New Way to Register for Programs Through Eventbrite!

Announcing a new way to register for our educational programs and workshops! We are now using Eventbrite for our registration system.

You may now register for our programs through our wiki website. Payment for our programs can still be done via all methods of payment - by check, at the door, and now even by credit card, but online registration for our programs and workshops is highly recommended.

All major credit cards will be accepted via our secure online payment process. All processing is done through Paypal - an encrypted and secure processing service that has come to be a trusted leader in online payment solutions.

Welcome Our New Steering Member, Jay Bearfield

We would like to announce that Jay Bearfield is a new Steering Member to The Underground. Jay runs his own practice in Carlisle, MA called Liquid Landscape Designs specializing in natural and artistic water features. He is also our expert moderator for ponds and water features at our online forums, and he has been an active participant in The Underground. Jay's enthusiasm and support for our group has not gone unnoticed. We think Jay will make a wonderful addition to our management team and we would like welcome him as our newest member.

The Underground is an all volunteer based organization and we would welcome other members to join us in volunteering some time to help with educational programs, public relations, and more. If you would like to help, please contact us.

NE Grows Connections

It's the end of the second day at the New England Grows Conference and Expo and I've met some wonderful Underground members and potential members - so many very nice people. It's so great to finally be able to put faces with some of those email messages that have been posted on The Underground.

One person whom I met today was Ruth S. Foster, and she has generously offered to share her growing archive of online articles with our members. Feel free to download them and give them to your clients (with proper credit of course - see below).

Here is a brief bio that Ruth provided to let you know a bit more about herself. Ruth S. Foster is a landscape professional and arborist who also writes a lot and was garden columnist for the Boston Globe for 25 years. Her web site has unbiased, scientific information which can be downloaded and used or reprinted (free) as long as the web site is noted. Her web site is http://www.ruthsfoster.com or http://www.mothersgarden.net.

Wishing you all a great season ahead.
Bridget McManus
President, The Underground

Wiki Website No Longer Accessible

Based on feedback that we have gotten from many of our members about our wiki websites, we have made a few changes. We have eliminated the "Members Only" password protected "Notes from Underground" wiki. Many members were confused on how to log in, what the password was etc.

So this collaborative wiki website is no longer accessible (through The Underground wiki) or editable by our members. It is gone. All articles and information that resided on "Notes from Underground" have been moved to our online forums. We will continue to build content at our online forums.

The online forums are still private and password protected (to prevent spam from non-members) and we encourage those who register to use a password and ID that you will remember and keep a record of this somewhere where you can refer to it if necessary. We now have 88 registered members at the forums.

So with these changes we will no longer have a website that requires a member to log in. But we will still have sign in/log in requirements at our Yahoo group and online forums.

NE Grows Begins Tomorrow

This is a reminder to everyone to attend the upcoming New England Grows Conference and Expo February 6-8 at the at the Boston Convention & Expo Center. This is an event you should not miss!

For more information visit www.negrows.org
Don't forget to stop by and see us at our booth #2375.

We would also like to invite you to attend our member meet and greet at NE Grows on Wednesday 12:00-1:00 in room 204A. Bring your lunch and come and meet The Underground Steering members and hang out with your fellow colleagues.

Thank You to Former Steering Member, Mary Coyne

The Underground Steering Committee would like to thank Mary Coyne for her service as a Steering Committee member-at-large. Mary has been an invaluable member of our team and she will be missed. All our best wishes go out to her for a very successful career in landscape design.

With Mary's departure, the Steering Committee is looking for a few more people to join our team and help us to organize and lead - The Underground.

We have a host of ideas for professional programs, tours, roundtable discussions, collaborative efforts etc. that we would like to be able to offer to our members. But as you all know it takes time and volunteers to make it all happen. We believe that The Underground has great potential to become a networking force and vehicle for learning. So won't you join us to make it happen?

The time commitment involved for a steering member would primarily be during the off season (fall, winter and early spring) months and the term for remaining on the committee would be approximately 2 years depending on your willingness to continue according to the rules as set forth in our bylaws. You would be expected to participate in steering meetings (held in the Boston Metrowest area) which are held periodically throughout the year as determined by the committee - approximately 6-8 times per year as well as participate in online email discussions about relevant issues that may arise. Most of the day to day business is done via email.

Together we can make The Underground a huge success! If you are interested in joining our Steering Committee please contact us.

Join Professed Plant Junkie On the Forums

Join professed plant junkie and phyto-nerd, Russell Stafford, for interesting discussions on anything and everything about plants. Russell has recently posted a welcome message and suggested discussion topics to get the conversation started!

Join all our experts for information on specific topics of interest at our online forums at http://z9.invisionfree.com/theundergrnd/index.php

While you are there don't forget to pop in to visit our other experts in residence and ask your topic specific questions.

Do you have a specialty or area of expertise? Then why not join our lineup of expert moderators on The Underground Forums? We would welcome your participation. If you are interested please send email.