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I am pleased to acknowledge the remarkable dedication and effort displayed by everyone in the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners community over the past year. Your collective commitment resulted in an outstanding 11,911.90 hours of valued volunteering, estimated at $378,798.42 based on the 2023 IRS volunteer rate of $31.80 per hour. Additionally, our team traveled 41,723.90 miles, valued at $5,841.35 according to the 2023 IRS mileage rate of $0.14 per mile. Moreover, 1,457.15 hours of continuing education were diligently recorded, alongside an impressive total of 191,433 contacts made, engaging with 67,690 individuals.
Congratulations to Lynn Brown and Sadie Bolyer for being in the top 15 master gardeners in Louisiana Master Gardeners!
Sign up for phone/desk duty at the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners' office. Contact Melissa Elrod to be added to the calendar. 318-455-7444 to text or [email protected] for email. 6 hours (more if you would like) are requested and you can work with someone else.
President
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Don't forget to answer the survey about committees! |
2023 with NWLAMG
Twenty five years! It is hard to believe that we have been an organization for twenty-five years but we have and this year was just as great as all the past years. A celebration luncheon occurred in May with guest speakers Dr. Joe White, our first agent and Janet Creech, a member of the first class. A poster showed how we have grown and expanded our program with highlights of special events as well as albums of pictures and newspaper clippings through the years were exhibited.
Our largest project in 2023 has been the renovation of our new office location at the Red River Research Station. We built propagation beds, moved into the office, painted, created new storage facilities and repaired old ones, graveled the parking area and worked to ready the greenhouse for use.
Two other projects within our organization in 2023 include rewriting and approving changes in our Bylaws and changes and improvements on our website.
All this while continuing to work on our continuing project which include:
Awarding 7 community grants to nonprofits, governments and schools for their garden related projects.
Pioneer Heritage Center landscape
The Seedling newsletter
Community Garden participation
Maintenance of beds at the research station
Keep Bossier Beautiful Program
Rambling Rose project at the American Rose Center
Sponsorship of 4H youths from Caddo and Bossier parish for 4H camp
As well as the most successful ever production our three fundraising events:
Le Tour des Jardins
Annual plant sale
Annual bulb sale
New project activities this year included assisting with and participating in the following:
First Baptist Church’s “Fill, Thrill and Spill” container workshop
Great Raft Brewery Plant Swap
Community Gardens Greens event
Rose Center Cleanup Day
Watering plants at the Horticultural building in the State fairgrounds
Hunter/Wildlife Expo at the RRR Station
Movie night at the RRR Station
Beginning the installation of the Home Garden Education Area at The RRR Station
Margie Caplis
Twenty five years! It is hard to believe that we have been an organization for twenty-five years but we have and this year was just as great as all the past years. A celebration luncheon occurred in May with guest speakers Dr. Joe White, our first agent and Janet Creech, a member of the first class. A poster showed how we have grown and expanded our program with highlights of special events as well as albums of pictures and newspaper clippings through the years were exhibited.
Our largest project in 2023 has been the renovation of our new office location at the Red River Research Station. We built propagation beds, moved into the office, painted, created new storage facilities and repaired old ones, graveled the parking area and worked to ready the greenhouse for use.
Two other projects within our organization in 2023 include rewriting and approving changes in our Bylaws and changes and improvements on our website.
All this while continuing to work on our continuing project which include:
Awarding 7 community grants to nonprofits, governments and schools for their garden related projects.
Pioneer Heritage Center landscape
The Seedling newsletter
Community Garden participation
Maintenance of beds at the research station
Keep Bossier Beautiful Program
Rambling Rose project at the American Rose Center
Sponsorship of 4H youths from Caddo and Bossier parish for 4H camp
As well as the most successful ever production our three fundraising events:
Le Tour des Jardins
Annual plant sale
Annual bulb sale
New project activities this year included assisting with and participating in the following:
First Baptist Church’s “Fill, Thrill and Spill” container workshop
Great Raft Brewery Plant Swap
Community Gardens Greens event
Rose Center Cleanup Day
Watering plants at the Horticultural building in the State fairgrounds
Hunter/Wildlife Expo at the RRR Station
Movie night at the RRR Station
Beginning the installation of the Home Garden Education Area at The RRR Station
Margie Caplis
Board Members
2023 Class Representative - Allison Martin
2024 - Sheila Harkey / Virginia Pinkley
2025 - Sadie Bolyer, Steve Pinkley
2026 - Melissa Elrod / John Rowell
Project Directors
Each of the projects that the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners has are ongoing endeavors which require many hands for successful completion each year. The directors and/or project chairs have many members who help complete the activities.
There are several projects that master gardeners work on during the year. All must be approved by the board in order to report the volunteer hours that the master gardener has completed.
While these are not the only projects worked on during the year, they are the fund raising projects that master gardeners do in order to be able to award community grants and provide educational programing to the community.
There are several projects that master gardeners work on during the year. All must be approved by the board in order to report the volunteer hours that the master gardener has completed.
While these are not the only projects worked on during the year, they are the fund raising projects that master gardeners do in order to be able to award community grants and provide educational programing to the community.
Spring Plant Sale
John Oswalt and Cynthia Rowell, co-chairs Greenhouse
Sadie Bolyer Start planning for next year's plant sale! Begin by propagating your plants now so that they will be a nice size by April 2024. Propagation and Sale Committees Le Tour des Jardins
Gaye Dean, Chair Committees
Cindy Jeansonne
Le Tour Volunteer Chair Le Tour 2024 Garden Volunteers Click on the link to see the volunteers for each garden. Contact Cindy Jeansonne to be added to a schedule. (Updated March 17, 2024) Pam and Rick Tully Brenda Collins Jeff Knighton Annalissa Vaccari and Victor Vargus Greg Morrison Bill Frye Red River Research Station Fall Bulb Sale
Twyla Stubblefiled, Mary Dumars, co-chairs The Bulb committee is very busy digging, bagging and pricing bulb and other plants for the bulb sale which is coming up on October 28th! Please volunteer to setup on Friday, October 27th and work the sale on Saturday, October 28th. Your help makes all the difference in a successful project! While the weather did not cooperate with the bulb committee this year, the sales were great. You missed a great time with all of the new activities at our new location, the RRRS. The Bulb Seminar presented by Mary Dumars and our new indoor plant sales went well, on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
Now the committee moves on to the next project... building propagation beds for "growing our own!" Propagation beds filled and ready for the bulbs!
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Community Grants Michele Wiener The Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners are proud to announce the 2024 recipients of NWLAMG community grants. NWLAMG awards grants to organizations and municipalities that support beautification and horticultural education within our community. Of particular interest are projects that make a difference in the community, that are sustainable, and involve collaboration among local organizations. The NWLA Master Gardeners awarded a total of $6,000. Check out the winners here. Seedling Editor
Kerry Friestad View the Fall Seedling here!
Community Gardens
Ruth Schlictemier Master Gardeners set up the fall bulb sale at the RRRS
The bulb committee planted bulbs in the new propagation beds in January and painted the bricks that will serve as name tags. We even had a new class member come out and help after the first class ended! Loved his eagerness to get started!
March 12, 2023 and the bulbs are coming up and some are even beginning to bloom!
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