August 5, 2019 - The UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County would like to honor 70 dedicated volunteers. UC Master Gardeners are UC-trained volunteers who provide research-based information to home gardeners and landscapers.

Volunteers are recognized annually for hours of dedicated service in their community.  Michele Minniear and Kathi Whitson achieved 100 service hours. Amanda Grissom, Bob Labozetta and Linette St. Vrain have dedicated more than 250 volunteer hours.  Melinda Barrett, Sherry Gorham, and Julie Richard gave over 500 hours to the community. Belinda Gilbert achieved 750 lifetime hours and Sheri Mace served 1,000 volunteer hours. In all, UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County have donated 66,713 hours since its inception in 1995.

Master Gardener Lynette Jackson (pictured) 

A special thank you goes to Ingrid Angelini and Adrianne O’Brien for their service on the Executive Board. Rinda Harper is honored for her enthusiasm in learning plant propagation plants.  Julie Richard and Francoise Upton dedicated many hours training others in propagation techniques.  Amanda Grissom put forth incredible outreach efforts with her work in Yosemite National Park and school gardens.  Ferol Conklin similarly showed outstanding collaborative efforts with important community programs and local agencies that assist homeowners, providing a place for the community to interact with these agencies at our annual Spring Plant Sale Information Center.  

Michele Minniear has worked tirelessly to replace irrigation in the Mariposa Creek Demonstration Garden and docent at the 2019 Garden Tour. First-Year Master Gardener Ron Allen offered a popular workshop on “Monarchs and Milkweed” and has become active in writing press releases and working with the fair committee.

Lynette Jackson (pictured above) was voted “Volunteer of the Year” for her commitment to the UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County Facebook page which she maintains. She also acts as the Chair of Community Gardens, leads the design team for the CalFire Demonstration Garden and assists with school gardens. Lynette has dedicated over 1,700 hours to the UC Master Gardener Program.

If you’ve been to the Master Gardener Plant Sale, chances are your plant originated from the propagation project led by Helen Willoughby-Peck.  Helen (pictured) has transformed our Master Gardener training program, led many project teams and is the go-to person for vegetable research. She has dedicated well over 2,200 hours since 2010.

If you would like to see what the UC Master Gardener program is all about, please come see us in the Horticulture Building at the Mariposa County Fair.  Or come check out one of our upcoming workshops—Native Plant Propagation on Saturday, September 21 or Landscape Design on Saturday, October 12. 

UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County are located at 5009 Fairgrounds Rd., Mariposa. For more gardening and event information, visit our website (http://cemariposa.ucanr.edu/Master_Gardener) and Facebook page (UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County). UC Master Gardeners staff a Helpline serving Mariposa County, including Greeley Hill, Coulterville, and Lake Don Pedro ((209) 966-7078 or mgmariposa@ucdavis.edu).

Source: UC Master Gardeners of Mariposa County