Volunteer
Payback Hours Policy:
New trainees in the Master Gardener program owe a combination of 70 hours of Plant
Clinic and Master Gardener Support Activities
during the first year. These hours must be performed, recorded, and submitted by the last working
day in September.
Plant
Clinic: The plant clinic
is designed to give horticultural related information and environmentally sound garden practices to
the community. The clinics are
where the important diagnostic part of the training and answering community questions is applied.
Trainees
must spend 25 hours in this capacity to fulfill part
of the 70 volunteer hours. The remaining 45 hours can
be completed at any of the support activities listed below.
Master
Gardener Support Activities:
These are hours that enhance or support the Master Gardener program.
Examples are:
-Working
in the Master Gardener Greenhouses
-Spring
Gardening Fair
-Home
Gardening Seminar (as facilitators)
-Volunteer
activities around the Extension facility
Attending
classes or presenting classes do not count as volunteer payback
hours.
Recertification hours and Continuing Education:
All Senior Master Gardeners are encouraged to recertify. They
may attend classes offered as part of the Master Gardener Training program as well as other
gardening related events. Master Gardeners planning to work in a plant clinic must be
currently certified. To be recertified, they are required to attend at least ten (10) hours of class
each calendar year and perform (10) volunteer hours. All
horticultural related classes
at Master Gardener mini-college, the yearly Home Gardening Seminar, and classes offered during the
MG program qualify for recertification. Also, senior Master Gardeners may receive 1 hour certification for each 4 hours
spent in a plant clinic. All hours must be submitted by
the last working day in September.
Mileage:
Travel hours do not count toward payback time and are not recorded
on the hour log.
*All
volunteer hours are used by Oregon State University and the Oregon Master Gardener Association to
gauge the level of support for the Master Gardener program and the impact the program has on the
local community.
If
you have any questions regarding activities not listed above, contact the horticulture
agent at
476-6613.
Hours Policy
Recertification has long been a topic of confusion,
both for me and for many Master Gardeners. And we’ve been inconsistent
between counties around the state. I’m instituting some changes in
recertification requirements for the coming year in hopes that it will be
more understandable and consistent.
Once an individual has completed Master Gardener
training, he or she is certified as an OSU Extension Master Gardener. This
certification is good for one year following graduation. Master Gardeners
must then recertify annually to remain a certified Master Gardener. For
instance, Master Gardeners graduating in 2010 are certified through 2011,
but must complete recertification requirements during 2011 to become
recertified for 2012.
Recertification is defined as: Completing
educational training to further/enhance the individual’s skills in the
areas of community horticulture deemed important to the OSU Extension
Master Gardener Program.
Why do we require recertification? As time goes by,
we all forget details of diagnosis and appropriate advice. Also,
information changes rapidly as new research results and products or
appropriate cultural treatments become available. The goal is to keep
Master Gardeners updated and available to provide high quality and
up-to-date advice to the public.
Master Gardeners must be certified or recertified in
order to work in a plant clinic. You can continue as a member of the
Master Gardener Association, and participate in all other Master Gardener
activities, without recertification. And if you wish to work in the plant
clinic for your personal development, you can do so as long as a certified
Master Gardener is present.
To maintain a high standard in the Oregon Master
Gardener Program, it is important to have some degree of uniformity for
recertification requirements, while providing the flexibility needed
within individual counties to meet local needs. The following are the
requirements for recertification in both Jackson and Josephine Counties.
Donating a minimum of ten (10) hours of volunteer
service, and
Completing six (6) or more hours of continuing education through:
Auditing class sessions during the annual Master
Gardener training program.
Participation in any approved classes during the
annual Master Gardener’s Mini-College (In Newport in 2011, July
13-16).
Participation in county-sponsored training sessions
such as Winter Dreams, Summer Gardens (Jackson County), Seeds of
Spring Home Garden Seminar (Josephine County), or most of the evening
or weekend classes given in both Jackson and Josephine Counties.
Participation in any other home horticulture
related classes. These must be individually documented and approved by
me.
Self-study programs in home horticulture related
topics, but talk to me first for approval. Folks doing research to
prepare home horticulture related presentations often can fulfill the
requirement this way.
Scoring a 70% or better on an open book
Recertification Review.
Finally, you need to report your volunteer and
educational hours either on-line at
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/vrs
or manually in the Master Gardener office.
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