The WCMGA DEI Committee is a group of Washington County Master Gardeners who are working to help the chapter grow our efforts in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We developed the WCMGA land acknowledgment that is read at chapter meetings and is posted at both our demonstration gardens, as well as accessibility and inclusivity assessments for our public events and volunteers. (Accessibility and Inclusivity assessments available below.) We planned and staffed a Master Gardener booth at the 2024 Hillsboro Pride Party and are working towards having a presence at diverse Washington County events in the future.

We meet in person at the Washington County OSU Extension Office on the second Tuesday of each month from 10am to 11am. We invite WCMGA members to join us! Allies welcome!!

Please contact Larina Hoffbeck at hoffbeck@frontier.com for more information.

Check out Food Hero!!

Another great OSU Extension Resource

Food Hero is here for you!

Whether you are a new or experienced gardener or cook, Food Hero has resources for everyone. You’ll find…

Healthy recipes that are tasty, quick, easy and low-cost.
Gardening tips that are simple, timely and low-cost.
Resources that celebrate diverse foods and cultures.
Food Hero Monthly with tips about featured foods.
Seasonal blog posts on nutrition and gardening topics
All information is available in Spanish and in English.
Find Food Hero in your community!

Food Hero’s mission is to help low-income Oregonians improve their health by increasing their consumption of fruits and vegetables. Food Hero is a multi-channel social marketing campaign which aims to meet our goals through work at the direct education level as well as work at the policy, systems and environment levels.

WCMGA and OSU Extension DEI forms and resources:

WCMGA Public Event Accessibility and Inclusivity Assessment WCMGA Volunteer Accessibility and Inclusivity Assessment An Introduction to Inclusive Excellence in Extension (Free online course available on demand to OSU Extension volunteers)

Growing Your Own promotional flyer (English)Su Propio Cultivo promotional flyer (Spanish)Gardens are for Everyone: Ideas for Accessible Gardening

Statewide Growing and Belonging Committee Information:

The Culture of Gardening : The voices of gardeners growing plants to connect with their heritage, culture, and identity

How's the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Going? : Introducing the Growing and Belonging Committee

Links to outside organization information and resources:

The QUARTUX Journal : Critical Indigenous Perspectives This is Kalapuyan Land/5 Oaks Museum: A declaration of perpetual stewardship by the Kalapuyan people Land Grab Universities : How the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land The Confluence Project

Disability Sensitivity Training Video (Links to dcGovernment Youtube)Eliminating Microaggressions: The Next Level of Inclusion (9-minute video)Centro Cultural de Washington County - educational and cultural center in Cornelius that offers aid and other services to Latinos Adelante Mujeres (Forest Grove) - offers Latina women and their families holistic programs and the tools to achieve self-determination in the areas of education, leadership training, and enterprise OSU Smallfarms - Black and Brown Farmers of Color in Oregon Feed'em Freedom Foundation - creating educational pipelines to agriculture for Black and BIPOC youth, Land Stewardship, Regional Food Security response, and economic prosperity as a means of gaining sovereignty for Black Oregonians.

WCMGA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Food Hero is here for you!