Is it time for you to treat yourself to some gardening-related education?
Once a year the public has the opportunity to participate in a collection of exceptional classes at a conference organized by Master Gardeners.
This year the conference entitled, “Explore, Learn and Lead,” will be in Vancouver, Wash., Sept. 16-19.
This will be a fantastic opportunity for individuals to expand their knowledge, learn new gardening skills, get new ideas and meet other gardeners and educators.
Wednesday afternoon features a variety of tours. Classes begin on Thursday morning and wrap up on Saturday morning. You can enroll for all or a portion of the conference.
All conference events will be held at the Vancouver Hilton Hotel.
Vancouver is easy driving distance from the peninsula, so you can drive, relax and join others to “Explore, Learn and Lead.”
There will be 32 research-based seminars available covering topics on horticulture, environmental issues, food gardening and volunteer leadership skills.
A description of each class and registration instructions are available at the website: mastergardener.wsu.edu.
The horticulture track will offer classes on “Beneficial Insects, Spiders and Other Mini-Creatures in Your Garden,” “Natives for Erosion Control and Groundcover,” “Gardening in a Changing Climate” and six more.
The environmental issues track will offer classes on “Climate Change,” “The Effect of Climate Change on Trees for the 21st Century,” “An Objective Look at Genetically Modified Foods” and five more.
The food gardening track will offer classes on “Edible Heirlooms,” “Preserving the Soil Food Web,” “Mixed Vegetable Crop Planning,” and four more.
The volunteer leadership skills track will include “Gardening with Seniors,” “Community of Service” and several other service/community outreach oriented classes.
As a special treat this year, the Friday night dinner speaker will be photographer Art Wolfe, host of “Travels to the Edge” on PBS, and a dedicated gardener himself. Born in Seattle in 1951, Wolfe still calls the city his “home,” he is a “local.”
Wolfe graduated from the University of Washington with degrees in fine arts and art education. His unique approach to photography is based on this training in the arts and his love of the environment. A great combination!
Wolfe’s career in photography spans five decades and he has worked on every continent, in hundreds of locations. He will share his photography in the Friday night presentation.
Treat yourself to gardening classes and a fantastic presentation. Sign up online (mastergardener.wsu.edu).
Take a friend and make new friends in Vancouver this September.
Judy English is a Washington State University-certified Clallam County Master Gardener.
