Cedar Baptist Church, 3932 Bell Road in Dillwyn, invites everyone to join them Sunday, beginning at 12:30 p.m. for their annual Harvest Festival. There will be hot dogs, soups, a cakewalk, as well as fun and games for all ages. Please join them for the fun and the fellowship.

Perhaps you have not yet signed up for Buckingham County’s emergency notification system. The system has recently been revamped. To ensure that you will receive the notifications that can warn you of emergencies in the county, you will need to visit the website at http://www.buckinghamcountyva.org and sign up. Even if you had registered in the past, you will need to sign up again. If you need assistance with signing up, please call (434) 969-4242 during business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Please note, if you do not sign up for the service, you will no longer receive notifications from the Buckingham County Alert System.

The VA Cooperative Extension has announced the October 2016 edition of the Central District Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Newsletter with a variety of great agricultural programs being offered in central Virginia. For more information call (804) 492-4390 or visit the website athttp://www.ext.vt.edu. A series of agricultural and environmental seminars are scheduled for the next few weeks from 3-4 p.m. on Tuesdays in Blacksburg.

For example, Oct. 11, Anne Nielsen from Rutgers, will speak on insect pest management in fruit crops. Oct. 18, Mary Barbercheck from Penn State will discuss soil ecology and organic agriculture. Oct. 25, James Hagler, USDA-ARS: AZ, will speak about biological control and insect dispersal. These seminars are free and do not require registration. Contact Megan O’Rourke at megorust@vt.edu for more information.

Are you interested in becoming a Master Gardner? Virginia Master Naturalists are volunteer educators, citizen scientists, and stewards helping Virginia conserve and manage natural resources and public lands. The process for becoming a certified Virginia Master Naturalist typically takes six to 12 months. One starts by completing a 40-hour basic training course offered by a local chapter of the program. An additional eight hours of advanced training are also required.

An important part of the certification process is the required 40 hours of volunteer service. Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners are a unique group of trained volunteer educators who work under the guidance of VCE to provide unbiased, research-based, environmentally sound horticulture information to the public.

The Master Gardener program brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities — Virginia Tech and Virginia State University — to the people of the commonwealth. Master Gardener trainees complete 50 hours of classroom instruction in subjects such as basic botany; soils and fertilizers; plant propagation; diagnosing plant damage; pesticide use and safety; trees and shrubs; lawn and turf management; pruning; landscape design; water quality; and organic practices. More information is available athttp://www.ext.vt.edu/topics/lawn-garden/master-gardener/index.html.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Heart of Virginia Master Gardeners Association are now taking applications for the 2017 VCE Master Gardener Volunteer Training Class and will be accepting applications up until Nov. 4. This training class will take place most Fridays from 9 a.m.-noon beginning Jan. 6, and going to May 5, with orientation on Dec. 2. The classes and orientation will take place at the P.E. Extension Office Conference Room, 100 Dominion Drive, Farmville. For more information and to apply by Nov. 4, please contact Katy Overby in the Prince Edward Extension Office at (434) 392-4246 or email hawthoks@vt.edu.

Janet Miller is a writer, poet and retired educator. Her email is janet.miller@farmvilleherald.com