Speakers' Bureau
Mason County Master Gardeners Welcomes Your Request for a Speaker
Please fill out the form by clicking the 'Speaker Request Form' link below. After you have finished filling out the form, click submit. Once the form has been received, the WSU MG Coordinator, Tessa Halloran will contact you.
Allow speakers a minimum of 1/2 hour for their presentation.
WSU Master Gardeners may not accept payment for speaking engagements. They may accept reimbursement for mileage and materials.
Honorariums may be donated to the WSU Mason County Master Gardener Program and are very much appreciated.
Our speakers make themselves available for speaking engagements to share information that is relevant and research-based about horticulture and environmental stewardship within their community.
Healthy Herbs
Growing Culinary Herbs
Dee Ann Kline 30-45 minutes
Learn how to propagate and grow annual and perennial culinary herbs. This talk also includes information on different types of herb gardens.
Insect & Pests
Little Giants of the Forest
Mary Dessel 20-40 minutes
Children's program; Even though insects are incredibly small, they play a very big role in the health of a forest. May also include a skit on insect anatomy physiology.
Managing Garden Insect Pests
Mary Dessel 20-40 minutes
How to manage your garden pests using an integrated pest management approach.
Plant Propagation
The World of Succulents and their Propagation
Laurie Williams 45 minutes
The world of succulents encompasses a wide range of plant. This presentation highlights commonly grown succulents and then focuses on easy methods to propagate four popular indoor and outdoor NW succulents; sedum, sempervivum, echeverias and aeoniums.
Pollinators
Creating Pollinator Friendly Gardens
Mary Dessel 45 minutes
Learn about the food and habitat needs of our important pollinators and how to create pollinator friendly gardens for them.
Mason Bees
Mary Dessel 20 minutes
Learn about the life cycle and needs of this important pollinator.
Trees & Shrubs
Conifers of the PNW
Mary Dessel 60 minutes
Find out why conifers dominate the PNW and learn about our important conifer species.
The Wonderful World of Rhododendrons
Jeanne Kinney 45 minutes
Overview of the wide variety of rhododendrons to encourage exploring leaf colors and shapes as well as expanding the blooming season. Advice and help for common questions, such as: my rhododendron is too big, do I need to prune, why won't my rhody bloom, what is eating my rhody and what about fertilizer?
Vegetable Gardening
Seed Saving Savvy
Dorothy Skans 30-60 minutes
Learn how to grow peas, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes for seed saving. Find out when to harvest seeds and how to prepare and store them.