The Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Program

Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; Jewel E Hairston, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg.

Contact: Stacey Smith, Publicity FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association 540-481-3967 | NSVMGApublicity@gmail.com

Master Gardeners Host Shenandoah Valley Gardening Symposium SHENANDOAH VALLEY, VA (February 8, 2016) – The Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association holds its Gardening in the Valley Symposium, an all-day educational program for home gardeners, on Saturday, March 12, 2016, at Shenandoah University's Hester Auditorium in Winchester, Virginia. This event is open to the public as well as to Master Gardener Volunteers, and all proceeds go towards a scholarship fund for local high school and college students. The Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association’s (NSVMGA) Gardening in the Shenandoah Valley Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, 2016, with check-in beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration is $55 and includes a barbecue lunch and entry for several door prizes. Space is limited, and preregistration is encouraged. The location for the event is again the Hester Auditorium at Henkel-Harris Hall on the Shenandoah University Campus, 1460 University Drive, Winchester, Virginia. Free parking is available at the hall, as well as in the nearby covered parking deck. This educational event is open to all. The speakers include Kim Strader of the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm, Mary Stickley-Godinez of Countryside Nurseries, Gail Rose of Deauville Farm, and Rob Morrison of the USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station. They will discuss topics such as native plants, apples, soils, and insect ID & management. For more information or to register, please visit the NSVMGA website at http://nsvmga.org/projects/garden-symposium/ or call event contact Karen Brill at 540-535-1588. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services, or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact Mark Sutphin, Frederick County Extension, at (540) 665-5699/TDD (800) 828-1120 during business hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event. The Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association (www.nsvmga.org) serves the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren. Extension Master Gardeners are volunteer educators who work within their communities to encourage and promote environmentally sound horticulture practices through sustainable landscape management, education, and training. As an educational program of Virginia Cooperative Extension, Extension Master Gardeners bring the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, to the people of the commonwealth. ##

Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association Presents a Symposium at

Shenandoah University – Hester Auditorium1460 University Drive, Winchester, Virginia

Saturday, March 12, 2016

GARDENING IN THE VALLEY ~Symposium~

• 8:30 a.m. Registration • 9:00 a.m. Welcome • 9:20 a.m. “There’s a Native Plant for That!” Kim Strader, Native Plant Specialist, State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm, Boyce, Virginia • 10:15 a.m. Break• 10:30 a.m. “Soil is Alive!” Gail Rose, Owner/Manager Deauville Farm, Basye, Virginia• 11:15 a.m. Old-Fashioned Barbecue Luncheon & Visit with Speakers• 12:30 p.m. “The Incredible Edible Apple” Mary Stickley-Godinez, Owner/Manager Countryside Nurseries, Crimora, Virginia• 1:15 p.m. Break• 1:30 p.m. “Insect ‘Friends’ and ‘Foes’: Identifying and Managing Them in the Shenandoah Valley” Rob Morrison, Researcher, USDA-ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, West Virginia• 2:15 p.m. Drawings fo p

All proceeds benefit the NSVMGA Scholarship Fund for local high school and college students.To learn more, visit http://nsvmga.org/projects/garden-symposium/ or call Karen Brill at (540) 535-1588.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:

Name: ________________________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _______________________________________________

Registration is $55 and is nonrefundable. • Lunch and raffle tickets for door prizes are included.Please make checks payable to NSVMGA and mail with registration form

by February 26th to:Lee Demko, Treasurer, NSVMGA, 186 Meadow Trace Lane, Middletown, VA 22645