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GGMG Volunteer Opportunities and Guidelines for Students and Certified Master Gardeners

Work dates at volunteer venues can vary. Times change seasonally at some venues. 
All are announced on our Six-Week Out Calendar every other Sunday, by e-mail.

Mike Jaskwich is pictured answering the phone at the Clemson Extension Master Gardener Office.


Opportunities:

Butterfly Garden - Roper Mountain Science Center
Work dates: Every Tuesday 9:00 am to Noon at the Butterfly Garden and
Every Second Saturday at 9 am
(will not work if raining)
Contact: Ginger Kopka 963-2245 or gkopka1@aol.com


Children’s Garden
Work dates: Children’s Garden work dates occur the second Wednesday and the fourth Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m., weather permitting.
If the weather is questionable, please contact Deborah.
To get involved, contact Deborah Schneider at 246-5508 or gardenbugs@charter.net
The garden is located on Broad Street near Centre Stage.

Roper Mountain Science Center - Heritage Garden
The garden is open every fourth Saturday, but you must be at the front gate
at 9:00 a.m. SHARP when it is unlocked. Work ends at noon. If you
need even more flexibility, call ahead to see if someone will be
working on the grounds when you are available. Call Helen Ellis at
288-7026 if you would like to work at a different time.

  Project Host Soup Kitchen Garden – on Academy St. in Downtown G’ville
Work dates: Every First and Third Saturday at 9 am.
Contacts:Suzy Seagrave 294-0954 and Kristal Kemppainen at 845-8405


GGMG Plant Sale (April or May of each year)

We were surprised to learn that we had fewer plants in 2009 than we did in 2008. Please help us increase our plant offerings for the 2010 sale!
Don’t forget that 5 hours (maximum) of potting/growing plants can be counted toward your education hours.

Here are some things you can do this year to help us prepare for the sale:
* Save your empty pots for next year.
* Divide whatever you can this summer and fall, and let us know if you need help shepherding your plants until next spring.
* Attend Cory’s propagation meeting in October. (To help you start plants for the 2010 and 2011 sales, the class will be followed by a more detailed workshop.)
* Contact Rebecca McKinney (rebecca_mckinney@hotmail.com) if you have plants that can be used for the sale, but do not have the time to dig them up yourself. We will put together a “rescue” team.
* Need suggestions about what to grow? Most of the following items sold at full price and are on our wish list for the 2010 sale: culinary herbs: thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano,   chives, garlic chives, sage, etc. other herbs: sweet woodruff, yarrow, chocolate mint, catmint, bee balm, pineapple sage, lamb’s ear, bronze fennel, etc. Vegetables. Everything in   the collector’s corner (of course). More Japanese maples and peonies would be terrific. Shrubs that are potted. We’ve had requests for hydrangeas, gardenias, Aucuba, Pieris and   Loropetalum. Ferns, lenten roses, and hostas (basically, all shade plants; we need more, especially Heuchera). Canna lilies. Any perennial in flower at the end of April. Sedum.   (Even with a much-larger-than-normal inventory, most sold at full price.) Various types of daisies. Water plants. Leaf castings, rummage sale items and the herb ladder Daylilies   and iris also are perennial favorites and always welcome.
  

Master Gardener Booth – Rutherford Rd. Farmer's Market
May and September (exact date TBA)


Volunteer Guidelines:

Intern year: Students (interns) who have just complete their classroom education hours have one year from the end of class to complete the 40 hour volunteer requirements toward certification as a Master Gardener.  There are three (3) distinct categories that are reported to the Clemson Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Reporting System.  However, only one of these categories counts directly towards the 40 hour requirement and that is the one that most directly fulfills the Clemson Extension Master Gardener mission, Educational Service.  
 
Educational Service – Student Volunteers are required to provide 40 hours of educational service during their certification year.  These volunteer hours are dedicated to teaching others research-based information about gardening and horticulture.  This directly reflects the mission of the South Carolina Master Gardener Program.  10 of these hours must be in the Extension Office and/or the Ask a Master Gardener Program. The remaining 30 hours may be provided through working on (not attending) the GGMG Symposium, working in the Junior Master Gardener Program, working on MG Training Class, additional Extension Office and/or Ask a Master Gardener hours past the required 10 hours, contributing to educational programs in the community gardens, and other opportunities.

Certified Master Gardeners:  Educational Service - 20 hours per calendar year – Volunteer hours dedicated to teaching others research-based information about gardening and horticulture, reflecting the mission of the South Carolina Master Gardener Program.  Opportunities are provided through working on (not attending) the GGMG Symposium, working in the Junior Master Gardener Program, working on MG Training Class, Extension Office and/or Ask a Master Gardener, contributing to educational programs in the community gardens, and other opportunities.

Continuing Education – 10 hours per calendar year - Master Gardeners are encouraged to advance their knowledge through programs, lectures such as those offered during symposiums, conferences, and Clemson Extension Advanced Master Gardener Training Modules and Courses. 

Community Service – Student Volunteers and Certified Master Gardeners  are encouraged to work in one of four (4) currently active Garden Projects of the GGMG - Butterfly Garden, Heritage Garden, Project Host Soup Kitchen Garden and Linky Stone Children’s Garden.  These Garden Projects offer our volunteers the opportunity to improve gardening skills in a hands-on gardening project while learning from the managers of these projects. 

• We are volunteers and are not paid for our services.  It is acceptable for an organization to provide an honorarium but it should not be paid to you personally. Tangible gifts, like a plant or a trinket of some sort, is yours to keep. Items, such as a gift certificate, that have monetary value can be donated to one of our projects or kept by you, whichever you prefer. These guidelines for accepting payment for your services are simply in place to clearly indicate to the public that Master Gardeners are volunteers.
  
  
• South Carolina Master Gardeners may not use their title and/or position for commercial or private business.  The Master Gardener is a trained volunteer of the Clemson Extension Service and Clemson University.  Master Gardeners only work in a volunteer capacity.  If you work in the horticultural industry, you should not present yourself as a MG at work or when wearing work related clothing. The simplest way to state this is "do not mix work and volunteering".