Congratulations to Carolyn Schmidt for passing the certification exam and becoming a full-fledged Master Gardener. The self study program for writing the certification exam requires dedication and perseverance. Carolyn worked hard and read all the additional material recommended in our study sessions. She passed the exam quite handily, which is no easy task.
We are delighted Carolyn is an official member of our team. She has extensive and detailed knowledge about native plants and pollinators. Carolyn has a fun-loving personality and a great sense of humour. She is very dedicated and always exceeds the required number of volunteer hours. Carolyn reads extensively, watches many webinars on native plants and is always up to date on the latest research. She keeps a cool head and is great at problem solving issues that arise within our group. We always enjoy seeing Carolyn’s cats on her lap during our Zoom meetings!
Krista MacMillan
Krista has been an enthusiastic and involved member of Tri-County Master Gardeners since 2023. She has completed all the required courses at the University of Guelph, as well as the additional courses to complete her Horticulture Diploma. In addition, she has taken extra landscape design courses at Guelph, making her a valuable member of our group.
Krista brings a fresh, young perspective to TCMG. She particularly enjoys the hands-on projects that we do and the many opportunities the Tri-County Master Gardeners offer to meet and chat with the public. She is always first to step up to be a part of these events. Krista has been active in helping keep our Facebook page current with interesting articles and information. Our Facebook followers have grown through her input.
Congratulations to Krista! She has completed her courses and two years of volunteer work making her a full-fledged, certified Master Gardener.
Master Gardeners in Training
Maureen Cocksedge
We are so very fortunate to have an MGiT like Maureen. She has extensive knowledge and experience in every aspect of gardening. Maureen is the current President of Garden Stratford and she has been a past president multiple times. Maureen knows almost everybody in the Stratford area and she is a wonderful resource for the Tri-County Master Gardeners, particularly in assisting us with planning events. Her organizational skills are impressive!
Maureen has a wealth of knowledge about native plants, as well as traditional horticulture plants. Over the years she has grown almost every plant you can think of in her own garden. Maureen has diligently attended our study sessions reviewing the Master Gardener Reference Manual. She plans to write the certification exam shortly and we are doing everything we can to support her in this endeavour. Maureen has many constructive ideas about how to revise the manual and the exam process. Her knowledge will be invaluable in future iterations of both the manual and the exam and we look forward to Maureen becoming a certified Tri-County Master Gardener.
Diana Reynolds
Diana is one of our new MGiTs. She is currently enrolled in the Plant Identification course at the University of Guelph, as part of the Master Gardener certificate program. Diana also participates in the Market Garden Masterclass through the Market Gardener Institute, where she learns about small scale organic farming.
Diana is interested in landscape gardening, organic horticulture, and vegetable growing, as well as soil health and ecological amendments. She experiments with vermiculture and the use of biodynamic fertilizers. Diana is busy planning the next crops to plant her backyard garden beds.
We are delighted to have Diana in our group! Through the mentoring of her fellow Tri-County Master Gardeners, Diana has been able to expand her knowledge of native and invasive plants. We are always willing to answer any of Diana’s questions and we know she will be an enthusiastic contributor who will help TCMGs grow in the future
