Field Day at Rogers Farm Demonstration Garden, special invitation to all Master Gardeners

University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will celebrate the growing season with a Field Day from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8 at the Rogers Farm Demonstration Garden, 914 Bennoch Rd., Old Town.

Field Day participants will enjoy workshops, demonstrations, children’s activities and homemade food. Featured speaker Matt Dunlap plans to share cooking tips on using culinary herbs. Youth will enjoy botanical crafts and garden scavenger hunts. Ongoing demonstrations throughout the garden will allow visitors the opportunity to pick up tips from area experts on improving soil quality, protecting beneficial insect habitat, raising chickens and more.

“We’d like to extend a special invitation to all past and current Master Gardeners to join the fun this year,” says UMaine Extension horticulturist Kate Garland. “Countless gardeners have participated in the Master Gardener program since Maine adopted the training in 1982. Our hope is to reconnect with past trainees to celebrate the tremendous impact these folks have had in their communities over the years.”

Last year, 1,030 UMaine Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs) gave nearly 39,000 hours for educational and food security projects. MGVs supported 79 community gardens, 45 school gardens, 53 demonstration gardens and 34 programs involving 7,054 youth in horticulture activities; and MGVs distributed 213,770 pounds of food to 130 food distribution agencies and countless neighbors in need as part of the Maine Harvest for Hunger program.

This family-friendly event is free and open to the public and will be held rain or shine. No registration is required. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Kate Garland, katherine.garland@maine.edu; 207.942.7396.