Membership in the MMGA will be made up of persons who have paid their annual membership fees and fulfill the requirements of one or more of the following categories:
-
- Full and active member—certified master gardener who fulfills the required number of volunteer hours per year (20) and maintains their educational upgrade status, 6 hours every 3 years. A master gardener in training enrolled in the Master Gardener Program who is actively pursuing the requirements needed for certification.
- Inactive/Sabbatical – Full and Active member may request a one year sabbatical if circumstances prevent them from fulfilling requirements to maintain active membership. After the one year period, member must decide if they can return to full and active membership or request Emeritus status. Annual fees must be paid to maintain status and voting privileges.
- Emeritus – Master Gardeners who have been active members, but can no longer fulfill all requirements to maintain active status. Annual fees must be paid, nonvoting status.
- Free Membership for MG Interns – MG Interns are granted a free one time complimentary membership in the MMGA for up to but not exceeding two years of enrolment in the Manitoba Master Gardener Program. Complimentary membership ends upon certification. Non voting status.
Membership in the MMGA – ceases in the following instances: if annual fees are not paid in a timely manner; if volunteer hours are not maintained according to acceptable criteria and submitted on an annual basis or by member’s written request.
Dear Master Gardener Intern,
On behalf of the Manitoba Master Gardener Association (MMGA), welcome to the Manitoba Master Gardener Program. We wish you every success as you pursue your goal to become a master gardener! This information package is designed to provide you with information about the MMGA, important membership information/application as well as information on volunteering both as a master gardener in training and as a certified master gardener.
A Brief History
The MMGA was created in 2011 to support Master Gardeners in Training (MGITs), as well as certified Master Gardeners in Manitoba. The early beginnings of the MMGA began in July, 2010 in response to the demand by local master gardeners for a central organization that would facilitate information. At that time, Manitoba’s Master Gardener community numbered fewer than 12 master gardeners. Less than two years later, that number has grown to almost 50 Manitoba master gardeners. Now in 2019 we have approximately 100 Manitoba master gardeners. The website was launched in January, 2012, with the domain name of www.mgmanitoba.com. Since one of the roles of the Association is to monitor the mandatory volunteer hours of certified master gardeners, there is an online member log-in site and we invite you to visit it for details on volunteer opportunities, ongoing educational programming, and much more.
Board of Directors
Chair – Shelley Walker (Winnipeg)
Vice Chair – Sandy Venton (Winnipeg)
Treasurer – Jayne Heaton (Winnipeg)
Secretary – Lynne McCarthy (Winnipeg)
Education Standards Director – Linda Dietrick (Winnipeg) (interim)
Online (Website) Director – Marilyn N. Dudek (Winnipeg)
Special Events/Fundraising Director – Elsie Kathler (Winnipeg)
Membership Director – Lori Graham (Winnipeg)
Newsletter Editor – Elisabeth Renner (Winnipeg)
Director of Volunteers – Diane Daignault 9Winnipeg)
Members-at-Large –
Linda Dietrick (Winnipeg)
Virginia Stephenson (Winnipeg)
New 2020 Mission Statement:
MMGA cultivates the development and continuous education of Master Gardeners, supports volunteerism and encourages sustainable, proven gardening practices throughout Manitoba.
To fulfill this mandate, the MMGA will serve the Master Gardener community by:
– Promoting an exchange of ideas and information between Master Gardeners.
– Supporting ongoing training and development of certified Master Gardeners by posting a list of community-oriented volunteer opportunities and suggestions for required refresher courses.
– Providing current horticultural information to both Master Gardeners and the general public through regular postings on the website, including the opportunity to ‘Ask a Master Gardener’.
Together we will broaden our horticultural knowledge in order to provide accurate, in depth information to the public.
Requirements re: volunteer hours for Interns and Master Gardeners
Interns earn their Master Gardener certification upon completing course requirements, completing an internship (minimum 40 hours volunteer work (practicum) over a twenty four month period, (as per examples shown below) and writing/passing the final exam in a 5 year period. The volunteer period can be anytime within the 5-year limit for students to obtain their Document of Achievement. Students can do the courses first then begin the volunteer time or collect hours while taking the courses. Twenty four months for the internship (practicum) and 5 years to complete the program. Hours must be within a horticulture-based organizations and not independently. A volunteer log sheet download is on this page Click Here must be filled out and hours signed off by the person/organization overseeing the hours.
