February 2025 Monthly Meeting Recap
- Mar 9
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 12
The February monthly meeting was held via Zoom from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. Watching the recording of this meeting can be counted as 2 hours of Continuing Education. (Find the recording in the Archives of the Monthly Meeting page.)
RCMG Board Announcements
Kay Wimer, Chair, reported that the 2024 Audit will be presented at the March meeting.
Kay shared that the nonprofit corporation’s Bylaws allow for the appointment of new board positions as needed. The Board has created a new committee, the Finance Committee, and appointed Laura Savin as chair.
Kristina Hughes, Treasurer, presented the nonprofit corporation’s 2024 Financial Summary and the 2025 Budget. Here are the highlights: (See the recording of the meeting for details.)
Where the money came from in 2024: Plant Sale is the largest revenue source at $37,199.67. Total income was $70,729.34.
How the funds were spent in 2024: The largest expense was for the plant sale at $18,147.23. Total expense was $46,651.73.
Total assets of the RCMG as of 12/31/2024 were $141,359.09.
The budget for 2025 is as follows: Income -- $66,155 and Expense -- $65,586.
Questions: Contact Kristina Hughes, Treasurer, kristinahughesrcmg@gmail.com.
New this year: There is a finance manager just for the plant sale. The treasurer would also like project leaders to let her know what they need and to encourage them to spend the money they do have in their budgets.
Project Updates
Plant Sale – Molly O’Rourke
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044CAEA62DAA8-52938626-grow#/.
The purpose of the plant sale is to help ensure that the Master Gardener Volunteer Program of Ramsey County has the resources to be healthy and sustainable as it educates and supports residents in horticultural and related activities.
The Plant Sale is the major fundraiser for the organization.
The goals of the plant sale are to:
Raise funds.
Inspire people to garden.
Build community among RCMG members, great way to meet folks.
Provide quality plants and make available a broader range of plants to the
Community.
Provide educational opportunities for members and residents.
Provide accessible volunteer hours to our members.
Build connections with the broader community and increase the visibility of the Master Gardener Program.
The sale will be on Saturday, May 17th, 9 to 2 at Aldrich Arena, 1850 White Bear Avenue
Set up will be Thursday and Friday, May 15th and 16th.
Sign up requests have already gone out for growing plants. More sign up requests will be forthcoming, likely in April and early May.
This year’s sale will include more plants, both vendor-purchased and master gardener grown. Last year was the first time in Aldrich Arena. This location functioned much better than the previous location. Teams are developing plans to make further improvements.
Orchard at Ramsey County Correctional Facility – Dawn Cameron
This is a new project. Last year volunteers harvested apples and pears and delivered them to food shelves and community organizations.
Madeline Wimmer will be offering an online pruning workshop on February 24th. There is currently a waiting list for the Feb. 28th in-person training.
Inventory Project – Niki Blue
Project leads are still responding to a survey on supplies used and owned by RCMG.
The Project Catalog is being updated for 2025. Project leaders will be receiving an email asking for an updated description of their project and photos illustrating activities. In addition, each project will have a short description of what a volunteer shift looks like.
Darren Lochner's Coordinator Updates
Updates from the State MG Program (See the February newsletter from Tim Kenny for more details.)
The State Master Gardener Program Conference is June 27-28.
The core course is available to all Master Gardeners. Refer to the January newsletter for access.
The Master Gardener volunteer discount to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is MG2025.
The State Master Gardener Program database is being upgraded to Better Impact Program. Volunteers will use this to record volunteer and continuing education hours. It will be available March 2025. The state office is looking for volunteers to assist with onboarding.
Messages from RCMG
Refer to the RCMG newsletter and the website for details.
Updates are being made to the 2026 Directory. Please complete the Skills and Interests survey.
The Project Fair will be March 27th at the Roseville Skating Center.
There are surplus items in the Resource Center (formerly Diagnostic Center) that need to go to new homes. Contact Darren ASAP if interested.
The Program Coordinator office hours are Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in person and Thursdays, noon-1 p.m. on Zoom.
The RCMG Award and Recognition Event will be March 2nd at the Roseville Skating Center. From 12 noon to 3 p.m.
New volunteer opportunities include:
The Lawn Leaders Program with the U of M Turfgrass Science Center.
Volunteer Tour Guides for youth at the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory.
Darren encouraged MGs to follow RCMG on social media:
Program – Michelle Bruhn, Companion Planting from the Ground Up
Gene Ranieri introduced Michelle Bruhn. She is a Ramsey County Master Gardener, a regenerative farmer, an author, and resident of White Bear Lake. Her presentation focused on growing gardens we want to spend time living in. She discussed using companion planting, interplanting, guilds, and the ecosystem to build healthier soil, suppress weeds, balance pests and diseases, attract more beneficial insects, and increase harvests. Her presentation and answers to questions in the chat are recorded and can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ws0wViae-12lPElwJLF7KpeJjEcreh5g/view.
Recap provided by Diana Rankin
RCMG Volunteer
