Maine School Garden Network

### Context Profile for Maine School Garden Network

1. **Organization Mission & Cause**:
   - The Maine School Garden Network (MSGN) is dedicated to supporting and promoting school gardens across Maine. Their mission is to connect children with nature and the food system through hands-on gardening experiences. They aim to foster environmental stewardship, healthy eating habits, and community engagement among students and educators.

2. **Type of Activities**:
   - MSGN organizes various activities, including:
     - **Workshops**: Educational sessions for teachers and students on gardening techniques, ecological practices, and integrating gardening into the curriculum.
     - **Annual Meetings**: Events that bring together the school garden community for networking, sharing experiences, and celebrating achievements.
     - **Community Programs**: Initiatives that encourage schools to develop and maintain gardens, providing resources and support.
     - **Fundraising Campaigns**: Events like potluck dinners and door prize giveaways to support their programs and initiatives.

3. **Tone of Voice**:
   - The tone of MSGN’s communications is friendly, inspiring, and engaging. They use inclusive language that encourages participation and community building. The content is accessible and designed to motivate educators and community members to get involved in gardening initiatives.

4. **Emoji Usage**:
   - MSGN uses emojis sparingly but effectively in their communications. For example, they include a location pin emoji (📍) in their email reminders to highlight event locations. This adds a friendly touch without overwhelming the message.

5. **Key Facts**:
   - **Founding Info**: MSGN was established to enhance educational opportunities through gardening in schools.
   - **Scale**: The organization has a growing network of school gardens across Maine, impacting numerous students and educators.
   - **Impact Metrics**: While specific metrics are not detailed on the website, the emphasis on community engagement and educational workshops suggests a significant positive impact on local schools.
   - **Volunteer Info**: Volunteers are likely involved in supporting garden initiatives, although specific details on volunteer opportunities are not provided on the website.

6. **Writing Guidelines**:
   - **Style**: Use a conversational and encouraging tone. Aim to inspire action and participation.
   - **Structure**: Keep content clear and organized, using headings and bullet points for easy reading.
   - **Language**: Use simple, relatable language that resonates with educators and community members. Avoid jargon unless it is commonly understood in the gardening community.
   - **Call to Action**: Include clear calls to action in communications, inviting readers to participate in events, workshops, or volunteer opportunities.

This context profile serves as a guide for creating personalized and effective content for the Maine School Garden Network, ensuring alignment with their mission, values, and communication style.

General admission

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Annual Meeting 2024: Harvest Homecoming<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Join us on Friday, November 8th at the Exhibition Hall on the MOFGA fairgrounds for a Harvest Homecoming afternoon and evening filled with insightful workshops, networking, MSGN's Annual Report and a potluck meal!<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">We will host two workshops equating to 2 contact hours for educators:<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">1. Fruit Tree Care with Students: C.J. will work with educators to discuss and demonstrate general fruit tree care that can be done in school environments and with students engaged in the majority of the orchard work.  He will cover fruit tree basics around soil building, fertility, pruning and shaping young trees.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">C.J. Walke (he/him), MOFGA's Orchard Program Manager, manages MOFGA's orchards in Unity, ME with help from a dedicated crew of seasonal staff and long-time volunteers.  C.J. has worked for MOFGA since 2006 and has been working with organic fruit trees the majority of that time.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">The Maine Heritage Orchard (MHO) is a 10-acre preservation and educational orchard that is home to over 360 varieties of apples and pears traditionally grown in Maine. The collection includes varieties from all 16 counties in Maine dating back as far as 1630.  <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">2. Preserving Demo: Join us for a food preservation workshop where we will go over the essentials of food preservation.  We will discuss what types of food can be done in different types of canners according to pH and temperatures.  An overview of favorite canning tools as well as tested recipes and reliable resources.  A recipe for low sugar blueberry jam will be demonstrated and samples will be available for tasting.  Time will be available for questions and an overview of properly storing your canned goods.   <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Laurie Bowen (she/her) is a Food Systems Professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and has been with the University since 2017.  She is also a Certified Master Food Preserver and ServSafe proctor and instructor.  Laurie provides food safety training and teaches hands-on food preservation for Penobscot, Piscataquis, Hancock, Waldo, Knox and Lincoln Counties.   <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">Following the workshops we will gather for a potluck meal. Guests are invited to bring a dish to share with the community. Please include a label with any allergens listed. We’ll present the MSGN Annual Report highlighting another great year, and guests will have a chance to win some fantastic door prizes.  MSGN will provide a main dish and attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share. We look forward to seeing you there!<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Jost, sans-serif;font-size:20px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial">For more information, email Rachel Solomon, Program Organizer at <a href="mailto:rachel@msgn.org" style="box-sizing:border-box;background:0px 0px;transition:0.1s ease-in-out;color:rgb(23, 114, 66);text-decoration:inherit;user-select:auto">rachel@msgn.org</a>