Once you have completed your certification, you will be required to volunteer a minimum of 20 hours annually (in accordance with recognized guidelines) as well as to complete a total of 6 hours of refresher courses every three years in order to maintain your certification. These courses can be ones sponsored by the MMGA or ones provided through educational institutions or other recognized sources if facilitated by persons recognized for their expertise on horticultural topics.
Examples of volunteer opportunities for master gardeners in training include (minimum of 40 hours):
– assisting master gardeners in their projects
– volunteering within local garden clubs/horticulture societies or other horticulture organizations
– Note: Master Gardeners in training are required to work within a horticulture-based organization and not independently, unless the activity has been approved by the MMGA. Please contact the MMGA at any time if you have any questions.
The MMGA strongly suggests that interns will be better prepared to become a Master Gardener if volunteer hours include a variety of activities. All of your hours should benefit the community through a combination of hours in gardening related volunteer work, hours in meetings, and hours in horticultural related events.
Certified Master Gardeners must fulfill a minimum of 20 volunteer hours in a community service capacity annually in order to maintain certification. A log of hours is to be submitted annually to the Manitoba Master Gardener Association on the Volunteer Impact program Click Here
If you have any questions please contact:
Lori Graham, Membership Director: membership@mgmanitoba.com
Examples of volunteer opportunities for certified Master Gardeners include:
– speaking to local community groups throughout the Province
– participating in a variety of community projects including horticultural therapy programs in hospitals and other institutions
– working with students and teachers in local schools
– designing, planting, or maintaining community gardens in public places such as hospitals, schools, parks, etc.
– writing articles for local newspapers, magazine publications and garden club newsletters
– coordinating/volunteering at gardening-related events such as Gardening Saturday, Seedy Saturday, etc.
– providing information in a garden hotline/forum for your city/town or area
– sitting on the board of local horticulture groups or serving on committees
Membership
Volunteering
Master Gardeners are first and foremost, available as educated volunteers in their communities. A major requirement to complete certification as a Master Gardener is 40 hours in twenty four months of volunteering in your community.
What qualifies as volunteer service? The list of possibilities is as endless as your imagination. Just about the only thing which doesn’t qualify is the work you do in your own landscape or garden. This is, after all, about service to the community. Once you are certified, 20 hours of volunteering per year is required to maintain your certification.
Here are some ideas and examples of volunteer activities carried out by Master Gardeners in Manitoba, some done alone, some as part of a group:
• Planting and caring for flower boxes or flower beds at care homes and nursing homes, at churches, or similar facilities;
• Designing, planning and caring for a mini-park or public greenspace in a vacant lot in your community;
• Lending your time and talents as a volunteer on an organizing committee for an educational horticultural event (ex. Gardening Saturday, Seedy Saturday, M.H.A. Convention, etc.) or volunteering during the event;
• Mentoring volunteers and participants in a neighbourhood community garden project;
• Working with children to create green spaces and gardens in schoolyards;
• Designing a website (or volunteering as a webmaster) for a Master Gardener program or garden club;
• Writing or editing garden-related articles or columns for newspapers, magazines, garden club newsletters;
• Teaching or assisting in gardening classes or workshops;
• Serving on the board of a garden club or hort society; or a volunteer opportunity in your community that allows you to communicate your skills and training as a Master Gardener to others who will benefit from gardening knowledge.
The list of opportunities is extensive. Please contact the MMGA if you have any questions or information on volunteer opportunities available in your community.
Master Gardeners and Master Gardeners in Training (Interns)
Association members: access volunteer opportunities the Volunteer Impact page. Access Here
The MMGA serves as the designated body that tracks volunteer hours and therefore, membership is mandatory.
Annual membership is only $25. Please contact ask@mgmanitoba.com for more details.
Master Gardener Interns are welcome to become members at any time.
Statement of Privacy:
Personal information on members collected by the MMGA shall be for the use of the MMGA in order to inform members about educational opportunities, activities and events that are relevant to the MMGA and will not be shared with any other persons or organizations without permission of the member. All Board of Directors and Committee members having access to this information will strive to preserve its confidentiality.
