Workshops
Speakers
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SOUTHWEST YOUTH GARDENING CONFERENCE:
GROWING AWARENESS 2004
SPEAKER BIOS
WORKSHOPS A: JMG
JMG TEACHER/LEADER TRAINING
DOTTIE TUCKER
Ms. Tucker became a Master Gardener in the fall of 2001 and has served as course developer and instructor for the Advanced Speakers Bureau workshop wearing her Master Gardener volunteer "hat". Dottie comes to the valley from Colorado, Minnesota and New York where container and indoor gardening have always been a part of her daily life. She finds a great correlation between her professional life of teaching, project management and technical writing to her own expanding desert gardening life style and her involvement with the Master Gardener Program.
In the spring of 2003 she accepted the position of Sr. Program Coordinator for the Maricopa County Junior Master Gardener (JMG) Program, made possible by a grant from the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation. During this tenure, she has trained 26 Master Gardeners as JMG Specialists and as a team they have put on three JMG half day workshops attended by over 100 teachers and youth leaders. As the grant under which this last year's program comes to a close, Ms. Tucker will continue working with the Youth Gardening program in Maricopa County as a Master Gardener volunteer.
ERIN TAYLOR
Erin is a recent graduate of the Master Gardener Program. She graduated in the fall of 2003 and became a Junior Master Gardener Specialist in January 2004. Erin is a native Arizonan, however she has lived in many states including Colorado, Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana and Arkansas. Ms. Taylor earned her B.A. in Agricultural Business with a Horticulture Option from Arkansas Tech University, and her M.S. in Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Arkansas. Upon graduation Erin moved back to Arizona and worked for the United States Department of Agriculture in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (now known as the Department of Homeland Security) at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Currently, she is a Sr. Research Specialist with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County working in field and vegetable crops.
Erin has been working extensively on a project collaboration with Arizona State University and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community through a grant from the USDA to create an organic/demonstration site within the Indian Community. She is responsible for working with the Boys and Girls Club and is closely working with local community schools to re-teach native farming practices. The scope of the grant also includes working with the food program to promote nutrition, bringing the elders and youth back together, helping secure the native traditions, re-introducing the native crops to the community and teaching organic gardening techniques to the group.
ROBIN WRIGHT
Robin is a Master Gardener and attended the two day Junior Master Gardener Specialist workshop last summer. She then used her teaching skills and love of gardening to be one of the trainers for the Teacher/Leader JMG workshop. As a former teacher who has experienced the challenges and rewards of starting and maintaining a school garden, she is a passionate believer in the positive benefits of a school garden and the JMG program.
WORKSHOPS B: PROFILES IN EXCELLENCE
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS IN SCHOOLS
KIRK SMITH
Kirk Smith earned his doctorate in entomology from the University of California at Davis in 1987. His primary area of focus is in Urban Entomology and he recently finished a position as faculty member with the University of Arizona. Currently, Dr. Smith's projects include the training of Pest Management Professionals, arthropod identification and pest management recommendations for the pest control community. He is a member of the State of Arizona Coalition on Integrated Pest Management of Schools and has written several articles for universities including the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Publications. Kirk is also an independent consultant for Research, Product Development and Market/Sales Activities of Biological and Bio-rational Agents and Integrated Pest Management Systems.
SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT NETWORKING: HIGHLIGHTING PHOENIX REVITALIZATION CORPORATION
JULIAN SODARI
Julian Sodari has worked for Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, a non - profit community based organization for the last six years. He works as a program coordinator who is running the garden programs. Julian, a Master Gardener himself, has established about 60 back yard gardens, three community gardens, two seniors gardens, three school gardens and a weekly Farmers Market. Mr. Sodari has organized community residents around the planting of these gardens in order to establish food security in low income communities. Julian is working through a Food Security Grant from the Department of Economic Security to assist with these gardens. Other partners that Julian is working with are USDA, Arizona State Nutrition Department, Arizona Nutrition Network, Community Food Connections, Dunbar Elementary School, Faith North Elementary School, Turtulia Learning Center, Marcos de Niza Senior Center, SOW Senior Center and of course the residents of Central City South area.
FUND DEVELOPMENT AT HIDDEN HILLS, A CASE STUDY
CINDY CURRENCE
Cindy is the outgoing PTFA president at Hidden Hills Elementary School. She is also parent fundraiser extraordinaire, school garden parent volunteer, excellent supporter of youth gardening in schools and after school programming teacher involvement and student curriculum enhancement.
