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MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
Community Outreach Annual Report - 2012
Committee Chairs:
Jeanne Mroczko
Sheryl Shupel
Committee Members: There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events/time slots.
Committee Description: Plans and organizes displays for various community events, (e.g., Hopewell Harvest Day, Princeton Communiversity Day, Earth Day), and coordinates chairs and volunteers for each event. Event chair and volunteers set-up and staff a Helpline Q&A table w/ displays, seasonal information, etc., then take-down display and restock materials for subsequent events.
Accomplishments:
Event Date #MGs Hours Contacts
Environmental Fair (Hightstown) Sat. Apr 14 3 7 31
Communiversity Day (Princeton) Sat. Apr 30 5 20 800
Azalea Festival (Hamilton) Sun. May 13 6 21 665
Pennington Day (Pennington) Sat. May 19 5 20 317
Garden Party & Tour (Drumthwacket) Sat. Jun 3 2 10 51
Community Festival (Robbinsville) Sun. Jun 9 5 36 153
Farmer’s Market (West Windsor) Sat. Jul 21 8 19 137
4-H Fair (Howell Living Farm) Sat. Jul 28&29 13 41 2,890
Butterfly Festival (S-M Watershed) Sat. Aug 11 8 37 303
Totals 9 65 211 5347
In addition to the standard events we generally attend, we were able to participate in a wider range of locations, including West Windsor. We focused on making sure we could have a presence at our long-standing core events, and as a result, even though we participated in fewer events than last year, we increased our public contact numbers, due largely to the great turnout at the two-day 4-H Fair.
Two events were cancelled due to bad weather, the Lawrenceville Community Day and the Mercer County Equestrian Center Fall Festival.
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Generally, responses to the call for volunteers to staff events were more challenging than in previous years. Overall, staffing levels at events were adequate to provide coverage and interact with the public. We would like to see a larger cross-section of the MG membership volunteer to help staff the booth at outreach events, especially newer MGs. Having co-chairs for this committee is very important, as it allows us to divide up responsibility for organizing event coverage and to better manage our availability. The ability to earn Helpline credit for outreach events continues to be an important incentive for volunteers.
We continue to offer encouragement and to stress the simplicity of the outreach process to the MGs and are more than willing to ensure that volunteers know exactly what is required, including meeting the Day Chair at the Extension Office to ensure they are comfortable with picking-up the display and informational materials. Last year we purchased rolling luggage to replace the old storage containers and streamlined the contents and storage directions. This year we have heard feedback from volunteers that the new luggage and checklists make the process much easier.
Our booth continues to look attractive and draws in many interested members of the public, due to the efforts of volunteers who bring flowers, weeds and other ‘eye-catchers’ from their gardens and yards. However, we feel the existing banners are starting to show wear and tear and are somewhat dated, and we would like to pursue the purchase of new banners for 2013 (budget permitting, of course!). The newly-created composting demonstration model has been successful in promoting interest in home composting and generates lots of interest and questions. The bug boxes, as always, attract a lot of attention from children and should continue to have a prominent presence. They provide a natural transition to horticultural questions, especially when the discussion turns to ‘good’ bugs and ‘bad’ bugs in the garden.
We met with the Information Resource Committee (IRC) twice this year, in response to their offer to help us ensure that our materials are up-to-date and responsive to the needs of the public. Toward that end, we asked MGs to list the questions/topics that came up most often at outreach events – and we learned that the most frequent questions were about deer-resistant plants, composting, cicada killers, tomato hornworms and pepper plant diseases. We will encourage the volunteers to continue to collect this data in order to keep abreast of what the public is most interested in learning about. We also plan to work with Barbara Bromley and Carol Bencivengo to update the Rutgers website link when the tear-off sheets are reprinted, to make it easier for the public to access information.
Purchases/Donations Materials for composting demonstration scale model; assorted folders, etc., to simplify outreach materials.
Goals for 2013 To have a presence at 7-15 outreach events in 2013; to increase our base of
organizational contacts in order to explore new events and locations;
To research options for new display banners;
To continue working with the IRC to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials;
To encourage a broader segment of MGs (especially newer MGs!) to participate inoutreach events.
Respectfully submitted:
Jeanne Mroczko Sheryl Shupel
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January 2, 2013
RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
Community Outreach Annual Report - 2013
Committee Chairs: • Jeanne Mroczko• Sara Boyce-Jacino
Committee Members: There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events/time slots.
Committee Description: Plans the Community Outreach calendar for the coming year; works with event sponsors and organizes materials and displays for various community events. Coordinates day chairs and volunteers for each event. Event chairs and volunteers staff a Helpline table and answer general questions from the public on a wide range of responsible gardening topics.
Accomplishments: Event Date #MGs Hours Contacts
Hopewell Elem. Sci. Fair – Hopewell Fri. Mar. 15 3 10 97
Living Local Expo - Lawrenceville Sat. Mar. 23 1 3 25
Communiversity – Princeton Sun. Apr. 28 6 22.5 595
Azalea Festival – Hamilton Sat. May 12 7 28.5 902
Pennington Day - Pennington Sun. May 18 5 23.5 462
Tour & Garden Party - Drumthwacket Sat. Jun 1 3 9 43
Farmer’s Market - West Windsor Sat. Jul 20 6 15 209
4-H Fair - Howell Living Farm Sat/Sun. Aug. 3 & 4 9 51 817
Butterfly Festival - S-M Watershed Sat. Aug 10 6 25 359
Hopewell Harvest Fair - Hopewell Sat. Sept. 28 4 14.5 298
Lawrence Community Day – L’ville Sun. Oct. 6 5 21 151
Hightstown Harvest Fair - Hightstown Sat. Oct. 12 3 20 219
Totals 12 58 243 4177
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The Community Outreach Committee participated in three more events in 2013 (12) than last year (9). Seven fewer MGs participated in Outreach this year; 58 down from 65 in 2012. We earned slightly more Helpline hours in 2013 (243) than last year (211). Public contact numbers were lower this year (4,177) than last year (5,347). It is surmised that the rainy weather in August kept the usual crowds from attending the 4-H Fair in Hopewell. We cancelled our participation in one event, the Robbinsville Twp. Community Festival, to due the lack of a Day Chair (who is responsible for coordinating set-up and take-down of the tent and displays).
Generally, it was more challenging to recruit volunteers for events than in previous years. We would like to see a larger cross-section of the MG membership volunteer to help staff the booth at outreach events, especially newer MGs. Toward that end, we plan to participate in the February 3rd Helpline Workshop where we will review outreach protocols and extol the joys of doing community outreach. The ability to earn Helpline hours for outreach events continues to be an important incentive for volunteers.
We continue to streamline and consolidate the outreach materials to ensure that volunteers have less to transport and are comfortable with picking up the display and informational material. We also have additional resources - two new portable microscopes - which greatly enhance the public’s ability to examine the insect displays.
Purchases/Donations: • Material to replace the tablecloths• We also plan to purchase 2 new folding tables in 2014
Goals for 2013: • To have a presence at 10-12 community outreach events in 2014;• To increase our base of organizational contacts in order to explore new events and
locations;• To research options for new display banners;• To continue working with the IRC to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials;• To encourage a broader segment of MGs (especially newer MGs!) to participate in
outreach events.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Boyce-Jacino Jeanne Mroczko Co-Chairs, Community Outreach Committee
December 19, 2013
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RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY Community Outreach Annual Report - 2014
Committee Chairs: • Jeanne Mroczko• Sara Boyce-Jacino
Committee Members: There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events/time slots.
Committee Description: The Community Outreach Committee plans the Community Outreach event participation calendar for the coming year, coordinates with event sponsors, coordinates and schedules RMG volunteers, and
organizes materials and displays for community events. RMG volunteers staff a table, promote public
awareness of RMG of MC and its in-person and online resources, and answer general questions from the public on a wide range of responsible gardening topics.
