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Master Gardener Foundation of San Juan County

Perennial Post II

Recognizing our Demonstration Garden Volunteers

11/6/2017

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It was my pleasure to acknowledge Alice Deane and Bob Levinson this year for all of their contributions to the startup and success of the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden.  Many Master Gardeners have contributed over the years, including Lauren Levinson (1992), Fiona and Richard Norris (2002),Alice Dean (2005), Kris Bayas (2005), Jody Burns(2005), Marilyn Kline (2007), Susan Mahoney (2007), Dot Vanderveer (2011), Kathy Clowers (2007), and most recently Sandy Ryan (2017) and Kim Meyer.  Alice and Bob have stayed with the project for many years and continue to support the Demonstration Garden by working in the garden and fund raising.
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WSU Master Gardeners in Friday Harbor had long wished for a space to showcase how to grow area-appropriate plant varieties, different models of raised beds and composting resources all using the research-based recommendations from Washington State University. There were a few things on their list of must-haves, namely a water source, and usable land. Bob and Lauren Levinson, active WSU Master Gardeners from Bellevue had spent many hours working in a volunteer demonstration garden in Bellevue saw the benefits to the community and were dedicated to making it happen in Friday Harbor. In 2004, Bob went to the Senior Center with the request of using a portion of Senior Center property for a community demonstration garden. Don Galt, then the Senior Center Advisory Board Chair, quickly recognized the community benefit and rallied the Board to approve dedicated space for the new garden. The Senior Center granted WSU Master Gardeners 2200 square feet adjacent to the Family Resource Center for the garden. Work commenced, and it was a lot of hard work. Alice Deane, Bob and Lauren Levinson, Jody Burns, and a group of other WSU Master Gardener came out with hoes, shovels, and a lot of muscle power to clear the space and get started. The WSU Master Gardener Program received a grant from The San Juan Island Community Foundation for $3200 to purchase the materials to get started. The Kiwanis club donated the funds and materials to build a wheelchair accessible bed. It required hiring workers with jackhammers to work the soil, it was so compacted. By 2005, the space was cleared, an 8-foot deer fence was installed around the perimeter of the garden, and Master Gardeners set to work building various types raised beds. It was important for volunteers at that time to showcase the types of raised beds with different types of materials, so that we could demonstrate what people could choose to use in their own gardens. Some beds were made of stone, some of pre-made raised beds, and some from lumber. A 3-bin compost system was purchased through another community grant from Public Works . 
Today, volunteers consistently harvest over 1,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce every year, all of which is donated to the Friday Harbor Food Bank. 

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Master Gardener Foundation of San Juan County Fund Management

5/25/2017

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Two successful fund raisers, the 2017 Native Plant and Spring Plant Sales, are complete for the Master Gardener Foundation. Congratulations to everyone for two fantastic events! One of the key features of these activities is the multi-island effort that we put into making these activities a success. One of the goals of the Foundation over the past two years has been to encourage unifying the islands into one group rather than separate island Master Gardener groups. We are separated by water and may not see each other regularly. SJI, OI and Lopez participation in the Native Plant Sale, Spring Plant Sale, Lopez Grafting Workshop, the Diagnostic Clinics, County Fair planning and Annual Gardening Workshop planning help us know each other and the projects we do to help the San Juan County residents understand the science based aspects of gardening. 

Beyond the activities that help unify our group, we have also changed how we budget and manage Foundation funds. Here’s a little history to explain how our funds have been organized. The Foundation was formed in 2002 because Washington State University (WSU) regulations prevented the Master Gardener program from charging fees for what was then the Spring Gardening Workshop. The Foundation evolved from a relatively informal organization to a dependent chapter of the Washington State Master Gardener Foundation and finally to an independent IRS 501(3)(c) approved non-profit. Funds were collected jointly to a general fund for all islands from projects like the Annual Workshop and independently on each island; examples are the Spring Plant Sale and Orcas Island apron sales. At the end of each year, if there were surplus funds in the general fund after budgeting, those funds were assigned to each island fund, usually based on the number of Master Gardeners on each island. 

The Foundation board determined that we should be managing our funds in a way that promoted a unified organization and we should foster projects that benefitted the program for all of San Juan County. The board voted to change how we managed our general funds and moneys collected by Master Gardener projects. From now on, all funds collected by Master Gardeners are pooled into the general fund. This does not affect funds assigned to each island prior to 2017. Those funds are still assigned to each island. An account of the Foundation finances is available here.

Each project (like the Native Plant Sale and Spring Plant Sale and Diagnostic Clinics) and each island will still create a budget at the end of each year for the next year. A new general fund project request has been developed to access the general fund. If group of Master Gardeners has a new project, like the Heritage Apple Orchard that Lopez Island is working on, they can request money from the general fund for that project. Funds will be awarded based on availability, the benefit to the entire Master Gardener program, and capped at $500 per project per year. A link to the application is here. 

This is a new approach and we welcome your questions. We hope you will agree that this will foster a successful and unified organization. Contact me, one of your Board representatives or an intern mentor if you have questions. The next Foundation quarterly meeting is July 11 and we welcome your comments. 

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    Julia Turney

    Julia is the President of the San Juan County Master Gardener Foundation and gardens in her yard on Orcas Island.

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Copyright Master Gardener Foundation of San Juan County © 2022
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • 2023 Native Plant Sale
  • Projects
    • San Juan Island Demonstration Garden
    • Orcas Island School Garden
    • ​Lopez Island Heritage Apple Orchard
    • Grow Your Own Food
  • Photos
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Donations
  • Member Documents
    • Calendar of Events
    • Foundation Member Documents
    • Foundation Board Member Documents