St Louis Mastr Gardeners Annual Report 2015 Providing Horticultural Information and Assistance to the Public for Community Service and Gardening Pleasure through the Volunteer Efforts of Master Gardeners Front row: Leon Zickrick, Alberta Chulick, Diane Grubbs, Valerie Donahue, Mara Berry Back Row: Margaret Lahrmann, Bety Stuckhoff, Barb Nichols, John Hensley 2015-2016 Advisory Commitee Members Chair Diane Grubbs (2013-2016) Treasurer Margaret Lahrmann (2013-2016) Secretary Valerie Donahue (2015-2018) At Large John Hensley (2013-2016) At Large Mara Berry (2014-2017) At Large Alberta Chulick (2014-2017) At Large Leon Zickrick (2014-2017) At Large Barbara Nichols (2015-2018) At Large Betty Struckhoff (2015-2018) Staff University of Missouri Extension Nathan Brandt—Horticulture Specialist Holly Records—Master Gardener Coordinator Missouri Botanical Garden Glenn Kopp—Horticultural Information Manager Phil Egart—Administrative Assistant Left t Right: Natan Brandt, Holy Records, Phil Egart, Glenn Kopp From te Chair For Master Gardeners, 2015 was once again a year of great accomplishment and community service. As you read through this annual report, you will see that the numbers tell the story. From the 46,756 hours of total service to the $12,629 in monetary donations, over 300 active Master Gardeners made a real difference in a wide variety of locations in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Master Gardeners also like to learn and have fun, and our continuing education classes, garden tour, social events, and winter book club all were wonderful opportunities to do that in 2015. You have many reasons to wear the St. Louis Master Gardener name badge with pride. Thank you for all that you do for the community and for our organization, and happy gardening in 2016! Diane Grubbs, MGAC Chairperson St. Louis Mastr Gardener Volunter Hours by Locaton Site/Project HOURS Audubon - Bring Conservation Home 535.5 Brightside St. Louis 272.5 Butterfly House 376.15 St. Louis City Parks 397.5 Community Projects: Church Garden 434.25 Community Projects: Community Gardens 1135.75 Community Projects: Farmers Markets 33 Community Projects: Gardening Advice 179 2015 Community Projects: JR Tree Keeper Program 85 Community Projects: Kirkwood City Parks 93 TOTAL HOURS Community Projects: Longview Park/Tappmeyer House Community Projects: Other 820 Community Projects: Paraquad 533 267.75 46,756 Community Projects: School Class Program 253 Community Projects: Subdivision Garden 429.2 Continuing Education: Docent Training/Enrichment Classes 182.5 Continuing Education: MG Continuing Education 1201.5 Continuing Education: MOBOT Adult Education 382.75 Continuing Education: Other-Misc Locations 2117.5 Continuing Education: St Louis Community College 979.25 St. Louis County Parks 1743.65 Flora Conservancy 1270.5 Forest Park Forever 263.75 Forest ReLeaf 737 Gateway Greening 1275 South Technical High School Greenhouse 3653.7 Grow Glendale Gorgeous 277 Litzsinger Road Ecology Center 991 MG Administration 37.5 Missouri Botanical Garden 19167.95 Olivette in Bloom 52 Other Approved Projects: Other Approved Projects 2088.5 Other Approved Projects: Powell Gardens - Kansas City 155.25 Other MG Activities 3215.75 Parks & Garden Projects: Other 366.5 Shaw Nature Reserve 328 The Green Center 107 U-City in Bloom 316.5 Mastr Gardeners at work in te communit Covenant House Missouri Healing Voluntering in te Garden Project St. Louis Count Parks Each day Covenant House Missouri works to empower disconnected youth to design their own path from homelessness to opportunity. They are an open intake agency committed to providing help and hope to young people age 16-21. Through integrated programs focused on the complex needs of the population they serve, including mental health, education, employment, and life skills, they strive to be a place of home and direction for young people who are at risk. Master Gardener, Anne Moore, took on the task of designing a Healing Garden for Covenant House Missouri located on North Kingshighway. Anne not only designed the Healing Garden, but also arranged for MPR Contracting to donate the construction of a pondless water feature. The St. Louis Master Gardeners donated $1,400 toward the materials needed for the water feature. Anne is currently working with Covenant House volunteer Pamela Keck to find funding sources for the project. Master Gardener Tina Short assisted with the project. Memorial Garden in te Grove “I recently designed a memorial garden for the St. Louis transsexual community and worked with them planning. The space was previously in turf grass with on plant selection, installation and maintenance a small corner planted as a (neglected) butterfly garden. Butterflies are important symbol of transformation for the community