This year: The Community Outreach Committee participated in 15 events —3 more than in 2013 (12) and 6 more than in 2012 (9). We did not participate in the Hopewell Elementary School Science Fair (low impact), Drumthwacket event (changes on their end), or the Hightstown Harvest festival (high registration fee, waived in 2013). Added events were Robbinsville Community Fair, Rutgers Open House (one-time?), Rutgers Extension 100th Anniversary (one-time), and the 3 afternoons at theTrenton Farmer’s Market. 12 (20%) more MGs (70) participated in Outreach events than in 2013 (58) and 5 (12%) more than in 2012 (65). Interesting note: 30 individual RMG volunteers accounted for the 70 RMGs who volunteered at Outreach events, with 10 RMGs volunteering for 3 or more events. We earned 39% more Helpline hours (337) than in 2013 (243) and 60% more than in 2012 (211).
Public contact numbers were 14% higher (4761) than in 2013 (4,177) but 11% lower than in 2012 (5,347). Recruiting volunteers was a bit easier this year than last. We attribute this to a clearer understanding of the Community Outreach function provided at the February Helpline Workshop meeting, to streamlining of the equipment required, and to you tube video links posted on the MGofMC website explaining tent set-up and take-down. Of particular interest is the observation of the relatively small number of RMGs who volunteer for multiple events—this tells us that some people prefer to earn their Helpline Hours at public events, either by preference or to suit working members.
Community Outreach Summary:
Event Date #MGs HelplineHours Contacts
Living Local Expo - Lawrenceville Sat. Mar. 29 6 23 202
Communiversity – Princeton Sun. Apr. 27 9 32 635
Azalea Festival – Hamilton Sun. May 11 6 26.5 924
Pennington Day - Pennington Sat. May 17 7 26 445
Robbinsville Community Fair - R’ville Sat. June 7 3 17 194
Farmer’s Market - West Windsor Sat. June 21 4 19 200
Rutgers Open House Sat. July 26 3 16 133
4-H Fair - Howell Living History Farm Sat./Sun. Aug. 2 & 3 8 56 670
Butterfly Festival - S-M Watershed Sat. Aug. 9 5 26 420
Rutgers Ext. 100th Anniversary Sat. Sept. 13 6 16 194
Hopewell Harvest Fair - Hopewell Sat. Sept. 27 4 20.5 313
Lawrence Community Day – L’ville Sun. Oct. 5 3 15 151
Trenton Farmer’s Market - Ewing Sun. Oct. 19 2 8 65
Trenton Farmer’s Market - Ewing Fri. Nov. 14 2 10 75
Trenton Farmer’s Market - Ewing Fri. Nov. 21 2 6 40
Totals 15 70 337 4761
Purchases/Donations: • Table cover• New folding table• Display miscellany• New rolling carry bag for the tent
Goals for 2015: • To have a presence at 10-12 community outreach events in 2015
• To increase our presence at the Trenton Farmer’s Market
• To research options for new display banners• To add to our insect displays RMG-imprinted magnifiers as give-aways to the public• To continue to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials• To encourage a broader segment of MGs (especially newer and working MGs!) to participate in
outreach events• A new tent to match the new MEG tents, printed with our name and logos?
We plan to continue to shift the perception of Community Outreach away from “Helpline on the Road” and more toward promoting public awareness of Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County and the services which we provide to the public. We will continue to emphasize the importance of responsible gardening practices. We plan to emphasize the in-person services we offer at Extension (Helpline, soil test kits) and the extensive online resources available through both the MGofMC website and the Rutgers NJAES website, as well as the MEG. We will continue to feature at our display table the insect displays (which advertise the Insect Festival), the before/after compost displays along with the composting methods we display, and the general information on current horticultural issues and gardening practices.