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip " fr-original-style style="background-color:rgb(248, 248, 255);border:1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255);border-radius:4px;color:rgb(42, 42, 196);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:1px 8px;font-size:11px;line-height:16px;overflow-wrap:anywhere;user-select:none;box-sizing:inherit">First name , Thank you for registering for Maine School Garden Network's Annual Meeting 2024. The event will be Friday November 8th at the MOFGA Fairgrounds from 2:00-6:30 pm. If you have any questions please reach out! Agenda: 2:00 pm: Guest Arrival and light snacks2:30-3:30 pm: “Fruit Tree Care with Students” workshop in Heritage Orchard with C.J. Walke4:00-5:00 pm: Preserving workshop in Exhibition Hall with Laurie Bowen5:15 pm: Serve potluck5:45-6:15 pm: Annual Report6:15 pm: Closing remarks, door prizes If you bring a dish to contribute to the potluck please include a serving utensil and a label of the dish with any allergens listed. See you there!Rachel Solomonrachel@msgn.org

<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">Annual Meeting 2024: Harvest Homecoming<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">Join us on Friday, November 8th at the Exhibition Hall on the MOFGA fairgrounds for a Harvest Homecoming afternoon and evening filled with insightful workshops, networking, MSGN's Annual Report and a potluck meal!<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">We will host two workshops equating to 2 contact hours for educators:<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">1. Fruit Tree Care with Students: C.J. will work with educators to discuss and demonstrate general fruit tree care that can be done in school environments and with students engaged in the majority of the orchard work.  He will cover fruit tree basics around soil building, fertility, pruning and shaping young trees.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">C.J. Walke (he/him), MOFGA's Orchard Program Manager, manages MOFGA's orchards in Unity, ME with help from a dedicated crew of seasonal staff and long-time volunteers.  C.J. has worked for MOFGA since 2006 and has been working with organic fruit trees the majority of that time.<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">The Maine Heritage Orchard (MHO) is a 10-acre preservation and educational orchard that is home to over 360 varieties of apples and pears traditionally grown in Maine. The collection includes varieties from all 16 counties in Maine dating back as far as 1630.  <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">2. Preserving Demo: Join us for a food preservation workshop where we will go over the essentials of food preservation.  We will discuss what types of food can be done in different types of canners according to pH and temperatures.  An overview of favorite canning tools as well as tested recipes and reliable resources.  A recipe for low sugar blueberry jam will be demonstrated and samples will be available for tasting.  Time will be available for questions and an overview of properly storing your canned goods.   <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">Laurie Bowen (she/her) is a Food Systems Professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and has been with the University since 2017.  She is also a Certified Master Food Preserver and ServSafe proctor and instructor.  Laurie provides food safety training and teaches hands-on food preservation for Penobscot, Piscataquis, Hancock, Waldo, Knox and Lincoln Counties.   <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">Following the workshops we will gather for a potluck meal. Guests are invited to bring a dish to share with the community. Please include a label with any allergens listed. We’ll present the MSGN Annual Report highlighting another great year, and guests will have a chance to win some fantastic door prizes.  MSGN will provide a main dish and attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share. We look forward to seeing you there!<p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%"> <p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 28px;padding:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;max-width:100%">For more information, email Rachel Solomon, Program Organizer at <a href="mailto:rachel@msgn.org">rachel@msgn.org</a>

Maine School Garden Network

Annual Meeting 2024

294 Crosby Brook Rd

General admission

Free