WCMGA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee - Washington County Master Gardener Association

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 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.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vocabulary

October, 2024: Micro-affirmations

“Small actions that can clear the way for opportunity, gestures of inclusion and caring, and graceful acts of listening. Mary Rowe, who coined the term micro-affirmations, defined them as small acts that foster inclusion, listening, comfort, and support for people who may feel isolated or invisible in an environment.”

– https://hr.cornell.edu/culture/inclusion-belonging/learning-and-development/dei-glossary

The members of the WCMGA DEI committee recognize that the terms and phrases used when discussing topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may be unfamiliar or confusing to many people. Definitions may also change over time. Since gardening is for everyone, we’d like to help foster understanding of DEI vocabulary with our members and other readers of Chapter Chat and the WCMGA website.

We hope you’ll check back each month for new words and phrases as well as examples of how Master Gardeners can incorporate these concepts into our work with the public and with our own members.

Some ways you can start practicing micro-affirmations:

Learn people’s names and how to pronounce them.
Practice active listening by using eye contact, open body posture, summarizing statements, and/or asking qualifying questions to ensure understanding.
Invite someone to speak and share their expertise.
Acknowledge and apply how others speak about their identity.
Put away your phone while talking with someone.
Give your undivided presence.

Other resources for learning about micro-affirmations:

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.