Marcy Damon - “Saving the Bay – One Garden at a Time”

Since 1999, Marcy Damon has been Grassroots Restoration Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation  in Annapolis, Maryland. She works primarily with adult volunteers, doing large-scale, hands-on restoration to replace the Bay’s natural filters including forest buffers, wetlands, and living shorelines. Marcy manages the western shore VoiCeS (Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards) course for adults, leads workshops for the public on shoreline restoration and Bay-friendly landscaping, and has produced brochures on living shorelines and lawn care. For the past two years, Marcy has chaired the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC).

“Saving the Bay – One Garden at a Time”

The Chesapeake Bay is slowly dying due to increasing pollution coming from farmland, urban and suburban development, and coal-fired power plants. Marcy will give a snapshot of how the Bay is doing today, trends for the future, and how homeowners can use the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s nitrogen calculator to reduce their personal impact on Bay’s water quality. Learn how changing the way you care for your lawn and landscape, what car you drive, and the amount of electricity you use impacts the health of the Bay. Marcy will also showcase how native gardens increase plant diversity and habitat for wildlife, clean water, and reduce soil erosion while adding beauty to the home landscape.

Jeff Lowenfels - “Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web”

For more than 27 years, Jeff Lowenfels’ weekly garden column has run in the Anchorage Daily News. Jeff also hosts a weekly garden radio show and is the co-author of Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web. A life-long gardener, Jeff teaches home gardeners about the soil food web with a painless and entertaining method. After just one hour, his audiences know how to return beneficial biology to their soils and why it is necessary to do so.

“Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web”

Healthy soil is teeming with life - not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use synthetic fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web—the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. Jeff will take you on an enlightening adventure into the world of the soil food web and share his secrets for maintaining healthy soil.

Douglas Tallamy - “Bringing Nature Home”
Douglas Tallamy is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, where he has written more than 65 research articles and has taught insect taxonomy and behavioral ecology, among other subjects. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. He is also the author of Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants.

“Bringing Nature Home”
As urban development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity. There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife, particularly insects. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Douglas Tallamy will share practical solutions for bringing nature home, even to the smallest plot of land.

Paul Tukey - “SafeLawns: How & Why To Garden Organically”

Paul Tukey turned to organic gardening after becoming ill due to overexposure to lawn chemicals. His personal experiences and professional advancement led him to write the Organic Lawn Care Manual: A Natural, Low-Maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn and to form the SafeLawns Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting natural lawn care and grounds maintenance.

“SafeLawns: How & Why to Garden Organically”

Paul’s lively and passionate instruction will empower you to master organic lawn care. From improving soil structure to selecting the grass that is drought tolerant, and disease and pest resistant and evaluating your lawn’s needs, Paul will share his first-hand experience of creating beautiful lawns all while avoiding the use of toxic lawn chemicals. Whether you are starting a lawn from scratch or refurbishing an existing lawn, Paul’s simple 10-step process will help you make the transition from conventional to organic methods.

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