Keynote Speaker
Susan Martin
Susan Martin
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11:15 AM - 12:15 PM “Lessons Learned Under the Trees” – Shade. Most of us have it, but many of us are unsure what to do with it. Over a decade of experience gardening in every degree of shade near the Lake Michigan shoreline has taught Susan many lessons they don’t teach you in books. She’ll share stories and inspiring photography from her shade garden, and teach you how to take advantage of the conditions you have, not those you wish you had. It’s time to discover life beyond hostas in the shade! 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM “If You Could Only Pick One: Perennial Gold Standards” With seemingly endless options at garden centers, how do you choose the best perennials for your garden? Susan will help you narrow down your choices to top-rated specific varieties based on her experience growing and observing perennial trials in the Midwest over the past decade. As an avid gardener herself, she’ll lend practical advice you can put to use right away so your next trip to the garden center will be a pleasurable experience rather than an overwhelming one. Susan Martin is an avid gardener who has spent the last 20 years of her career working in various branches of the horticulture industry. She began in independent garden center sales before opening her own garden design and maintenance business which focused on installing unique plants to suit her clients’ individual styles. Her career advanced into sales, marketing and merchandising for large wholesale plant companies including over a decade in management at the largest wholesale grower of perennials in the United States. Susan finds her calling in spreading the joy of gardening to her fellow gardeners, a love which was instilled in her by her parents. She is a native of Michigan where she has been gardening since the age of four in both sandy and clay soils in zones 4-6. She is currently a freelance horticultural marketer, writer, speaker and consultant based in West Michigan. Follow Susan on Facebook at Gardener Sue’s News. Follow Sue on Facebook @Gardener Sue’s News |
Sacha Gee-Burns
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12:15 PM - 1:00 PM
“Gardening the Natural Way” - Gardening without using chemicals and by companion planting and organic practices. Sacha Gee-Burns is owner of Sunkissed Organics located in Michigan City, Indiana. She had been a gardener since the tender age of three when she discovered sugar snap peas while gardening with her grandfather. She grew up on a field grown chrysanthemum farm. When her grandfather decided to retire, Sacha operated the farm with her mother and sister. Always being an avid lover of anything that grows the chrysanthemum farm grew into a perennial and flowering shrub nursery. Not long after Sunkissed Organics was formed by helping Sacha to go back to her roots and sent her into the world of vegetable gardening. She specializes in heirloom varieties of produce as well as heritage breeds of livestock. There she resides with her boyfriend Matthew, daughters Alexis and Mia along with their Oberhasli goats, and an array of heritage breed poultry. Sacha has written a weekly gardening article in the La Porte Herald Argus for the past ten years, is the Environmental Educator/ Public Outreach Coordinator for the La Porte County Solid Waste District, a Supervisor for the La Porte County Soil and Water Conservation District, and one of the organizers of the Farm Dinner Downtown in La Porte, Indiana. Her farm is open to visits by appointment. |
April Fallon
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9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
“Adult Adaptive Yoga-Gentle Chair Yoga” Gentle, healthy yoga poses with the support of a chair! Using a chair as a tool helps the body move into easy yoga poses, giving all the healthy benefits of yoga. Great for beginners! Helping you bring awareness to your body and spirit. So after a day spent in the garden, give your body the gift of stretched, flexible and relaxed muscles. The gift of chair yoga! 1:15 PM – 2:00 PM "Happy Garden Kids Yoga" Children are encouraged to explore a happy garden, joy filled yoga movements with fun animal friends. No experience necessary! Parents are welcome to join in or watch as their kids experience yoga fun! Kids can bring a beach towel to stretch out on. Some towels and mats will be provided. April Fallon is a yoga instructor in northwest Indiana. She currently teaches yoga at Dancing Feet Yoga in New Buffalo MI and at the Northwest Athletic Club, Michigan City, IN. In 2016 she received her certification from Asheville Yoga Center in Asheville, NC after practicing yoga for 15 years under Marcia Wenig, founder of YogaKids. April completed the Yoga Kids Foundations Training in 2018. She has been influenced in her teaching by Don Wenig, Michael Johnson of Asheville and Guru Nischan of Chicago. After working with underserved youth in Chicago, April witnessed the impact yoga can have on youth of all ages. April Fallon has 2 children, has taught at St. Paul Lutheran School and loves sharing her love of yoga. |
Marcy Dailey
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9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
