coordinator Carol Hyland in the beautiful Chatham Historical Gardens? Interested? You can sign up in Better Impact (click on the Opportunities tab, go to the Opportunities Calendar, and click on whatever Wednesday works for you!), or you can just turn up with your pruners. Please contact Carol if you have any questions at cahyland@cox.net
Continuing Education:
Soil Sample Video: The Extension Office has prepared a short video on how to take a good soil sample! The video is now up on YouTube and will be posted on our website. You can also click on the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J93LtWMTs0 Watching the video WILL COUNT towards your Continuing Education hours.
(Page last updated: 9/12/2021 RF)