All nine sessions of the virtual 2020 UC Master Gardener Mini-Conference are conveniently available on the statewide program's YouTube channel. Although we would rather be able to meet in person for a full conference, having the online format made it possible to share gardening information more widely, and encouraged people interested in gardening or volunteering to connect with their local program.

Gardeners with Heart

The program was excited to feature a session recognizing the Gardeners with Heart volunteers from across the state. A special thank you goes to coordinators Maggie O'Neil and Marcy Sousa for being open to talking LIVE and helping organize the session. Thank you to those who nominated volunteers and provided such great visuals, it made for a special tribute video where we could celebrate the contributions of 52 of our exceptional UC Master Gardener Program.

Search for Excellence

UC Master Gardener Programs in San Diego County, Contra Costa County, and Santa Clara County won the triennial Search for Excellence competition. In honor of their achievement, winning projects receive a cash prize to support local program delivery and the opportunity to present their projects during the mini-conference.

Accessing Resources

• San Diego, Reminiscence gardening: https://www.mastergardenersd.org/reminiscence-gardening-2/
• Contra Costa, Gardening with Underserved Communities: Collaborative Tools Group
• Santa Clara, Lessons in the garden for school children

Continuing Education

The virtual 2020 UC Master Gardener Mini-Conference counts as continuing education (CE) hours. Please encourage volunteers to watch and enter their CE hours into the Volunteer Management System (VMS). Volunteers can use the mini-conference activity guide to determine how many CE hours they earned by session, there is 11 hours of CE available from the mini-conference. 

Questions? Contact: 
Lauren Snowden
Statewide Training Coordinator 
llsnowden@ucanr.edu