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2021 Texas Master Gardener Virtual Conference-DAY 2

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The 2021 Texas Master Gardener State Conference will be held virtually this year on May 18-19, 2021. The leadership workshop will be on May 17, 2021.

Join us as we walk through Texas gardens! We have an amazing line-up of inspirational speakers ready to share with you their favorite topics in horticulture. We will also travel across the state through virtual tours to see the diverse gardens of Texas.

The conference offers continuing education hours for Master Gardeners including three keynote presentations, twenty-four breakout sessions, and four virtual tours.

The conference is also time to celebrate the Search for Excellence Awards and the incredible achievements our volunteers are accomplishing in education across the state.

Cost:  $50 includes both Day 1 & Day 2!

 

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Leadership Workshop – Let’s Get Engaged!

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Cultivate Your Volunteer Team and Reap the Benefits of Success!

Guest Speaker: Karen Reid, President and Founder, Kaber Communications

May 17, 2021 from 12:30pm- 4:30pm

Whether you are a budding or seasoned team leader, this workshop is for you! Join us and learn how to develop a vibrant volunteer environment fostering collaboration, empowerment and communication to help you nurture and grow your people.

During this interactive workshop, we’ll explore best practices and essential elements of volunteer engagement and communication strategies while sharing techniques to help you confidently lead both from within and at the forefront of your team. Along the way, we’ll look at the volunteer lifecycle and scaling solutions to fit your team and budget.

You’ll come away with tips and techniques to help you upgrade recruiting strategies, roll out exciting volunteer opportunities, motivate through recognition and lay the foundation for future growth through succession planning and branching out to younger volunteers.

$25.00 per registrant; pre-registration required.

Register HERE

2021 Virtual Advanced Training in Rainwater Harvesting

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Rainwater Harvesting

 

 

 

 

Think you know everything about Rainwater Harvesting? Think again! and then sign up for the online 2021 MG Advanced Training in Rainwater Harvesting. Most sessions will be led by Dr. Dotty Woodson, retired Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Water Specialist. Those that have had classes with Dotty know she is an excellent speaker and a super educator. Sign up for the class and learn new things about Rainwater Harvesting from Dr. Dotty Woodson.

The Master Gardener 2021 Rainwater Harvesting Advanced Training Class is being offered to certified Master Gardeners only by Tarrant County Master Gardeners. The training will be an online event on three consecutive Fridays in May, meaning participants can remain at home (living more cheaply than being on the road) and still obtain excellent Rainwater Harvesting training. Remaining at home is also good for spring gardens!

Three consecutive Fridays – May 7, 14, & 21, 2021
Virtual Presentation hosted by the Tarrant County Master Gardener Association

Tuition is $125.00

Registration  Deadline April 30, 2021
Click for Registration Information

AgriLife logo

Texas Master Gardener Association Virtual 2021 Conference

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TMGA Virtual Conference May 18-19, 2021

The 2021 Virtual Texas Master Gardener Conference is open for registration!

The 2021 Texas Master Gardener State Conference will be held virtually this year on May 18-19, 2021. The leadership workshop will be on May 17, 2021.

Join a virtual walk-through of Texas gardens and an amazing line-up of inspirational speakers ready to share their favorite topics in horticulture.

See the Agenda & speaker’s bios

The conference offers continuing education hours for Master Gardeners including three keynote presentations, twenty-four breakout sessions, and four virtual tours.

The conference is also time to celebrate the Search for Excellence Awards and the incredible achievements our volunteers are accomplishing in education across the state.

Please visit https://txmg.org/2021-virtual-conference to learn more and to register for the conference.

This is a unique opportunity to hear from many of our AgriLife Extension Horticulturists and Specialists as well as many public experts.

Some things you can expect at this year’s conference:

  • Skilled speakers
  • Leadership training (additional half day at minimal cost)
  • Virtual Tours
  • Awards Ceremony
  • Directors meeting
  • Agents meeting
  • Conference t-shirt option

Master Gardener General Conference     $50.00
Master Gardener Leadership Workshop $25.00

We look forward to hosting this virtual conference. Because of the virtual aspect, diligent explanation has gone into the registration and participation process. Please carefully read all correspondence associated with the conference so that you have a positive virtual experience. If you have any questions, please contact txmastergardeners21@gmail.com.

Pollinator Citizen Science Project Opens Again March 22, 2021

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Logo with butterflyMaster Volunteers, a group that includes Master Gardeners, contributed 7434 observations to the Pollinator Citizen Science Project according to the last updated summary on December 21, 2020.  Based on data collected in the project so far, the most visited plant by honey bees was Melochia tomentosa, also known as Teabush or Pyramid Bush.  For more information about this Texas native pollinator plant, visit the USDA Plant Database or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center website 

photo of teabusy

Melochia tomentosa, also known as Teabush or Pyramid Bush

The purpose of the project is to use citizen scientists to determine the attractiveness of different commercially available ornamentals (annuals or perennials) to different groups of pollinators in the Southern USA, namely Texas and Oklahoma.

Due to popular demand and great results from 2020 and 2019, Pollinator Citizen Science Project is launching yet again this year.  The required training and quiz start online on-demand Monday March 22, 2021, accessible through the project page. The training will be similar to last year, with some added training on plant identification (offered by Dr. Vikram Baliga from Texas Tech University).  There will also be a live Q&A session later that week to answer any questions citizen scientists may have related to the project.

