Minutes MGV Meeting June 11th 2020

  • The June Master Gardener Volunteer virtual meeting took place via Zoom hosted by Lori Moff and presided by Pam Baytos and Carol Smith.  Marilyn McKinley addressed the group giving information about her Zoom meeting with the State Advisory Board.  Intern MGVs still need 50 volunteer hours during the first 12 months after training. Training is not over yet. We will probably extend that time depending on the situation with the pandemic. Certified MGVs still need 10 hours of education and 20 hours of volunteering this year, but you can use education hours as volunteer hours if needed.
  • Eric resubmitted exemptions under the Pollinator Research and Phenology Research with Sheila Cubick.  We are hoping we hear soon so we can help Mike Beaudis with OSU Grounds Committee work.  We also have the exemption to open the office. The office staff will have to do safety training and will be open by appointment only probably by Monday June 22nd. Will send out more information as the opening dated gets closer as to the exact date. Volunteers will not return at this time, except for the research exemptions. Details to come.
  • Marilyn also reported that the state MGV program this year have put on 37 educational webinars and had an attendance of 13,450. There will be some opportunity for MGVs to participate in these webinars starting in November.  A pilot is being rolled out on hybrid training in November which means the training sessions can be online and in class with labs for next year. Marilyn has volunteered to work on this project with the state committee.  The state conference has been cancelled for this year as it will be online only.
  • David, Kristen, and Stephanie reported they had about eight questions at the virtual Pest and Plant Clinic today.
  • New MGV Interns attending the meeting were welcomed. Everyone is invited to participate!
  • Eric reported that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate said that fairs in the State of Ohio can go on as usual with some minimal social distancing and sanitary requirements. The State is giving $50,000 for safety precautions. We have the ability to social distance at our new location at the fairgrounds.  Eric will send out an email with more information about the Canfield Fair. We will do a survey to see if you are interested in volunteering at the fair.
  • Pam brought up doing a virtual garden tour with our members.  You can take pictures of your gardens, make a video, or do it on zoom with a slide show.  If you are comfortable with an iPhone you could do it live and we could ask questions.  Eric suggested you could send your videos through the web sight “We Transfer” to improve the quality of the video before sending it to Eric.  Videos of your garden should be about (3) minutes long.
  • Eric reported that the Valley Grows section of the newspaper will be featured on Mondays because it will be printed in the Vindicator and the Tribune as well.  Valley Grows is a very popular page, as noted by the Tribune staff. Kristen and Haley will be doing a one hour writing seminar for new writers.  First day of the Valley Grows page will be Monday June 22nd.  Please send Eric a message on your topic so as not to cause duplications.
  • Eric said we will be doing another class on the Spotted Lantern Fly.  We have  found out that it likes to lay eggs on rusty surfaces and is in fact following the railroad tracks.  We will be doing a training session on safety and where to locate the Tree of Heaven, a preference for the Spotted Lantern Fly.  If interested you will observe the tree once a week to determine if any SLF are evident .  It will help farmers and foresters as well because of the stress the SLF puts on the grape industry.  We will be using an app to control the locations of The Tree of Heaven. Will send out instructions sheet on the app in you need help.
  • Kristen announced they have gotten a donation for Good Nature Garden Partners and have shared the plants with the MGVs.
  • Valeria posed a question on what to plant in place of a tree she took out. A lot of ideas were shared. Zinnias and Echinacea were some of the suggestions.
  • Nancy reported seeing a coyote in broad daylight on a street in her neighborhood near the park.
  • Lil reported trying netting to deter deer from eating her hosta and found that a new fence being put up in the neighborhood has broken the pattern of them feeding on her hosta.

Meeting Adjourned at 7:15 PM,  next meeting Thursday July 9th

Rick Patterson Secretary MGV

One thought on “Minutes MGV Meeting June 11th 2020

  1. Thank you to all for keeping going during these times of disruption and uncertainty. It is much appreciated.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *