December 2024 UME Master Gardener

State Office Announcements

As 2024 comes to an end, we wish you all a very joyous holiday season. We hope you enjoy the many gatherings and celebrations with family, friends, and fellow Master Gardeners!


Our newsletter this month includes our Winter Volunteer of the Season, new continuing education opportunities, and a reminder to enter your volunteer hours.

Volunteer of the Season

JoAnn Kociolek from Garrett County



Jo Ann was nominated by her coordinator, Ashley Bodkins, because she always goes above and beyond with any project that she takes on. She is willing to learn and always eager to volunteer for new and exciting activities.


Read more about JoAnn

Final VMS Dates

Volunteer hours for 2024 can be submitted up until the following dates:

  • January 5, 2025 for Master Gardeners
  • January 12, 2025 for coordinators and VMS administrators

Please submit all the hours you have volunteered throughout the year so we can accurately report the wonderful work you do. Over 112,500 have been entered so far! If you need assistance with entering your hours, please contact your local coordinator as soon as possible.

VMS Login

UME Strategic Planning

University of Maryland Extension has started a strategic planning process to determine future priorities and resource allocations. This is a great opportunity for people using UME programs and services to provide feedback. 


This LINK has information on the 12 "town halls" scheduled across Maryland in December and January. 


You can also provide your input through an online form.


Thanks in advance for helping shape the future of UME!

Advanced Bay-Wise Trainings

These trainings are exclusively offered to Master Gardeners who are Bay-Wise certified to increase their confidence and skills when conducting site visits.

Identifying Stormwater Issues on Properties

Mr. Eric Buehl, UME Watershed Restoration Regional Specialist



Thursday, December 19th from 6:30-7:30 PM

Register Here

Statewide Meetings and Continuing Education

Pruning Workshop

Wednesday Feb 19, 2025, 10am – 12pm, Brookside Gardens

Josh Demers, Environmental Horticulturalist, will lead a hands-on pruning workshop at Brookside Gardens. There will be a lecture portion inside the main Visitor Center followed by a demonstration out in the gardens. Please dress accordingly for the weather.




Register Here

Implementing Climate Resilient Living Shorelines in Maryland

Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 12:00 – 1:30pm, Zoom


This webinar will cover the history of shoreline erosion control practices and how traditional techniques have evolved in recent years. What is a 'living shoreline'? How can we enhance habitat, water quality, access, and prepare for climate impacts at the same time? We will cover the Shoreline Conservation Service and discuss which technical and financial assistance opportunities are currently available through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.


Wesley Gould works with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD-DNR), Shoreline Conservation Service to provide waterfront property owners with technical and financial assistance opportunities for shoreline erosion control projects. He manages the Shoreline Erosion Control Revolving Loan Fund, which provides local governments, communities, non-profit organizations, and private property owners with an opportunity to apply for an interest-free loan to install nature-based living shoreline practices. Wes is a graduate of Salisbury University and currently resides in Calvert County with his wife and two children (ages 2&3).




Register Here

Catch Up on Continuing Education

Did you miss any of our continuing education webinars last year?

Check out the recordings below! You can always see both upcoming continuing education opportunities and recorded webinars on the State MG Continuing Education webpage.

To Rake or Not to Rake?


Join Madeline Potter, Faculty Specialist for Entomology and IPM, to learn more about sustainable gardening and landscape practices for this season. This research-based webinar will address the growing buzz about leaving your fallen leaves on the ground as well as other landscape practices that can support wildlife through the upcoming winter months.

Watch the Recording

GreenScapes Symposium

Join us for a fascinating day of presentations offering practical strategies to create sustainable and resilient landscapes. You’ll benefit from decision matrixes that help make informed plant selections and develop successful designs based on a range of environments, ecological benefits, and sustainability goals. Experts will help you create resilient landscapes by presenting a range of native plant combinations and design layouts that manage water runoff, survive droughts, and support pollinators and wildlife. You’ll be surprised how climate change is dictating conservation efforts, its impact on native plant ecoregions and even its implications for expanding our plant palette. 


*This will be offered as a series of live online lectures using Zoom with audience Q&A incorporated into the program. Each session will be recorded and a link to watch the symposium will be emailed to all participants. This event qualifies as continuing education hours.

Learn More and Register Here

The Garden Thyme Podcast

Talking Turkeys with Bob Long


Hello Listener, 


This is our last episode of the year, but, it's a Gobble of a good time! This month we are joined by Bob Long of Maryland DNR to talk about wild turkeys. Turkey habitat? Jake vs Tom? What is a snood? Why turkeys are better then deer? And More.... 

Listen Here

Home and Garden Information Center

Web Content


Check out these revised webpages:


Video Content


Check out these videos:


Maryland Grows Blog

Leave the Leaves, All While Not Making Your Neighbors Mad

By Anahí Espíndola, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park

Read article

Disease-Resistant Vegetables and How to Find Them

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener

Read article

NOTICE TO BENEFICIARIES AND PROSPECTIVE BENEFICIARIES

Name of Organization: University of Maryland Extension

Name of Program: Master Gardener Program

Contact Information for Program Staff: Bill Hubbard, Assistant Director & State Program Leader Environmental, Natural Resources & Sea Grant, whubbard@umd.edu, 301-405-6268

Because this program is supported in whole or in part by financial assistance from the Federal Government, we are required to let you know that:

(1)       We may not discriminate against you on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to attend or participate in a religious practice;

(2)       We may not require you to attend or participate in any explicitly religious activities (including activities that involve overt religious content such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization) that are offered by our organization, and any participation by you in such activities must be purely voluntary;

(3)       We must separate in time or location any privately funded explicitly religious activities (including activities that involve overt religious content such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization) from activities supported with direct Federal financial assistance; and

(4)      You may report violations of these protections, including any denials of services or benefits by an organization, by contacting or filing a written complaint with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Center for Civil Rights Enforcement, Program Complaint Division by mail, fax, or e-mail at:

Mail:                                      

United States Department of Agriculture

Director, Center for Civil Rights Enforcement

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250-9410

 

Fax: (202) 690-7442   

Email: program.intake@usda.gov

 

(5)      If you would like to seek information about whether there are any other federally funded organizations that provide these kinds of services in your area, please contact Latoya Hicks at lhicks12@umd.edu.

This written notice must be provided to you before you enroll in the program or receive services from the program, unless the nature of the service provided, or exigent circumstances make it impracticable to provide such notice before we provide the actual service. In such an instance, this notice must be provided to you at the earliest available opportunity.

Online Resources

Webinars and Online Education

Home & Garden Information Center

Volunteer Management System (VMS)

HGIC's YouTube Channel

The Garden Thyme Podcast

Maryland Grows Blog

Extensión en Español

Stephanie Pully

UME Master Gardner State Coordinator

Kaitlyn Baligush

Program Management Specialist

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression.