Helping the Washington State University (WSU) Master Gardener Program grow better communities through financial support, communication, education and advocacy.
About Us
The Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State (MGFWS) is a nonprofit corporation formed by dedicated WSU Master Gardeners to support the WSU Master Gardener Program through fundraising and advocacy, and to inspire Master Gardener non-profits through leadership, education and communication.
The MGFWS enhances the ability of the WSU Master Gardener Program to support the training and projects of county WSU Master Gardener programs throughout Washington State. It is a professional organization respected by Washington State University, politicians, gardeners, agencies protecting our environment and water, and by communities at large.
The membership of the MGFWS consists of the members of chartered chapters of county Master Gardener organizations, either incorporated or non-incorporated, and Board-approved affiliate organizations. For more information on membership and affiliate organizations see the Standard Operating Procedures Manual.
Master Gardener Blog
This space will be utilized for a variety of thoughts, comments, news, reports and "Hot Topics" originating from across the spectrum of Master Gardeners.
As your webmaster, I'll start it off by saying what a good time I had at the June Conference at Fort Worden. Since I live in Port Townsend, I did not participate in the after hours, "off-schedule" activities, but I am sure many visitors temporarily domiciled in the classic Fort Worden Quarters found time to stroll the beaches, shop the boutiques of Water Street, and sample the breweries of our fair town.
The organization of the conference was first-rate! As a veteran of many gatherings that included conflagrations and meltdowns, I can testify that this one was remarkable free of even minor disconnects. This was in no small part due to the many volunteers, mainly from Jefferson County, led by Helen Bachrach and Sharon Commander for MGFWS, and Tonie Fitzgerald for WSU. The food was pretty good, the meeting rooms worked out (although some needed open windows on those sunny days), the audio-visual technology worked wonderfully thanks to Bill Longnecker (I was helping him just enough to see what a great job he was doing!), and the weather... well, you brought Port Townsend it's first Summer weekend and we thank you so much.
A word on the content of the training sessions: It was a spendid mix of horticulture and organizational management. We each learned much for ourselves and that we can pass on to our communities. We also had inspirational and entertaining talks by Tonie Fitzgerald and by "The West Coast's Statue of Liberty," WSU's Dean of Extension, Dr. Linda Fox. In addition, there were any number of important organizational conversations, and there were many decisions taken and promises made. Now the hard part -- following through on all those commitments.
One of my commitments was to get the web page up and running, and if you are reading this, that one is done. Please send me feedback on the web page, and submit photos, articles and news that we can use for this statewide forum for Master Gardeners.
[Mark Clark, Chair, Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation, and your webmaster]
Look for a report on the Conference in the next Seeds of Thought MGFWS Newsletter.
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Contact: webmaster.mgfws@wsu.edu
Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State
7612 Pioneer Way E, Puyallup, WA, 98371-4998 USA
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