“Plant This, Not That” – how making informed choices can impact our planet. Many commonly sold landscape plants may be wreaking havoc in natural environments when they escape the confines of the home garden. Gardeners can be easily enticed to select plants based solely on merits of the plants’ physical attributes; we’ve all bought plants on impulse or accepted the gift of a division from a friend’s garden. But this can be problematic when it comes to those plants that don’t play well with others, escape the bounds of the immediate landscape or whose fruits are carried away only to sprout miles away in pristine woods, fields and waterways. Take a stand for Mother Earth and the environment by learning to be an informed consumer. Marcy is an Advanced Master Gardener, gold status, and 22 year member of the La Porte County Master Gardener Association. Through the years she’s been a member of many garden-related organizations including the Herb Society of America, Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, American Horticulture Society and many more. Her enthusiasm for learning about plants prompted her reading untold volumes of books, attending symposia and lectures by noted experts in the field, and most importantly, working her own colonial style herb garden with its 18 raised beds in theme plantings. (Marcy always says, “To know it, you have to grow it!”) Besides herbs, programs she has presented over the years include flower folklore, heirloom gardening, garden journaling and Deciphering Botanic Latin, “It’s all Greek to Me!” She also enjoys writing poetry, or what she calls fun stories in rhyme, about her gardening experiences. Marcy is the proprietress and folk artist at her shop Fawn Run Farm Mercantile in Rolling Prairie, IN. |
Karen Sarver
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9:00 AM - 9:45 AM
“Trees Are Terrific!” Planting Project for Kids Love to sit or play under a tree? Why are these trees needed? What do trees eat and how do they grow? Join this session and learn how trees make our lives better. Best of all you will plant your own Native tree, learn how to care for it and then take it home to watch it grow. Oh - What's a Native tree? Come find out!! Karen has been a Master Gardener since 2016. She is a former educator, registered nurse and computer analyst with a lifelong interest in gardening and encouraging children. Her desire is to inspire others to become involved in plants and gardening, especially children early in their lives. |
Linda Strain - Jeremy Sheets - Ron Taylor
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
"Spiders, Bugs and Bats, Oh My!" - (For Kids)
Come join us to meet and talk about spiders, bugs, bats and more. This will be an experiential hour meeting with and talking to people who love these creatures. Share your excitement and bring your questions. For some species there will be live critters to see. If you are someone who is fearful of one or more of these creatures, you have nothing to fear in joining us.
Session Presenters:
Jeremy Sheets, Orbis Environmental Consulting
Linda Strain, Spider and Environmental Educator
Ron Taylor, Communication and Educational Program Director for Friendship Botanical Gardens
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
"Spiders, Bugs and Bats, Oh My!" - (For Kids)
Come join us to meet and talk about spiders, bugs, bats and more. This will be an experiential hour meeting with and talking to people who love these creatures. Share your excitement and bring your questions. For some species there will be live critters to see. If you are someone who is fearful of one or more of these creatures, you have nothing to fear in joining us.
Session Presenters:
Jeremy Sheets, Orbis Environmental Consulting
Linda Strain, Spider and Environmental Educator
Ron Taylor, Communication and Educational Program Director for Friendship Botanical Gardens
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Linda Strain
Linda Strain is a retired educator from teaching in the public schools for 40 years where she worked with children of all ages. She completed her graduate studies in Environmental Education from the University of Michigan. She has been teaching nature studies and programs for children and adults for many years. She has a special liking for spiders. She has been a LaPorte County Master Gardener since 2008. |
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Jeremy Sheets
Jeremy has 17 years of experience conducting various wildlife surveys with emphasis on bat ecology and urban wildlife management. He is experienced in managing wildlife projects on wind facilities, pipelines, road ways, army bases, and airports and is proficient in wildlife management/control techniques, wildlife identification, threatened and endangered species, and surveying and analysis techniques of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects. Jeremy is also skilled in field data collection and analysis. Jeremy is one of only 54 certified Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologists who develops Wildlife Hazard Assessments (WHA) and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans (WHMP) for airports, and has completed several WHAs since the completion of his training. Jeremy has identified bats for 17 years and is federally permitted to conduct surveys in USFWS Regions 3, 4, and 5. His work in this field has included acoustic surveys, mist-netting, portal surveys, and radio telemetry. He is familiar with 13 species of bats and has conducted bat surveys in ten states including: Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Jeremy can visually identify most Midwestern bat calls using standard bat acoustic techniques and is proficient with automated acoustic software. Ron Taylor
