| Registration | 7:30 - 8:25 AM |
| Conference | 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM |
| 8:45 AM |
Finding hope and inspiring change in the climate crisis -- Dr. Marisa Thompson Pending |
| 9:40 AM | Break |
| 10:00 AM |
Rethinking fruit tree management for NM gardeners -- Dr. Marisa Thompson
Pending OR Learn, Grow, Eat, and Go! -- Angela Prada This segment will highlight the benefits and methods of gardening education for children using the experiential learning model outlined in the Junior Master Gardener program. The program allows youth to explore their natural world through hands on learning activities that integrate science, math, literature, and social studies using the garden as the living laboratory. Educators, parents, community volunteers, and Extension volunteers, such as Master Gardeners, will come away with the tools and enthusiasm to be able to implement the program with various groups of school age children. OR The Demonstration Garden -- Denise George The Los Alamos Master Gardeners have cared for and expanded the Demonstration Garden for nearly 30 years. You will tour the various areas of the garden and learn how we engage the County, community and our members in the process. |
| 10:55 AM | Lunch |
| 12:30 PM |
Designing Landscapes for a Livable Future -- Judith Phillips In New Mexico gardeners already grappling with an extreme climate are facing greater extremes of heat and cold and drier, erodible soils. The good news is that there are many ways to design for a more livable future. Resilient landscapes contour the soil to capture rainwater when it comes whether as a trickle or a deluge. Future forward gardens emphasize native plants that respond quickly to any available precipitation, root extensively creating a network of channels in the soil to absorb rainfall, and are adapted to low humidity and intense sunlight. Gardens for a livable future also provide habitat for wildlife to maintain, on a small scale, an ecological balance in increasingly chaotic times. Small efforts combined in a community make a difference. |
| 1:25 PM | Break |
| 1:45 PM |
If it's Meant to Bee, Let it Bee: Cultivating gardens for wild bees in the context of climate change and habitat fragmentation. -- Dr. Olivia Carril New Mexico is home to over 1000 bee species. They range in size from smaller than an eyelash to bigger than a thumb, from red to deep blue, and from dainty specialist to generalist gormands. Our bees are beautiful and intriguing, but they are also essential to the reproduction of countless native wildflowers, and many of our cultivars, fruits, and vegetables as well. Reports indicate that some species of wild bee may be in decline, and the prime drivers of changes in their populations are habitat fragmentation, overuse of pesticides, and climate change. It may be some relief, then, to learn that gardening with native bees in mind can provide a buffer to population fluctuations, especially in arid environments. Dr. Carril will discuss how to garden for bees with the goal of providing them with a safe refuge in the face of large-scale landscape changes. OR Gardening as WE Change -- Janine Fales We age. Our gardens age. Aging and changes in abilities are part of the journey we call life. These changes do not need to mean an end to gardening. The forward planning of our landscapes, development of adaptive tools, and honoring our abilities can help us enjoy our gardens for many years. We will discuss adaptation tips and tools as well as some of the challenges to be faced. |
| 2:40 PM | Break |
| 3:00 PM |
Season Extension in New Mexico Vegetable Gardens -- Dr. Curtis Smith New Mexico gardeners can't wait for spring to arrive so that they can begin gardening. We get so impatient that we often plant too early and have to replant after our late freeze kills our first planting. And then, by the end of a hot summer we are exhausted and ready to take a break - for about 2 weeks - then we want to be gardening again. We spend winter wishing we were gardening. There are ways we can extend our gardening season and partly, or completely, overcome the garden downtime. In the spring we can use various techniques including row covers, cloches, and walls-o-water to help our plants survive late spring frost. In the summer we can employ our microclimates and the Three Sisters Garden concept to keep out plants growing and bearing through the oppressive summer heat as we wait for the monsoon rains and cooling. In the autumn we can reutilize the row cover to protect our harvest from early frosts. In the winter we can use container gardening to garden on windowsills and move plants in to protected areas to extend the harvest. Of course, we all wish for greenhouses, or at least cold frames, to allow us to garden through the winter. In all seasons, proper selection of vegetable varieties helps us extend our garden season. OR Native Plants in Home & Municipal Landscapes: Designing in Pollinator Resources for Resilience & Beauty All Year Long -- Dana Ecelberger Join the Bee City Los Alamos Coordinator and professional landscape designer for this presentation on how to design gardens that benefit birds and pollinators while conserving water and soil resources. |
| 3:55 PM | Break |
| 4:15 PM |
Fungi in the Urban Environment -- Reese Baker The urban environment is designed to be impermeable to rainwater. Urban stormwater carries with it a copious amount of environmental toxins and pollutants. Using the concept of rain gardens, our civilization can use urban stormwater as a resource to recharge aquifers, increase biodiversity, create wildlife and pollinator habitat, and produce clean downstream freshwater ecosystems. In this talk we will investigate the concepts of bioremediation and hydrological shifts currently being studied using rain gardens the Santa Fe area. |
| 5:10 PM | Conclusion & Grand Prize |