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Virginia Cooperative Extension Office
P.O. Box 156
7400 Carriage Court
Gloucester, VA 23061
804-693-2602
Maintained by:
Mary Soto
&
Bill Walker
Updated:
08/26/2008 |
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Gloucester
Master Gardeners |
Events
2008 Calendar
Join the Masses
You can help restore the health of the
Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s rivers by
participating in CBF’s Grasses for the
Masses program. Volunteers in the
program grow wild celery, a type of
underwater grass, in small tubs in their
homes for 10 weeks, then help plant the
grasses in local rivers to boost the
population of this critical Bay
resource.
Join the Program
You can help change that by volunteering
for CBF’s Grasses for the Masses
program. Combined with efforts to reduce
nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and
soil runoff, the program helps improve
the Bay’s health by increasing the
amount of grasses in the Bay. It’s easy.
CBF provides the equipment, instructions
and support needed for growing the
grasses. Volunteers do the following:
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Attend a Grasses for the Masses
workshop to receive a growing kit,
seeds and instructions ($30 fee,
which includes a year of CBF
membership).
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Plant the seeds within 4 days of
receiving them.
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Grow and maintain the plants in
their home for a 10 week period.
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Plant grasses with fellow volunteers
in a designated local river.
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Return the equipment to CBF at the
end of the project.
Participants this year also have the
added element of our
MyGrass
web page where volunteers can post
questions, concerns or just connect with
CBF staff and other volunteers about
their grasses.
Why
Grasses?
Underwater grasses, also known as
submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), help
the Bay in a number of ways:
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They provide food and shelter for
young crabs, rockfish, speckled
trout, shellfish, and many more
aquatic creatures.
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They provide food for ducks, geese
and swans.
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They help clear the water and
stabilize the sediments that are
already on the bottom of the Bay.
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They filter pollution that runs into
the Bay.
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They slow wave action and reduce
shoreline erosion.
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They produce oxygen necessary for
aquatic life.
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They take up nitrogen and phosphorus
pollution that can cause fish kills,
algal blooms, and dead zones in the
Bay.
Scientists estimate there once were
hundreds of thousands of acres of
underwater grasses growing in the
Chesapeake Bay watershed, helping to
make the Bay one of the world’s most
productive estuaries. However, grasses
have declined dramatically over the past
several decades, primarily because of
poor water clarity caused by pollution.
Excessive nitrogen, phosphorus and
sediment pollution has clouded the Bay’s
water, blocking the sunlight vital for
the grasses’ growth. In 2006, the
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
mapped only 59,160 acres of underwater
grasses Baywide, a decline of 25 percent
from the year before. Grass abundance
didn’t improve during 2007.
Sign
up today--
space
in upcoming workshops is limited.
Workshop schedule:
Gloucester --
Richmond --
Alexandria
--
To
reserve your spot,
please sign-up
on-line today.
For more information please
visit our website
. Contact Jess Barton
at
Jbarton@cbf.org or
(804) 780-1392 or email Bill Walker @
wcwalker@inna.net if you have any
questions.
VIMS Upcoming Events and Calendar
Making Rain Barrels
September 13, 2008
1000 am - 1200 pm
Where: St. Clair Walker School Gym
Cooks Corner-Middlesex
RSVP by 8 September 2008
804 693-3562 ext. 5
Limited amount of barrels available
- first come first serve
Make reservations early since slots
will fill fast
Fee: $10.00 per barrel
Items to bring to workshop - flash
light and 2 pair of pliers
Barrel is 55 gallon drum, remember
this is for transporting.
Mount Vernon Tour
Friday -
September 19, 2008
The VMGA Education Committee has
planned an exciting program at
Mount Vernon. Your experience
at MT Vernon will begin at 9:00
am in front of the souvenir shop
with Dean Norton, Director of
Horticulture. His presentation
will be on the history of the
estate and George Washington as
a farmer and is really special.
We will than have a guided tour
of several gardens and learn
about GW's innovative methods.
After the morning tour, you have
several options for lunch
including the charming Mount
Vernon Inn, the new cafeteria
with many food courts located in
the Orientation Center, or else,
bring a lunch and picnic on the
grounds.
After lunch, you can self-tour
the new Orientation Center and
the new Museum and Education
Center. Visit the meticulously
restored mansion and see the
outbuildings such as the smoke
house, wash house, carriage
house, slave quarters and many
others. If your feet can stand
it, mosey on down the hill to
see GW and Martha's tomb.
Costs: VMGA
Member $20.00
Non-Members $32.00
Deadline to register for this
event is September 12. There is
a form to fill out. If you are
interested please e-mail me
coupdevent@aol.com and I
will sent it to you.
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Early Bird Deadline: August 24, 2008 |
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All Americas'
Horticulture Field Day |
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Major Field Day Sponsor:

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
7:30 am - 3:00 pm
Hampton Roads AREC
1444 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455 |
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Need Lodging?
Discounted hotel rates have been arranged with the Sleep Inn at the Lake Wright Resort Golf Course, 6280 Northampton Boulevard, Norfolk, Virginia. The Sleep Inn is located approximately 1.5 miles from the Field Day event.
- Continental breakfast included
- Complimentary high speed internet service
- 18-hole golf course onsite
- Enclosed outdoor swimming pool
Field Day Rate: $112.87 (includes all taxes)
Discount Rate valid until August 9, 2008
To receive this rate, call the Lake Wright directly at (800) 228-5157 and mention "Virginia Tech Field Day. " The discounted rate is not available online.
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CEU Credits Available
LCM = Landscape Crew Manager
ALCM = Advanced Landscape Crew Manager
VCH = Virginia Certified Horticulturist (through VNLA)
VSLD = Virginia Society of Landscape Designers
ISA = International Society of Arboriculture
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ISA |
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Class |
LCM
ALCM |
VCH
(VNLA) |
VSLD |
Arbor |
TW
Climb |
Muni |
BCMA
Sci |
BCMA
Pract |
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8:30 AM |
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Disease Diagnosis |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Weed Management |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Propagation |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
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9:30 AM |
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Turfgrass Research |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Bare Root: Trees |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0 |
1.5 |
0 |
1.5 |
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Pesticide Safety |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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11:00 AM |
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Water Quality |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0 |
1.5 |
0 |
1.5 |
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Tour: Tree ID |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0 |
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Invasive Insect Pests
repeat: 2 pm |
1.5 |
1 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0 |
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2:00 PM |
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Cut Holly Production |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Invasive Insect Pests
repeat: 11 am |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Hort. English
for Spanish Speakers |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Join
us
for a
fun-filled
day!
- Morning coffee and pastries from 7:30 - 8:30 am
- Hot Mexican Buffet lunch (including vegetarian options) sponsored by Land & Coates
- Try your hand (foot?) at our soccer shoot out (3 balls for $10), officiated by a FIFA referee, and win prizes (proceeds benefit the scholarship fund of The Virginia Horticultural Foundation)
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