so there was no question of replacing the butterfly garden. Instead I ordered a couple of hundred more native prairie grasses and forbs to fill out the existing plantings and tied it thematically to the rest of the design with new perennial borders. If my design works as planned, visitors will experience an uphill journey into an opening that symbolizes the personal journeys of trans folks through difficulty to oneness. You can see the garden in the Grove neighborhood at the corner of Hunt and Vandeventer.” Monte Abbott, Master Gardener Program Director - Sustainable Shaw Sustainable in St. Louis Sout Technical High School Greenhouse The South Technical High School Greenhouse was busy in 2015 with the planting, propagating, watering, and caring for the 497 different plant varieties of annuals, perennials, vegetables, succulents, herbs and aquatics that were housed in 2015. Thirty-one Master Gardeners volunteering over 3653 hours produced over 18,000 plants from seeds, cuttings, and plugs. At the end of the weekend sale, many varieties of plants were sold out. What happened to the leftover plants? They were donated to non-profit organizations and community gardens (see list below). Where does the money go? The proceeds from the annual greenhouse sale are donated to worthy community gardens and projects around St. Louis city and county. It also provides funding for two $500 scholarships each year to South Technical High School students, for post-high school education in horticulture or culinary arts. In 2015, unsold plants were donatd t te folowing Communit Organizatons: St. Agnes Convent Sunset Hills Garden Club Kirkwood Parks Department City of St. Louis Paraquad Grow Glendale Gorgeous Tillie’s Corner Longview Farm Park YMCA Wildwood Green Center Garden of Eden St. Louis County Parks Museum of Transportation Laumeier Sculpture Park South Technical High School Weinman Women’s Shelter Tappmeyer House Gateway Greening Community Gardens 2015 Monetary Donatons Thanks to the efforts of the Master Gardener Speakers Bureau and South Technical High School Greenhouse volunteers, the Master Gardener St. Louis chapter was able to donate $12,629 in 2015 to the organizations listed below. Covenant House-- Healing Garden Forest ReLeaf of Missouri Gateway Greening-- Community and Youth Gardens St. Patrick’s Center Training Program Missouri Botanical Garden-- Plantings for Spoehrer Plaza Pots Kemper Center decorative containers & Tower Garden Growing Systems Missourians for Monarchs Sweet Potato Project South Tech High School-- Student Scholarships Tillie’s Corner Kemper Centr Indoor Tower Garden “I would like to thank the St. Louis Master Gardeners for the generous gift to Missourians for Monarchs. Your gift will enhance our ability to provide milkweed and nectar plant seeds and plugs to partners in order to further our mission to create and restore monarch and other pollinator habitat across Missouri. While we have hundreds of eager volunteers, availability of seeds and plants is fundamental to success. We sincerely appreciate the interest in this effort Master Gardeners have demonstrated.” John Hensley presents our donaton check t Forest ReLeaf Bob Lee Missourians for Monarchs 2015 Communit Service Awards Milkweeds for Monarchs – The St. Louis Butterfly Project Catherine Werner An initiative of the City of St. Louis Office of Sustainability, it was launched in 2014 by Mayor Frances Slay. The City has planted many monarch gardens and has challenged communities to do the same. The success of Milkweeds for Monarchs has brought national attention to St. Louis. The website contains excellent information on monarch gardens. www.stlouis-mo.gov/monarchs MN Strong – McCluer North High School Kelly York and Adam Bender MN Strong is an organization started by teachers to bring the school community together. Teachers, staff, administration, students and parents have worked together and learned that great things can be accomplished when you work side by side. As Master Gardeners we were particularly focused on their lovely raised bed gardens. International Institute of St. Louis – Global Farms Joel Walker An amazing organization that helps new Americans get back to their farming roots by assisting them in acclimating to farming in Missouri while providing access to growing healthy nutritional food and the opportunity for agricultural career possibilities. There are two outstanding urban farm sites in St. Louis city. Grow Glendale Gorgeous Julie Grimm A volunteer based community organization dedicated to beautify the community with gardens, containers, landscapes, and environmental education. This organization is an example of what can take place in a short time when you have a strong group of dedicated volunteers with a clear common goal. Sixt new Mastr