The 2022 Texas Master Gardener State Conference will be held virtually on the Zoom format May 10-11, with a Leadership Workshop on May 9.
The event is open to all Master Gardeners and the public.
The Texas Master Gardener Program is a volunteer horticulture program supporting the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Master Gardeners are members of their local community who take an active interest in trees, shrubs, lawns, flowers and gardens and volunteer to help others in their community to learn about them.
Due to the virtual nature of the conference, each participant will need to register separately, not as a group or as a couple. All those attending will need a separate link to enter the conference.
Participants will have the option to purchase general registration for the conference and access to the leadership workshop.
Register for the conference at tx.ag/TXMGConf22 and register for the Leadership Workshop at tx.ag/TXMGLead22. The deadline for registration is 5 p.m. on April 25.
The conference cost is $65, and the Leadership Workshop is $25.
About the conference
This year’s theme is “Community Connections,” said Nicky Maddams, AgriLife Extension Texas Master Gardener program assistant and conference coordinator, Bryan-College Station. “The event will offer even more tools for Texas Master Gardeners to be even better volunteers within their respective communities. We have a fantastic lineup of speakers ready to share many ways to further projects and education within your association.”
The event will also offer engaging sessions on various horticultural topics, including diagnosing plant problems, landscape design, demonstration gardens, color trends, vegetable gardening, invasive plants, backyard pollinators, native seed and viticulture.
“There will also be presentations related to program-wide topics such as reaching underserved populations, building partnerships, enhancing social media presence, youth gardening and managing volunteer resources,” Maddams said. “We’ll also have virtual tours of diverse gardens in the U.S.”
The conference offers continuing education hours for Master Gardeners. There will be three keynote presentations, 24 breakout sessions and five virtual tours. Additionally, a bonus session, presented by Maddams and Jayla Fry, AgriLife Extension Texas Master Gardener program coordinator, will be offered on the Volunteer Management System.
Conference presenters and agenda
The 2022 Texas Master Gardener Virtual Conference Agenda is available online. To view more information about speakers and presentations, click the underlined speaker names and presentation titles.
Keynote speakers and topics will be:
- Jeff Raska, AgriLife Extension horticultural program coordinator – Dallas County, The Urban County Farm.
- AgriLife Extension agent panel – Kimberly Benton, horticulture, Cherokee County: Brittnay Meyer, horticulture, Tarrant County; Kyla Moeller, family and community health, Grimes County; and Clint Perkins, agriculture and natural resources, Smith County.
- Brie Arthur, author and horticulturist, Marketing to Generation Me.
Additionally, the 2022 Conference t-shirt is available from AgriLife Learn, formerly known as the AgriLife Bookstore, Maddams said.
“The conference is also time to celebrate the Search for Excellence Awards and our more than 7,000 Texas Master Gardener volunteers’ incredible achievements in education across the state,” she said.
