| The Monthly Newsletter of the Wisconsin Master Gardener Program.
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Updates to the Master Gardener Program
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Online Reporting System Updates- Please make sure all your contact information is up to date to make sure you receive timely communications.
- You need to enter all your hours for 2021 into the ORS by midnight December 31, 2021. No hours can be entered or accepted after this time.
- The ORS will be completely offline from January 1 to 9.
- On January 10, Master Gardeners will get limited access to the ORS to accept the 2022 terms and conditions of the Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener Program. Due to significant updates to the program, you are required to accept Terms and Conditions before you start volunteering.
- Terms and conditions will be available to read in both Onboarding-lite and on the website in the new year.
- Please take the time to read. They will be similar to the volunteer agreements we used in the past.
- January 10 to February 1 the ORS will be unavailable to enter hours. The Program needs time to transition the ORS to a new format. It will be available to enter hours around Feb. 1. You will be notified when it is available. In the meantime, please keep track of your hours for January to be entered at a later date.
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Adding Organizations to ORS
A major update to the ORS is our switch to listing the organizations in which you volunteer at. To do this, we need your help in adding these organizations to the system. You may submit an organization through the link below. This will help us rebuild the ORS in January. You will also have opportunities to submit organizations later on, too.
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2022 Onboarding-Lite- It will be available the first week of January 2022 in Canvas. You will be notified when it is available.
- Due to significant updates to the program, you are required to complete 2022 Onboarding-lite before you start volunteering. It will be a requirement of the terms and conditions in 2022. You can claim 5 hours of continuing education. We estimate that it may take you less time than this.
- Onboarding-lite is similar to the Onboarding Course except the fee, the exam and ORS account creation are removed from the course.
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Honored Status Clarification- Honored level is one of five levels your participation can be classified as. You cannot be classified at more than one level. e.g. Honored and certified.
- “Emeritus” status is a local level designation. The Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener developed Honored status to recognize long serving members with significant accomplishments. Those with an Emeritus designation will need to apply for Honored within the program.
- Application for Honored can be found here, https://mastergardener.extension.wisc.edu/toolbox/
We encourage everyone to review the new participation levels.
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Criminal Background Checks Clarification
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Can the Foundations in Horticulture Class be audited?- No. At this time auditing is not an option.
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How do individuals reenter the Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener program?
For individuals who have stepped away from the program recently and who wish to return, here is our guidance for 2022:
- Individuals who have reported hours in the last 5 years (2017-present) may return to the Master Gardener Program anytime on or after January 1, 2022. They will be required to complete Onboarding-Lite (no exam, no registration fee) in the Canvas Classroom. The individual must contact the Master Gardener Program during 2022. Volunteer hours conducted prior to re-activation are not eligible for reporting.
- Individuals who have NOT reported hours in the last 5 years (2016 and before) are required to register for Onboarding (includes an exam, registration fee) in order to re-enter the Master Gardener Program. Registration begins December 2021 and closes March 15, 2022. The course opens January 1, 2022, and must be completed by March 31, 2022
- All individuals will return with a participation level of Inactive. The hours reported into the ORS by December 31 will determine your participation level for the following year.
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How do new individuals enter the Wisconsin Extension Master Gardener program?
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Program Office Staffing Change
Amy Freidig has taken a different position within Extension as a statewide outreach specialist with the Horticulture Program. This was effective October 2021. She is still connected with the Master Gardener Program through her work supporting educational programming for Master Gardeners. If you previously communicated with Amy for program-specific items, please direct your questions to wimastergardener@extension.wisc.edu.
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Continuing Education Opportunities
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Exclusive Educational Opportunity for Master Gardeners for 2022!!
Online Course: Plant Diagnostics: The Step By Step Approach to Identifying Plant Problems
Have you always wanted to get better at troubleshooting problems in your garden?
Do you want to build on your skills as a gardener?
Learn the process for identifying plant problems in your own garden and be ready for the growing season! This course explains the basics of the plant diagnostic process in an easy-to-understand way.
This course is exclusively available to Master Gardeners this winter! Want to learn more? Read the details and register for the course.
Course snapshot:
- Course dates: February 1, 2022- March 31, 2022
- Course fee: $49
- Counts for 10 hours of Continuing Education credit- special course pilot deal; it will probably not take you the full 10 hours to complete!
- Takes place in Canvas
- Course is at your own pace plus one live webinar (will be recorded).
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Plants Plus
Are you trying to wrap up your continuing education hours? Log into our Canvas Classroom to see our selection of Plant Plus continuing education packages.
- Each Plants Plus counts for 1-2 continuing education hours.
- Pick from different gardening topics that matter to you and will help you increase your knowledge.
- Learn at your own pace, virtually!
Look for a new Plants Plus in the beginning of January
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Think Before You Salt
Winter in Wisconsin often means snow and ice. To allow safe travel for pedestriants and motorists, walkways and roads must be kept as ice-free as possible. While snow and ice removal is best down with shovels, snow blowers, and plows, this may not remove all the snow, and ice can quickly form leaving slick, hazardous surfaces. Deicing salts are used to extensively melt the ice, but they can also damage your plants. Read more....and click on View Publication to read the PDF.
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Holiday Cacti
Christmas Cactus gets all the attention, but there are a number of varieties blooming from Thanksgiving until after the New Year, thus why they are called "Holiday Cacti". Read more...
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NetID: Request to Resend
Thank you for your patience in getting your NetID to access our Canvas Classroom. If you have not yet activated your netID for our Canvas classroom, please use the button, below, to start the process.
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Extension Event Calendar
Visit our statewide Extension Event Calendar for a listing of other horticulture learning opportunities.
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| To you and yours, a very happy holiday season!
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