As before, BMGA members may recieve CEU credit for the training and volunteer hour credit for the time collecting and submitting data to the project.  This is a true citizen science project allowing ordinary citizens to make a  contribution that matters to the horticulture of our state.

When: Mar 25, 2021 02:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada) 
https://agrilife.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMqc-2rqzkvGdfxKLO8vgAuj9ulTtgO3FiL

Results for  2020
Result for 2019

Many congratulations to the Project Team:

 

Online Event: The Unexpected Health Benefits of Gardening

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Unexpected Health Benefits Flyer

Planting flowers and vegetables can result in beautiful bouquets and bountiful harvests for your meals. But did you know that gardening offers many health benefits as well? Join Jennifer Shukaitis, MPH, FCHS Educator, Rutgers Cooperative Extension from the State Office to learn how gardening may benefit the well-being of you and your family members.  See registration link below:

When: March 31, 2021 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Central Time

BMGA CEU: 1 hour

Register for the Event Here

Presenter: Jennifer Shukaitis, Family & Community Health Sciences Educator III (Eqv. to Asst. Professor), Dept. of Family and Community Health Sciences

 

 

Cultivate! Earth Friendly Gardening & Landscaping

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Bexar County Master Gardeners will host CULTIVATE!, its semi-annual educational seminar with 7 different gardening topics offered free and online. Each workshop is an hour long and full of great gardening information.  Join them for one or all seven! For workshop descriptions, and all the details go to  https://bexarmg.org/cultivate-sessions/

Our workshops this spring:

Succulents with MG Stephanie Jones

Texas Native Ornamental Shrubs for Your Landscape with MG Lynn Cox

Growing Vegetables in Bexar County with David Rodriguez Bexar County Extension Agent-Horticulture

After the Big Freeze…What to do in your Garden (Special session with David Rodriguez)

Gardening Begins with the Soil with MG Bill Swantner

Spring into Texas Superstar Annuals with MG Lynn Cox

Shady Characters in the Garden with MG Lynn Cox

Cultivate! Earth Friendly Gardening & Landscaping

by

Bexar County Master Gardeners will host CULTIVATE!, its semi-annual educational seminar with 7 different gardening topics offered free and online. Each workshop is an hour long and full of great gardening information.  Join them for one or all seven! For workshop descriptions, and all the details go to  https://bexarmg.org/cultivate-sessions/

Our workshops this spring:

Succulents with MG Stephanie Jones

Texas Native Ornamental Shrubs for Your Landscape with MG Lynn Cox

Growing Vegetables in Bexar County with David Rodriguez Bexar County Extension Agent-Horticulture

After the Big Freeze…What to do in your Garden (Special session with David Rodriguez)

Gardening Begins with the Soil with MG Bill Swantner

Spring into Texas Superstar Annuals with MG Lynn Cox

Shady Characters in the Garden with MG Lynn Cox

Online Chapter Meeting – Texas Tough Roses

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Texas Master Gardener Logo

ONLINE TEAMS MEETING

Date:            Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Time:           10:00 a.m.- 12:00 a.m.

Format:       Online Microsoft Teams meeting

Topic:          Texas Tough Roses

Presenter:   Suzanne Gilbert-President, Houston Rose Society

General BMGA business meeting to follow.

BMGA members will receive an email with the link to the meeting.  Be sure to check your “junk” or “SPAM” folders if you do not see the email in your Inbox

 

Online Homeowner Landscaping Programs in February

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The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Travis County Master Gardeners will host two free webinars designed to help attendees create and implement their own home landscaping master plan. Creating a landscape master plan is an important step if you are installing or redoing your garden. Planning helps you identify the unique characteristics and requirements for your particular garden. Additionally, good planning has other benefits like cost and time savings.  Travis County Master Gardener Sandy Stone will present both webinars.

Homeowner Landscaping Plans: Site Documentation and Analysis
February 19, 2021
10:00 a.m.

Homeowner Landscaping Plans: Design, Implementation and Construction
February 26, 2021
10:00 a.m.

Although focused on Travis County gardening, gardeners in the BMGA counties may also find the information instructional.  BMGA Master Gardeners may earn CEU credits for attending the live presentation or watching the recorded sessions.

Sandy Stone, Travis Master Gardener. Photo from Travis County AgriLife Extension Website.

These webinars are limited of 100 attendees, but an unlimited number of people can register and see a recording of the program. Only registrants can access the live session or the program recording. You can submit questions ahead of time by clicking this link or during the webinar and get answers live as time allows. Afterward, questions that don’t make it to the webinar will receive emailed answers.

You may find more information on the Lawn & Garden sections of AgriLife Today as well as the Travis County AgriLife Extension website.

 

 

Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series – September 2020

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Lunch & Learn

Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Series – September 2020

Join Horticulturist David Rodriguez and Entomologist Molly Keck for their Live Lunch and Learn Gardening Webinar Series.  Learn about your landscape and vegetable gardening.   To join, click link below and put in the meeting id and passcode at the date and time of the presentation.
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time

Click Here to Join

Meeting ID: 990 2593 9574
Passcode: Garden2020

September 16: Where do Insects Go When it Rains?
September 23: September is Butterfly Month!
September 30: Dragonfly Watching