Writing under the name of Madge Robertson, she had many articles published by newspapers and magazines, such as the University of Toronto's The Varsity, the Ladies Pictorial Weekly (she also edited it in 1892), The Globe, some USA titles, and the British Columbia Victoria Times.

She joined the Metchosin Women's Institute in 1909, wrote pamphlets to entice agriculture settlers to Vancouver Island, and became a member of the Senate of the University of British Columbia.

Madge realized that a concerted, effective agricultural effort was needed in the country and set about spreading the concepts of Women's Institutes.

[4] Jane Robinson, in A Force to be reckoned with, noted that Adelaide Hoodless had already visited London and spoken about Women's Institutes, the movement she had founded after her son died from drinking contaminated milk.

In 1899, Lady Aberdeen, wife of a former Governor General of Canada, welcomed Hoodless to England and was enthusiastic about the usefulness of such a women's organization.

With World War I already underway, Madge Watt had the determination and stamina to keep bringing WI concepts to everyone's attention until the Agricultural Organisation Society (AOS) began offering funds.

With funds from the Agricultural Organisation Society, Madge went on to help a number of WIs to organize quickly, following the success of the Welsh group.

By the end of World War I, the movement was credited with being a strong force in agriculture, having increased the food supply from 35% to 60% of the country's requirements.

I explain the glorious unity of the Women's Institute Organization, and then how the home is the beginning of all that the country will be.The ideas behind WI 'schools' helped sustain the training of leaders and administrators, although the short courses ran for many years on a shoestring.

In 1917,Gertrude Denman accepted the presidency of the newly established National Federation of Woman's Institutes (NFWI) in the United Kingdom.

In the years after World War 1, the WI offerings gradually changed into adult education short courses to meet their members' needs.

Jane Robinson described the trials and tribulations that the NFWI experienced while finding, and funding, a permanent home for their popular short courses.

The resulting conference was held in London, England, and provided opportunities for rural women to articulate their views and find commonality across many countries.

A famous photograph of Madge showed her standing beside a blackboard at this conference with the title of the organization written in English, French, German and Swedish.

Over the years, Madge wrote many letters to her younger sister Katie describing her work and travels but did not ask her to keep these.

[14] Madge was appointed a Member of the Order of British Empire[15] by King George V in 1919 for her work in helping establish Women's Institutes in the United Kingdom.

She recognized that a number of other countries had organizations somewhat similar to the Women's Institutes but, in many cases, these groups required stronger leadership and/or clearer goals.

The work of the ACWW would never have progressed as it has without many important contributions to its foundation, such as those made by Mrs Godfrey Drage (Finance) and Miss Elsie Zimmern (Secretary) from 1927 on.

Jean M. Robinson reports that she gained the cooperation of French and Belgian women in spite of their aversion to sharing recipes with anyone, not even their best friends.

The stamp, designed by Helen Fitzgerald Bacon, depicts a kneeling woman tending a green tree surmounted by a globe.

In 1958, the Ontario Government honoured Madge and the Associated Country Women of the World by installing a plaque at the front of the small house in which people thought she had been born in Collingwood.

Members of the Federation of Women's Institutes of Ontario were eventually successful in finding it and having it re-installed and re-dedicated at the ACWW 23rd Triennial Conference in June, 2001.

[18] British Columbia WI historian Ruth Fenner notes that the Associated Country Women of the World now have non-governmental status at the United Nations and that ACWW representatives speak at international meetings held to decide how rural families can be helped.

Several plantings keep Madge's memory green: As author Jane Robinson has stated: "It is clear that at certain periods in its history the Women's Institute appears to have lost its way.

But it was never in danger of collapsing, and it won’t for a very long time because, at its core, working quietly and behind the scenes, are the women for whom and by whom it was created... supportive ‘sisters’ are still meeting together in villages and towns across the country to make the world a better place.

Her vision of women coming together in their own villages and working on common goals, both locally and internationally, far transcended her well-documented character faults and idiosyncrasies.

She believed in women's rights to higher education, access to careers, and opportunities to express their own individuality through use of their skills and talents.