Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association
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Join

Do you enjoy gardening? Appreciate the environment? Enjoy helping others? Consider joining the local class session for the Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Master Gardener Program!

Depending on the format, classes either meet in-person twice per week or are offered digitally with in-person lab workshops. In-person sessions alternate around the five counties in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener unit: Clarke, Frederick, Warren, Page, and Shenandoah.

You can sign up for our email list, and you’ll receive an email about the next class. Class size is limited. Completing an application does not guarantee acceptance into the VCE Master Gardener program.

More about the VCE Master Gardener Program

If you join the VCE Master Gardener Program, you’ll meet others with similar interests, update your current knowledge, and help the community through your volunteering at education events and programs.

Becoming a Certified VCE Master Gardener Volunteer begins with a trainee course of a minimum of 50 hours of education. Training covers many topics, including landscape design, botany, pruning, pest management, soils, insects, and various types of plants. After training, trainees graduate to interns.

Interns must complete 50 hours of hands-on training during their first year by volunteering time back to the community at educational activities and programs available throughout the Valley. A variety of projects is available for students to meet their hands-on training commitment. After completion of the course and the hands-on training, students become VCE Master Gardener Volunteers, with a yearly requirement of 20 hours of volunteer service.

The cost for each year’s class is announced on the class flyer. That cost covers training materials, supplies, speakers, lab leaders, a VCE Master Gardener Handbook, and a one-year membership in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association.

Continuing Education

All VCE Master Gardener Volunteers are required to complete 8 hours of yearly continuing education. This can be done through approved talks, webinars, and courses. In addition, all active VCE Master Gardener Volunteers are invited to participate in Master Gardener College, an annual advanced training program. Additional training in arboriculture to become certified Tree Stewards or in water quality to become certified Water Stewards is periodically available as well.

Application

If you are interested in becoming certified as an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer sign up for our email list or check back here for details. You can also contact the Virginia Cooperative Extension, Frederick office, at 540-665-5699 or via email to mark.sutphin@vt.edu.

More about Association Membership

The class cost includes the first year’s membership in the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association, or NSVMGA. The Association supports its members in the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren. NSVMGA provides additional opportunities for camaraderie, volunteering, and continuing education.

To continue membership into the following year, the annual dues as of 2020 are a modest $20 per person or $25 per couple. Social time, business meetings, and educational sessions are held 8 – 12 times per year. Additional periodic educational offerings are sponsored by NSVMGA.

Symposium 2021

Visit our event web page to register.

Gardening in the Valley Symposium graphic

Save the Date!

  • Gardening Symposium (A Virtual Event) – March 6, 2021
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 2 – March 18, 7 p.m.
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 3 – April 15, 7 p.m.
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 4 – May 20, 7 p.m.
  • GardenFest/Plant Sale – May and June 2021
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 5 – June 17, 7 p.m.
  • Gardening in the Valley Tour – June 26
  • Beginning Vegetable Gardeners Webinar 6 – July 15, 7 p.m.
  • FallFest – September 11, 2021

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On Facebook…

Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association

13 hours ago

Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association
Two more days to register! Get full details at www.facebook.com/events/232627084911109/.Two weeks till Symposium! We look forward to this annual educational event that raises funds for our high-school scholarships. Planned talks include:- Raised Beds vs. Traditional Gardens with Lynne Phillips- Herbs for Healing and Health with Sondra Baker Johnson- Urban Beekeeping and Apiculture’s Role in Sustainable Urban Agriculture with Brad Garmon- Back to My Roots with Diane KearnsLearn more about and register for the "Gardening in the Valley Symposium" at www.facebook.com/events/232627084911109. Get more details on our scholarships at nsvmga.org/programs/scholarships/.Visit www.biddingowl.com/Auction/index.cfm?auctionID=25928 to see and bid on items in our silent auction, which also benefits the scholarship fund. You don't need to attend Symposium to participate in the auctions! Thank you to the generous EMG Volunteers, members of the public, and businesses who've donated items to our auction! If you'd like to donate an item, please email NSVMGAinfo@gmail.com.---This VCE Educational Event is supported by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association. Extension Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management, education, and training. As an educational program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Extension Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. Learn more about the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program at ext.vt.edu/lawn-garden/master-gardener.html.---Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State University, Petersburg.If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Mark Sutphin, Frederick County Extension, at (540) 665-5699/TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event. ... See MoreSee Less

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