Respectfully submitted: Sara Boyce-Jacino Jeanne Mroczko
Co-Chairs, Community Outreach Committee December 31, 2014
2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 1
RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
2015 Community Outreach Annual Report
Submitted by Sara Boyce-Jacino
January 8, 2016
Committee Chair:
Sara Boyce-Jacino
Committee Members:
There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events.
Committee Description:
The Community Outreach Committee Chair plans the Community Outreach event
participation calendar for the coming year; events are typically community festivals,
expos, and farmer’s markets. The Chair coordinates with event sponsors to plan our
attendance at events, coordinates and schedules RMG volunteers, and organizes and
maintains materials and displays for the events. RMG volunteers staff a table of
information and insect samples; they welcome and encourage members of the public to
engage on a wide range of topics concerning responsible gardening, composting, and
responsible pest management. Volunteers promote public awareness of RMG of MC and
its in-person services such as Helpline and soil test kits, its online resources such as the
mgofmc.org and the Rutgers NJAES websites, MEG, and the events sponsored by our
Master Gardeners organization.
2015 Accomplishments:
• 15 Events
• 44 individual RMGs volunteered—46% increase over 2014
• 67 RMG volunteer signups
• 264.5 Helpline Hours
• 24 Mercer County Hours
• 4682 Public Contacts
• 17.7 Public Contacts/Helpline Hour
2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 2
In 2015 the Community Outreach Committee participated in 15 events, the same number
(though not all the same events) as in 2014. 3 new events were added this year: a
gardening program at Princeton Public Library, the Pennington Farmer’s Market, and the
Cow Parade and Bonfire at Cherry Grove Farm. One event, Lawrence Community Day in
October, was cancelled by the organizers (weather).
This year volunteer participation increased 46%: 44 individual RMG volunteers (30 in
2014) signed up 67 times (70 in 2014) for Outreach events in 2015. Of the 44 individuals
comprising the total, 15 (34%) volunteered for between 2 and 4 events, indicating that
many Outreach volunteers prefer to earn most or all of their Helpline Hours at public
events. Quite a few new MGs volunteered for Outreach events this year.
Outreach Committee volunteers earned 264.5 Helpline hours, 21% less than in 2014
(337), and 24 Mercer County hours for transport and set up. Likely reasons for this
year’s lower Helpline hours count are: several shorter events such as Farmer’s Markets,
one cancelled event, and a few instances of volunteer no-shows.
4682 public contacts were recorded in 2015—2% less than the 4761 recorded in 2014.
These numbers amount to 17.7 public contacts per Helpline hour.
Added to the information handouts this year: BJB fact sheets (the first page only, with the
www.mgofmc.org website directions provided for locating the full document) on
Vegetable Gardening, Flower Gardening, Lawn Care Basics, Tips on Gardening Basics,
and an adaptation of BJB’s Monthly Gardening Tips.
Goals for 2016:
Explore coordination/overlap with Community Education and possible Speakers
Bureau
To have a presence at 15 or so community events
To continue to promote public awareness of Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer
County and the services which we provide to the public.
To replace the 8” bi-fold table, which was damaged during its first use in 2013
To research options for new display banners
To add to our insect displays RMG-imprinted magnifiers as give-aways
To continue to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials, working with
Information Resources Committee
Community Outreach Summary
2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 3
Event Date #
MGs Helpline Hours
County Hours (trans-port)
Total Hours
Contacts
Gardening Day-Princeton Public Library Sat. 2/7 2 9 1 10 107
Living Local Expo - Lawrenceville Sat. 3/28 6 18 2 20 174
Communiversity – Princeton Sun. 4/26 5 22.5 2 24.5 862
Azalea Festival – Hamilton Sun. 5/10 6 24 2 26 935
Pennington Day - Pennington Sat. 5/16 6 24 2 26 290
Trenton Farmer’s Market - Ewing
Sun. 5/18 3 12 1 13 81
Robbinsville Community Fair - R’ville
Sat. 6/13 5 16.5 2 18.5 213
Pennington Farmer’s Market-Pennington
Sat. 7/11 3 12.5 1 13.5 52
Farmer’s Market - West Windsor
Sat. 7/18 5 12.5 2 14.5 75
4-H Fair - Howell Living History Farm-Hopewell Twp.
