Our Organic Master Gardeners play a vital role in our communities, sharing our knowledge and experience through volunteer efforts that seek to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of organic methods and sustainable practices. At the same time, we are dedicated to exploring meaningful ways of offering hands-on help and support to our neighborhoods and communities at large, not only as they transition to organic methods, but also looking ahead to that time when taking care of our environment is not viewed merely as the responsible option, but as a matter of course.

It's all very exciting - there's so much to learn, so much to do - and it's all positive! If you share our passion for organic gardening and are interested in joining our efforts, the next Organic Master Gardener Course will be offered in Fall 2009. In the meantime, SOUL Vancouver’s OMG Volunteers are already hard at work, leading the way in a number of activities grouped under the three main category headings listed below.

Conservation Projects

Our Organic Master Gardeners are involved in a number of projects and activities that are aligned with the goal of protecting, preserving, managing and restoring our environment and natural resources. Through our Invasive Plants Removal and Habitat Restoration Program we are able to raise awareness about the activities of various environmental stewardship programs in our area while at the same time providing a means of lending our volunteer efforts directly to these activities.

We have also established our own Wildlife Garden Project, an ongoing collaborative effort with the Wildlife Rescue Association to reclaim and rejuvenate its wildlife garden at the Rescue Center in Burnaby.

Whether it’s watershed protection, invasive plants removal, or creating or restoring habitats for salmon, birds, bees and other wildlife, the range of opportunities in our program for contributing in a hands-on way to the ecological welfare of our environment is nearly limitless…and still growing.

Upcoming Activities:

• The Wildlife Garden Project will be holding regular volunteer days on the Second Saturday of every month, from 10am - 1pm. For more information on the project, or to sign up as a volunteer, contact Wildlife Garden Project Coordinators Irmgard and Donna at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Food Security and Urban Agriculture

With food security an issue of grave concern worldwide and food growing finding increasing popularity among urban gardeners, this category of volunteering is about supporting and encouraging local solutions to a global problem. This is an area of opportunity that we expect to undergo significant expansion over the next several months; nonetheless, our OMGers are already engaged in sharing their knowledge and experience of organic food growing in a significant number of ways in our communities.

Information and guidance, as well as creative demonstrations related to organic gardening, are the key offerings we provide via the community education tables that we host every year at area Farmers Markets.

Many of our OMGers are also heavily involved in Community Gardens, offering their skills and expertise to broaden awareness and encourage the use of organic gardening techniques in these settings, as well as in similar situations such as at schools, senior centers, hospitals and other venues where organic gardening methods are taught and practiced.

Upcoming Events:

• TBA

Sustainable Living and Urban Land Care

Driving our participation in the activities that fall under this heading is the role our Organic Master Gardeners assume as ecological advocates with a responsibility to inform, educate and convince land care professionals and the general public about the importance of sustainability. Through regular participation in a wide range of Informational Events, such as at trade shows, conferences, conventions, festivals, etc., our volunteers are regularly on-hand to provide information about organic practices, resources for continuing education in areas of organic gardening and ecological landscape design, and practical solutions for achieving sustainable living.

Working with various organizations to promote Pesticide- and Herbicide-Free Communities is another essential component of our volunteer efforts in this area; as is organizing Work Parties to lend hands-on gardening assistance to neighborhood and community efforts that are making a commitment to implementing organic methods.

In Summer of 2010, we also hope to begin highlighting the efforts of individuals in our local area whose gardens exemplify the use of organic gardening practices and ecological design in what we anticipate will be an annual Organic Gardens Tour.

Upcoming Informational Events:

• TBA

Continuing Education

As graduates of the Organic Master Gardeners basic course, all of our Organic Master Gardeners benefit from the instruction and hands-on experience they have gained over the course of this intensive 8-week/16-session program that focuses on the importance of the soil in plant health. With this solid foundation in the principles of organic gardening, our OMGers are well-prepared with fundamental knowledge and inspired with enthusiasm as they enter our OMG Volunteer Program.

Along with the 10 volunteer hours per year that each Organic Master Gardener is asked to give back to our communities by sharing our organic gardening skills and knowledge, SOUL Vancouver’s OMGers are also strongly encouraged to attend or participate in a minimum of 12 hours of continuing education per year on garden or gardening-related topics. Ideally, organic gardening would be the focus, but the ultimate goal is to encourage our OMGers to continue to build upon their own foundation of gardening knowledge and expand the nature of their experience.

OMG Forms and Other Downloadable Information (all in PDF format)

OMG Record of Volunteer Hours form (revised, April 2009)
OMG Volunteer Project Proposal form (revised, April 2009)
2009 SOUL Vancouver OMG Volunteer Program Guidelines (Coming Soon!)
Wildlife Garden Project Monthly News (September 2009 edition)