WORKSHOPS C: GARDENING 101
GARDENING BASICS
KELLY YOUNG
Kelly is an Arizona native and life long desert gardener. In 1995 she earned her Master's Degree in Botany from Arizona State University, with the emphasis of her studies on the ecology and evolution of desert plants. She is a Maricopa County Master Gardener and teaches Environmental Biology at Rio Salado College. Kelly lives in North Phoenix with her husband and two teenaged daughters.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
TERRY H. MIKEL
Being the child of starving graduate students and then school teachers Terry has lived in Flagstaff, Yuma, Gadsden, Roll, Luepp and Tucson. Having to always entertain himself with his sister he would wander for hours in the surrounding areas grazing, touching, smelling and feeling plants. This childlike fascination with plants was barely tempered by getting a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Arizona and working for the Cooperative Extension for 26 years in Yuma, Pima and Maricopa Counties. At the present position he teaches for the: Certified Landscape Professional Program; Master Gardener Program in Maricopa County and statewide; AZ Certified Nursery Professional Program; and private and public entities' landscape employees. For the last six years Terry has conducted a weekly Plant Problem Diagnosis clinic. Additionally, by way of research he is investigating 'Witches Broom' on Blue Palo Verdes as to the potential to spread and how spreading might take place.
Awards and Recognition:
1995 - Arizona Nursery Association Distinguished Service Award
1996 - Xeriscape Person of the Year Award
1997 - University of Arizona Extension Faculty of the Year Award
1998 - Phoenix Home and Garden Magazine's 'Master of the Southwest'
1999 - American Nursery and Landscape Association's Extension Person of the Year.
GARDEN ASSESSMENT
JO MILLER
Jo Miller is the Water Conservation Coordinator for the City of Glendale where she maintains a comprehensive and innovative public education and outreach program. Her water education work with the Glendale Recreation Department received a Governor's Pride Honorable Mention Award last year from Arizona Clean and Beautiful.
Jo also maintains the award winning Xeriscape Demonstration garden at the Glendale Main Library. She was instrumental in the development of a high-tech, one-of-a-kind audio tour that opened in the garden last October.
Prior to working for the city of Glendale, Jo owned and managed a landscape design business for 19 years. She also worked on a USDA Team Nutrition grant administered by the Maricopa Cooperative Extension Service to promote school gardening and nutrition. She is the co-author of Earth-Friendly Desert Gardening, a book published by the Master Gardener Press. One of her greatest joys in life is pretending that she is tending her garden.
WORKSHOPS D: HORTICULTURAL THERAPY
HORTICULTURAL THERAPY & SPECIAL EDUCATION ADAPTATION
DAWNA STERNER
Dawna Sterner, CTRS, HTR, graduated in 1994 earning a B.A. in therapeutic recreation from Metropolitan State College of Denver. In 1996 she studied horticultural therapy at HT Institute, Denver Botanic Gardens and became a Registered Horticultural Therapist. Ms. Sterner has been a Maricopa County Master Gardener since 1999 and a Red Cross Water Safety Instructor since 1994. She has completed extensive training in Sensory Integration Strategies by Lorna Jean King, OTR/FAOTA and Diana Henry, MS, OTR/L, Wilbarger Brushing Protocol and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
With ten years of Recreation Therapy and Horticultural Therapy experience, Dawna has worked with adult addictions/trauma/psychiatric disorders, and has completed extensive work in child psychiatric facilities. Ms. Sterner is experienced in Early Intervention home based services for infants and toddlers (developmental disabilities, metabolic disorders, genetic disorders, chromosomal disorders, prematurity, etc.) Her work includes autism and related disorders in clinical, residential, home and school based settings along with experience in developing IFSP and IEP based treatment plans. She integrates direct management and facilitation of pediatric aquatics, therapeutic horseback riding, horticultural therapy and numerous other sensory integration strategies to promote neurodevelopment in her practice. She is currently employed as Manager of Recreation/Horticulture Therapy Departments at The Children's Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies; a state-of-the-art special education school and therapy center for children with autism and related disorders. Ms. Sterner has successes in fundraising and grant writing implementing treatment programs to over 80 students on two campuses. She is also the current President of the Arizona Horticultural Therapy Association.
GEORGE SALAMUNEC
George Salamunec, HTR, COTA/L received an AAS in Occupational Therapy from Apollo College in 1997. He earned his registration as a Horticultural Therapist through the American Horticultural Therapy Association in 2003. He is also a certified Master Gardener and a Junior Master Gardener specialist though the University of Arizona College of Agriculture-Maricopa County Cooperative Extension.
Since 1997, George has worked at The Children's Center for Neurodevelopmental Studies treating children that have autism and other developmental disabilities utilizing a sensory integrative frame of reference. He has aided in the training of occupational therapy, music therapy and Speech-Language Pathology interns in utilizing horticultural therapy as a therapeutic modality. George is currently developing a vocational program and working with special education teachers to integrate prevocational tasks into the student's daily routine. He also has assisted in implementing a therapeutic Aquatic Program under the direction of a Water Safety Instructor. George also has over 9 years of experience working with the geriatric populations in sub-acute and long term care settings. He has consulted with hospital and nursing home rehabilitation departments in developing therapeutic gardening areas. George is the current Vice President of the Arizona Horticultural Therapy Association.