Sat./Sun. 8/1-2
7 42 2 44 916
Butterfly Festival - S-M Watershed Pennington
Sat. 8/8 7 26 2 28 513
Hopewell Harvest Fair - Hopewell
Sat. 9/26 6 24 2 26 310
Lawrence Community Day – L’ville (cancelled by twp)
Sun. 10/4 0 0 0 0 0
Cow Parade and Bonfire-Cherry Grove Farm-Lawrence Sat 11/7 4 12 2 14 111
Trenton Farmer’s Market - Ewing
Fri. 11/19 2 9.5 1 10.5 43
Totals 15 67 264.5 24 288.5 4682
2016 Community Outreach Annual Report 1
RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
2016 Community Outreach Annual Report Submitted by Tara Miller
January 25, 2017
Committee Co-Chairs: Linda Eyre and Tara Miller
Committee Members: There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events.
Committee Description: The Community Outreach Committee Chair plans the Community Outreach event participation
calendar for the coming year; events are typically community festivals, expos, and farmer’s markets.
The Chair coordinates with event sponsors to plan our attendance at events, coordinates and
schedules RMG volunteers, and organizes and maintains materials and displays for the events. RMG
volunteers staff a table of information and insect samples; they welcome and encourage members of
the public to engage on a wide range of topics concerning responsible gardening, composting, and
responsible pest management. Volunteers promote public awareness of RMG of MC and its in-
person services such as Helpline and soil test kits, its online resources such as the mgofmc.org and
the Rutgers NJAES websites, MEG, and the events sponsored by our Master Gardeners organization.
2016 Accomplishments:
• 12 Events
• 44 individual RMGs volunteered—exact same number as last year
• 80 RMG volunteer signups
• 295.5 Helpline Hours
• 24 Mercer County Hours
• 3714 Public Contacts (some totals were not noted; so we had to estimate based on last years
numbers)
• Purchased tablecloth with logo
• Purchased new brochure rack
• Purchased magnifiers giveaways with logo and website printed on each.
• Purchased and incorporated the use of a cart and carrying case to improve/ease the
volunteer transport of Outreach materials.
• Transformed a few of BJB fact sheets into tri-fold brochures to better display.
2016 Community Outreach Annual Report 2
In 2016 the Community Outreach Committee participated in 12 events, a few less than 2015.
This year volunteer participation stayed the same as 2015 44 individual RMG volunteers.
Outreach Committee volunteers earned 295.5 Helpline hours, and 24 Mercer County hours for
transport and set up. 3714 public contacts were estimated in 2016—Lower because of having to
estimate due to lack of recording of total numbers after event 2014
Goals for 2017: word out about the outreach events to both the public
and other MG’s.
To have a presence at 12 or so community events
continue to promote public awareness of Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County and the
services which we provide to the public.
To replace tent canopy with canopy with MGofMC logo.
To add a back tent wall with our logo to make us more public.
To again purchase RMG-imprinted magnifiers as give-aways
Resources Committee
Community Outreach Summary 2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 3
Event Date # MGs
Helpline Hours
County Hours (trans-port)
Total Hours
Contacts
Living Local Expo - Lawrenceville
Sat. 3/19 6 18 2 20 182
Communiversity – Princeton
Sun. 4/17 10 40 2 42.00 884
Azalea Festival – Hamilton
Sun. 5/10 9 33.5 2 35.5 473
Pennington Day - Pennington
Sat. 5/21 7 29 2 31 298
Robbinsville Community Fair - R’ville
Sat. 6/11 5 18.5 2 19.5 198
Farmer’s Market - West Windsor
Sat. 6/25 4 12.5 2 14.5 132
Farmer’s Market - West Windsor
Sat. 7/22 7 18 2 20 71
4-H Fair - Howell Living History Farm-Hopewell Twp.
