Volunteer Projects

Projects that benefit the community will count as Volunteer Service Hours. The hours engaged in these Projects through planning, researching, educating and working on them count as volunteer hours.

New and additional projects are welcomed.

Beautification of Outagamie County

MGVs maintain gardens and landscaping in ongoing beautification projects and protection of the environment. These projects enhance visual aesthetics and add value to the landscape, and are a chance to educate the public on plant care, selection and identification.

• Black Creek Post Office – Teresa Riehl •  Refresh the PO with seasonal annuals and tend to the perennials.

• Black Creek Veterans’ Memorial – Teresa Riehl •  Maintain existing perennial plantings and add a ton of red geraniums. 

• Erb Park – Jim Case •  

• Habitat for Humanity – Sue Mings  •  Rock the Block is a part of Habitat for Humanity established to revitalize existing neighborhoods in the Fox Valley. Master Gardeners are needed to help plan, plant, and teach homeowners how to care for their plants. 

• Hortonville Memorial Square – Holly Boettcher  •   Landscape and maintain the Hortonville Memorial Square.

• Outagamie Discovery Garden – Deanna Vanden Heuvel & Donna Nett-Heus •  Establish and maintain permanent gardens on the UW Extension grounds, open to the public to showcase our talents.

• Scheig Center Gardens – Lucy Valitchka  •   Assist with maintenance and development of new and established landscape gardens at the Scheig Center Gardens.

• The Marigold Mile – Mike Turner  •  Plant and maintain the curbside marigold edging along South Oneida Street curb and other areas of Appleton.

• Thousand Islands – Maureen Feldt – Utilize MG knowledge to help keep gardens healthy and free of invasives.  Butterfly Garden helps with pollination and bee hives on property.

• Town of Neenah – Colleen Reed  •  Maintain the small garden for people traveling on the CB trail to relax on a bench or just enjoy the garden.

• UW – Fox Cities Landscaping – Rose Marie Lewis – Design, plant and maintain several raised flower beds and containers for appearance and teaching of visiting youth and community.

• Wild Ones Center – Janet Carlson  •  The Center consists of rain gardens, native flower beds, a prairie/pollinator garden, and a woodland restoration, marsh and lakeshore areas.  Master Gardener Volunteers can help plant, maintain, and weed.  

• Volunteer Hours can be earned at other Public Gardens, Nature Centers, Schools and Churches throughout Wisconsin.

Increasing Food Security

MGVs work to address food insecurity through gardening, to help families gain knowledge and skills to grow some of their own food, and make direct donations to food pantries and other organizations.

• Harvest for Hunger – Raise and donate produce in your own garden for local food pantries serving the homeless and hungry.   

• Riverview Gardens – Maureen Flanagan-Johnson  •   Help with teaching of basic gardening skills for a non-profit job training program for people in need.

Education of Community

MGVs educate the public on various gardening topics through presentations, articles, and answering specific questions. Time spent on research, preparation, and presentation, all count as Volunteer Hours.

• Appleton Farm Market – Jay Klavetter •  The MGVs staff a booth to meet the community and help people. Information provided to the public at the booth is based largely on UWX information.

• Gardener SOS – Tom Wentzel • Answer gardening questions submitted through e-mail by the public and Master Gardeners.

• Master Gardener Presents – Tom Wentzel  •   A series of horticulturally related presentations open to the public and presented virtually through the Appleton and Kimberly Libraries. 

• OCMGA Garden Conference – Anne Van Handel •  Every spring the Outagamie County Master Gardeners Association hosts an educational day for the membership and the public.

• OCMGA Garden Walk – Barb Fetterolf •  The focus of the Garden Walk is education for the public and showcases interesting area gardens.

• OCMGA Plant Sale & Expo – Jaci Micke and Sue Turner •  The Garden Plant Sale & Expo is our largest fund-raising event each year, and it requires hours of work from our volunteers.

• Outagamie County Fair: MG Booth – Jay Klavetter •  Opportunity to meet the public, share horticultural information, answer questions, and connect with youth to increase their interest in plants.

• Contribute to OCMGA Blog, Facebook, or Newsletter

• Make a presentation at a public venue on horticulture, landscaping, etc.  Preparation and presentation time count for Volunteer Hours.  No financial remuneration may be received. 

Youth Education

• Columbus School Garden – •  The Columbus/ABS Teaching Gardens are place where students can grow a garden, harvest, and use vegetables. Classroom lessons are conducted teaching plant parts, plant identification, plant care, and more.

• Conservation Field Days – Cathy Scott •  Volunteers escort students around the course to 9 different stations including Water, Conservation Technology, Woods, Pond & Wildlife, Food Production, Soils, Gardens & Pollinators, Recycling and Composting.

• Kaleidoscope Academy Learning Garden – Jim Case • On school property, students, staff, neighbors and volunteers work together from soil prep to harvest and proposed use of produce in culinary kitchen. Vegetables. Herbs, annuals and perennials are grown. Project development, offering creative input and next generation mentoring is done by MG Volunteers.

New and additional projects are always welcomed.  Service hours are earned through Projects by planning, researching, maintaining, recruiting, presenting, or any other horticultural needs.  

Submission of a New project to be added to the ORS database is through a New Project Form