HORTICULTURE & YOUTH AT RISK
JOEL FLAGLER
Joel is a Registered Horticultural Therapist and Associate Professor at Rutgers University. Mr. Flagler received his Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and Masters of Science from Yale University. He has 25 years of experience in horticultural therapy and is the coordinator of the horticultural therapy curricula at Rutgers. He has served on the American Horticultural Therapy Association's (AHTA) national board for six years and currently sits on the advisory board for the mid-Atlantic chapter of AHTA.
DISCUSSION PANEL: MANAGEMENT AND SAFETY STRATEGIES
Joel Flagler, Dawna Sterner and George Salamunec
WORKSHOPS E: ADVANCED GARDEN
PLANT PROPIGATION
GEORGE HULL
George Hull graduated with a B.S. in Agriculture and a M.S., cum laude with distinction, in Horticulture from Ohio State University. He teaches locally at Mesa Community College, Glendale Community College and ASU in a variety of agribusiness areas; and has spoken to a myriad of groups and organizations on Horticulture and the benefits of xeriscape and plant propagation. Besides being a webmaster and author, George is currently working on a text for use by landscape architecture students and professionals focusing on plant identification and usage. He currently is the Research and Development Manager of New Plants at Mountain States Nursery in Glendale, Arizona.
IRRIGATION
CATHY RYMER
Cathy Rymer is a second-generation Arizona native, from a family that farmed near 3rd Street and Baseline in Phoenix. As a child she spent many summers with cousins exploring the citrus orchards and cotton fields. Her father, who was a pilot, owned and operated a crop dusting business on the west side of town near 59th Avenue and Thunderbird.
Cathy graduated from Arizona State University with an education degree and biology major. She spent nearly seven years with the University of Arizona Maricopa County Extension office in Phoenix, where she worked closely with the Master Gardener program. Cathy recently joined the Town of Gilbert's water conservation department providing educational information and technical assistance through landscaping workshops for residents, publishing monthly conservation tips, providing conservation programs for schools, as well as analyzing water use for homeowner associations and businesses. She is also a Certified Arborist and member of the Arizona Community Tree Council.
VERMICOMPOSTING
KATHLEEN MOORE
As the Water Conservation Coordinator for the City of Chandler, Kathleen Moore oversees a program that educates the public about the merits of conserving Arizona's most precious resource. Prior to moving to Mesa in 1998, Kathleen studied and obtained her bachelor's degree in Horticulture and Environmental Science from Ohio Wesleyan University. She nurtured her love of desert plants, and sharpened her teaching skills, while working as an Instructional Specialist for the University of Arizona. She co-coordinated the Maricopa County Master Gardener Volunteer Program which aimed to educate residents about gardening and landscaping in the low desert. She is a certified arborist, competent toastmaster, Project Wet facilitator and Master Gardener. In her spare time Kathleen enjoys backpacking, reading and cooking.
WORKSHOPS F: CURRICULUM
PONDS
PAUL HOLDEMAN
Paul Holdeman, a Master Gardener, has been a licensed Valley landscape contractor since 1995. After receiving his B.A. from ASU, he has attended numerous courses on various facets of landscape and gardening, including classes given by the Desert Botanical Garden, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, the Arizona Landscape Contractors' Association and the Arizona Municipal Water Users' Association, as well as continuing education courses given by other pond experts. This keeps him up to date on the latest research, development and technologies. Life, however, is an on-going educational process, and he strives to always improve upon and supplement his knowledge.
As a result of his education and experience, he has chosen to promote and use a proven pond construction method that advocates organic water gardening. By creating a complete ecosystem, the pond is sustainable, environmentally responsible, cost-efficient and LOW MAINTENANCE.
INTEGRATING NATIVE HABITATS TO SCHOOL CURRICULUM
KATHRYN KYLE
Kathryn Kyle received her B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1977 and her M.S. from Indiana University in 1984. She has worked in the non-profit sector since 1977. She has directed educational programming for the Arts Resources Department of the City of El Paso, Texas, the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York, New York and the Southwest Center for Education and the Natural Environment (SCENE) in Tempe, Arizona. As Executive Administrator of SCENE, Ms. Kyle directs all of SCENE's programming, from the planning stages through implementation and evaluation. Programs include teacher training, educational resource development, science mentoring and schoolyard habitat creation.