Sat./Sun. 7/30-7/31
13 59 2 61 553
Butterfly Festival - S-M Watershed Pennington
Sat. 8/13 6 18.5 2 20.5 385
Hopewell Harvest Fair - Hopewell
Sat. 9/24 7 24 2 26 298
Lawrence Community Day – L’ville (cancelled by twp)
Sun. 10/2 4 16 2 18 105
Cow Parade and Bonfire-Cherry Grove Farm-Lawrence
Sat 11/5 2 8.5 2 10.5 135
Totals 12 80 295.5 24 318.50 3714
2017 Community Outreach Annual Report 1
RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
2017 Community Outreach Annual Report Submitted by Tara Miller
January 23, 2018
Committee Co-Chairs:
Linda Eyre and Tara Miller
Committee Members:
There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events.
Committee Description:
The Community Outreach Committee Chair plans the Community Outreach event participation
calendar for the coming year; events are typically community festivals, expos, and farmer’s markets.
The Chair coordinates with event sponsors to plan our attendance at events, coordinates and
schedules RMG volunteers, and organizes and maintains materials and displays for the events. RMG
volunteers staff a table of information and insect samples; they welcome and encourage members of
the public to engage on a wide range of topics concerning responsible gardening, composting, and
responsible pest management. Volunteers promote public awareness of RMG of MC and its in-
person services such as Helpline and soil test kits, its online resources such as the mgofmc.org and
the Rutgers NJAES websites, MEG, and the events sponsored by our Master Gardeners organization.
2017 Accomplishments:
• 13 Events
• 38 individual RMGs volunteered—
• 77 RMG volunteer signups
• 268.75 Helpline Hours
• 24 Mercer County Hours
• 3429 Public Contacts
• Purchased new tent with logo
• Purchased magnifiers giveaways with logo and website printed on each.
2017 Community Outreach Annual Report 2
In 2017 the Community Outreach Committee participated in 13 events, a few less than 2016.
We adjusted the amount of volunteer participation realizing that at several events we had an over
abundant of volunteers for the event, But still had 33 individual RMG volunteers.
Outreach Committee volunteers earned 268.75 Helpline hours, and 24 Mercer County hours for
transport and set up. 3429 public contacts in 2017
Goals for 2018:
Work with Publicity committee to get the word out about the outreach events to both the public
and other MG’s.
To have a presence more community events
To continue to promote public awareness of Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County and the
services which we provide to the public.
To again purchase RMG-imprinted magnifiers as give-aways
To continue to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials, working with Information
Resources Committee
Community Outreach Summary 2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 3
Event Date #MGs
HelplineHours
CountyHours(trans-port)
TotalHours
Contacts
MercerGreenFest -Lawrenceville
Sat. 3/18 7 18 2 20 107
Communiversity –Princeton
Sun. 4/30 5 16 2 18 600
AzaleaFestival –Hamilton
Sun. 5/14 6 23.5 2 25.5 450
Pennington Day -Pennington
Sat. 5/20 5 21 2 23 240
PrincetonFarmersMarket,Princeton
06/08/17 6 18 2 20 81
RobbinsvilleCommunity Fair -R’ville
Sat. 6/10 5 13.0 2 15. 223
4-H Fair -HowellLivingHistoryFarm-HopewellTwp.
Sat./Sun.7/29-7/30
15 54 2 56 481
ButterflyFestival -S-MWatershedPennington
Sat. 8/12 5 23.0 2 225 379
Pennington FarmersMarket,RosedaleMills
09/22/17 4 13.5 2 15.5 103
PrincetonFarmersMarket,Princeton
09/21/07 4 11.25 2 3.25 100
HopewellHarvestFair -Hopewell
Sat. 9/23 8 30.5 2 32.5 320
LawrenceCommunity Day –L’ville
Sun. 10/1 3 13.5 2 15.5 170
CowParadeandBonfire-CherryGroveFarm-Lawrence
Sat 11/4 4 13.5 2 15.5 175
Totals 13 77 268.75 24 229.75 3429
2018 Community Outreach Annual Report 1
RUTGERS MASTER GARDENERS OF MERCER COUNTY
2018 Community Outreach Annual Report Submitted by Tara Miller
January 12, 2018
Committee Co-Chairs:
Linda Eyre/ Jessica Irons and Tara Miller Committee Members:
There are no standing Committee members; MGs volunteer for specific outreach events.