Ron Taylor is the Communications Director at Friendship Botanic Gardens in Michigan City, Indiana, where he helps create educational events centered on topics like arthropods and reptiles. Since 2017 he has also served on the Board of Directors for the La Porte County Conservation Trust. As an avid nature photographer and amateur naturalist, he enjoys any opportunity to help bridge the gap between people and the natural world. Ron is thrilled to have the opportunity to share his lifelong fascination with insects through interpretive programming and hands-on experiences with creatures like Madagascar hissing roaches. He firmly believes these experiences have the power to unleash the inner citizen scientist in everyone! |
Mike and Doreen King
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10:15 AM- 11:15AM
“Peace, Love and Lavender – A Lavender Farmers Story” When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That was the attitude that gave rise to Lakeside Lavender and Herbs, a niche farm that grows lavender and other useful plants in La Porte, Indiana. Mike and Doreen King live and farm on approximately 3 acres. Their story of starting an agricultural business is peppered with all kinds of lessons learned. Join them as they tell their lavender tale from ground to greenhouse with tips to plant, prune, propagate and use this fabulous herb. |
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Nicole Harmon
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Humane Indiana Wildlife
**Please note: due to the popularity of this program last year, we have developed two separate sessions this year. “The Wildlife of Northwest Indiana” will target a children’s audience and allow for children to ask questions. Parents can attend with their child but we ask that adults let the children interact with Nicole and pose their questions. One session is primarily for adults. It is called “Coexisting With Our Native Wildlife”. Children can certainly go with a parent to the adult session but the material presented will be targeted for adults and all of the grown-ups can ask lots of questions. 10:15 AM- 11:15 AM “The Wildlife of Northwest Indiana” Children’s Session Join Humane Indiana Wildlife as they introduce our young naturalists to the wildlife of Northwest Indiana. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet some of our regions’ most recognizable wildlife including a Great Horned Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, Stripped Skunk, Virginia Opossum, and Eastern Box Turtle. Kids will get to hear what makes these animals so successful as well as ways that we can work together as a community to support our native species. 12:15 PM – 1:00 PM “Coexisting With Our Native Wildlife” Adult Session Nicole Harmon has been working with Humane Indiana as their educator since February of 2016. Upon graduating with a Bachelors in Wildlife Ecology in 2009 from Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, IN Nicole has worked for both the DNR gathering data on local breeding bird populations and bat populations as well as working at the Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City as a zookeeper. Nicole earned her Masters in Biology in 2014 from Miami University of Ohio and focuses her current work with Humane Indiana on educating the public on wildlife native to Indiana. Coexisting With Our Native Wildlife: A Program for All Ages Our program will be focusing on the work of Humane Indiana to encourage the general public to coexist with native wildlife in a humane manner. From helping injured wildlife in your community to managing nuisance wildlife around your home, there are always ways to lend a helping hand to wildlife in need. Attendees to the program will have the opportunity to meet several of Humane Indiana’s animal ambassadors that are non-releasable wildlife that came into the Rehabilitation Center with injuries that prevented their release. |
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Robin G. Eisen
2:00 PM – 2:45 PM “Effortless Gardening Based on the Feldenkrais Method®” Thinking about your Spring Garden? Does it bring both joy and the memory of the soreness you felt the day after weeding or planting? In this experiential workshop, learn that how you move can make the difference in the ease, comfort and power you have in the garden. Robin G. Eisen, M.S., P.T. has more than 40 years of experience as a physical therapist and is a certified Feldenkrais Practitioner®. She currently owns Dragonfly Body Mind Healing in Michigan City, IN. www.dragonflybodymindhealing.com |
Joe Gady
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
Fermentation Class
We will discuss what fermentation of foods and drinks is about, how to do it, and the benefits of consuming these for our wellbeing.
We talk about how to ferment in crocks or jars, and have resources of where to purchase crocks.
In addition, there will be books on display and handouts available.
Farming For Life will provide samples for tasting all of our raw food ferments and probiotic drinks, and a list of stores where they may be purchased.
More information is available on our website
www.farmingforlife.com
2:00 PM - 2:45 PM
Fermentation Class
We will discuss what fermentation of foods and drinks is about, how to do it, and the benefits of consuming these for our wellbeing.
We talk about how to ferment in crocks or jars, and have resources of where to purchase crocks.
In addition, there will be books on display and handouts available.
Farming For Life will provide samples for tasting all of our raw food ferments and probiotic drinks, and a list of stores where they may be purchased.
More information is available on our website
www.farmingforlife.com