NATIVE PLANTS
DWIGHT BOND
Dwight Bond has lived in Arizona since 1985 and has been an asset to the community ever since. He received his bachelor's degree at ASU in Agricultural Business. Mr. Bond has worked at SRP for 17 years, 12 of those in Zanjero, AZ. He is currently working in the Turf and Plant Management department. The part he loves most about his job is seeing things grow, working with the community and imparting that knowledge with his customers. His hobbies include hockey and riding his Harley. He is the proud father of three boys. It is truly a family affair as all his family members work at SRP.
WORKSHOPS G: ART IN THE GARDEN
MOSAICS
WALT LIGOCKI
Walt Ligocki is a retired Design Engineer after 33 years at Sperry/Honeywell. He is a self taught artist with college classes in Art and Architecture. Mr. Ligocki studied ceramics while mentoring under Helen Helwig of Southwest Public Art and worked with her to create many fine public art projects and was co-artist on the ceramic mosaic mural at Encanto Elementary School. Walt is well known for his involvement in many school projects and Valley freeway art! He is married to wife Gloria, father of six and grandfather of nine. His joys include teaching his grandchildren to make clay tiles and helping the community add beauty to their area.
PAPER
LYDIA MISZUKBR>
My work has always involved manipulation of materials -if I can't touch it and move it around, twist and fondle it, it has no meaning for me. Much of my inspiration comes from the creative synergy suggested by nature's offerings. Gathering of materials therefore, becomes the imaginative base of my work structure. While the natural materials do not always appear in their primary state once a work is finished, the fibers are always present. The gathering and usage of materials that have lived through art is a great personal satisfaction. The resulting artistic dimensions have consistently surprised and stretched my creativity.
When I first moved here as a small child, I was amazed to see the soldiers standing at attention on the desert. When I found out they were cactus, I was even more impressed. I had never seen (or imagined) anything so botanically human-like before. That image of the Saguaro has stuck with me throughout the years. Later on, whenever I drove through the desert I thought that they wee guarding the desert. I never responded to it artistically until a friend told me of an Indian myth that the Saguaro were really our ancestors come back to watch out for us. (I've never found this in any myth books, but the story appealed to my romantic nature.) In 1994 a 25-ft Saguaro that lived in my backyard fell over and died. I wanted to commemorate its passing by recycling it wood-like skeleton to create an art piece that showed its ancestral image. The skeleton was pulverized into handmade paper and cast in the image of a man.... Saguaro man, the ancestor. Since then I have made handmade saguaro paper into many human-like images. My sculpted human figures still retain the Saguaro physique and rounded arms.
Having tried the Saguaro, I became confident enough to try "branching out" to using other desert plants for papermaking. Most desert plants make beautiful paper. The color palette ranges from a silky gold to reddish brown maroon, the colors of the desert. Joshua Tree is the lightest paper, almost white. I now make paper using Prickly Pear, Yucca, Tumbleweed, Agave, Palm Leaves, Palm Bark, Palm Roots, Joshua Tree, Cholla, Ocotillo, Woodpeckers Birdsnest, Palo Verde and, of course, Saguaro.
MURALS
NIKI GLEN
Niki Glen directs large scale public art pieces. Her work has been published in Street Murals: The Most Exciting Art of the Cities of America, Britain and Western Europe. She has directed over 50 murals and specializes in community participation and involvement. She develops an exciting rapport with the public. Communication begins during the design phase and culminates with the dedication ceremony. The people who watch the piece grow, work on the public art project, and those who support it financially have the opportunity to come together during the final celebration. "Public art belongs to everyone."
Ms. Glen has worked as a professional muralist since 1974. Public art, both interior and exterior murals, has intrigued Glen since she was introduced to murals during a slide presentation of public art done in South America. Greatly influenced by Diego Rivera, Thomas Hart Benton, and the renaissance muralists, she considers the contemporary U.S. muralists to be part of a world wide historical tradition connecting painting and architecture.
Currently, Glen is also working on ceramic tile installations as well as painted murals. In collaboration with ceramic artists and members of the business community, Glen is fabricating beautiful and meaningful works of art. Each piece is site specific and enhances the surrounding environment. A space is transformed through the addition of artwork from an ordinary location to a special and unique place to relax and reflect.
Awards & Distinctions
2002 Community Built Association - Board of Directors
2001 Tempe Beautification Award: Neighborhood Enhancement Program
2000 Maricopa Association of Governments "Livable Cities Award"
2000 Tempe Beautification Award: Art in Private Development.
1995-Present National Society of Mural Painters.
1994 Tempe Diablo Award of Excellence in Education.
1994 Arizona Artist Project Grant: Arizona Commission on the Arts.
1989-1991 President, Arizona Arts & Creativity in Early Childhood.
1978 Orchid Award, City of Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.
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