Committee Description:
The Community Outreach Committee Chair plans the Community Outreach event participation
calendar for the coming year; events are typically community festivals, expos, and farmer’s markets.
The Chair coordinates with event sponsors to plan our attendance at events, coordinates and
schedules RMG volunteers, and organizes and maintains materials and displays for the events. RMG
volunteers staff a table of information and insect samples; they welcome and encourage members of
the public to engage on a wide range of topics concerning responsible gardening, composting, and
responsible pest management. Volunteers promote public awareness of RMG of MC and its in-person services such as Helpline and soil test kits, its online resources such as the mgofmc.org and
the Rutgers NJAES websites, MEG, and the events sponsored by our Master Gardeners organization.
Other Notes: Linda Eyre resigned from co-chair (she moved out of state); and Jessica Irons was
selected to replace Linda as Co-chair.
2018 Accomplishments:
• 15 Events
• 39 individual RMGs volunteered—
• 68 RMG volunteer signups
• 220.5 Gardencore Hours
• 24 Mercer County Hours
• 2264 Public Contacts
•
2018 Community Outreach Annual Report 2
In 2018 the Community Outreach Committee participated in 15 events..
We had 39 individual RMG volunteers.
Outreach Committee volunteers earned 220.5 Garden Core hours, and 24 Mercer County hours
for transport and set up. 2264 public contacts in 2018. The weather was horrible for events this past summer. It rained for many of the events which contributed to low event attendance and therefore
low public contacts
Goals for 2018:
Work with Publicity committee to get the word out about the outreach events to both the public
and other MG’s.
To have a presence more community events
To continue to promote public awareness of Rutgers Master Gardeners of Mercer County and the
services which we provide to the public.
To again purchase RMG-imprinted magnifiers as give-aways
To continue to ensure the timeliness and quality of our materials, working with Information
Resources Committee
Community Outreach Summary 2015 Community Outreach Annual Report 3
Event Date # MGs
Helpline Hours
County Hours (trans-port)
Total Hours
Contacts
Mercer Green Fest - Lawrenceville
Sat. 3/18 6 19 2 21
183
Mother Nature Festival
Sat 05/12 5 15 2 17 42
Communiversity – Princeton
Sun. 5/29 Data wasn’t recorded
Azalea Festival – Hamilton
Sun. 5/13 5 14 2 16 247
Pennington Day - Pennington
Sat. 5/19 4 16 2 18 200
Robbinsvill e Community Fair - R’ville
Sat. 6/9 5 14.5 2 16.5 124
Princeton Farmers Market
06/14 4 14 2 16 54
West Windsor Farmers Market
06/30 5 7.5 2.0 9.5 48
Pennington Farmers Market
07/08/ 4 14 2.0 16 61
WW Farmers Market
07/14 5 13 2 15 121
4-H Fair - Howell Living History Farm-Hopewell Twp.
Sat. 7/28
6 19 2 21 337
4-H Fair - Howell Living History Farm-Hopewell Twp.
Sun 7/29 4 17 2 19 303
Butterfly Festival - S-M Watershed Pennington
Sat. 8/4 3 12.5 2 14.5 300
Hopewell Harvest Fair - Hopewell
Sat. 9/22 5 24 2 26 188
Lawrence Community Day – L’ville
Sun. 10/7 1 4.0 2.0 6.0 56
Totals 15 68 220.00 24 231.5 2264
2264