Laura Matter has been a practicing horticulturist for the past 30 years, and has a B.A. in Botany from the University of Washington. She has worked as a weed control specialist, and supervisor of an interior plant maintenance crew in downtown Seattle high-rise buildings. During 10 years with Seattle City Light, she worked with her crew to replace and reduce pesticide use at the utility. Under her guidance, a large electrical station was able to be registered as a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary with the State of WA after being enhanced with native plants, birdhouses, and using natural alternatives instead of pesticides. Laura has her own business providing landscape consultations and garden tutoring, specializing in native plantings, wildlife habitat and edible gardens, and also works at Swanson's Nursery. She has been the site coordinator of the Picardo Farm P-Patch for the past 4 years, and volunteered in public schools and community planting projects.
Emily Bishton has a passion for teaching adults and children about the natural world and earth-friendly gardening practices. She is a Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH) with a Landscape Design degree from Edmonds Community College, and a member of the Plant Amnesty Referral Service. Emily's garden consulting and design business specializes in bird-friendly and child-friendly gardens, and in teaching clients how to use organic practices to install and maintain their gardens. She also teaches preschool and elementary-age children through the Magnuson Park Jr. Nature Explorer Program. Current projects include designing a nature play area for an orphanage in Bulgaria, and designing a bird-friendly educational landscape for the Magnuson Park Community Center. She has also volunteered extensively for the past 12 years to develop and support youth education programs throughout the county.
Amy Ockerlander started her gardening career in her parents' organic gardens in Wisconsin and Alaska, which cultivated her interest in creating a garden to call her own. Her current urban garden started with the removal of over 2,000 sq. feet of concrete pavement, requiring extensive soil-building to bring life back into the soil. Now a haven for birds and insects and filled with lush, layered plantings, it is a testament to the power of organic matter! Amy is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist (CPH) with nearly 10 years of experience in the retail nursery trade. She has most recently completed a rainwater harvesting course at Edmonds Community College helping to build a non-potable water catchment system for the Horticulture Department's greenhouses. She is a practicing artist with a background in public education, teaching in the public school system and serving as a docent at the Seattle Art Museum.
Kathleen DeMaria began her horticultural career in 1995 in New England and has kept herself immersed in the field ever since. Kathleen moved to Seattle in 2001, began learning the local flora of the Pacific Northwest through classes at Edmonds Community College, and started a garden maintenance and consultation business that she still runs today. In tandem with her Garden Hotline work and business, Kathleen is a candidate for a Masters of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Washington and sits on the board of directors of a local plant-focused non-profit. She is a Master Composter/Soil Builder and focuses her graduate curriculum on soil science and community education. Kathleen is a member of, and volunteers for several local plant organizations and teaches classes on various garden topics throughout the year.
Falaah Jones is fairly new to the gardening scene after spending decades indoors as a neonatal biochemist and laboratory research technologist. She is intrigued by the "whys and hows" of plant and soil biology and practices organic gardening at home, growing vegetables, fruits, and a vast assortment of ornamentals. She is transforming her side-yard into a wildlife area with native and bird-friendly trees and shrubs. Falaah is a Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH) and has completed the bulk of courses towards a degree in Landscape Management at Edmonds Community College. Her landscape maintenance business allows her to interact extensively with her clients, instructing them on proper pruning techniques, plant choices, and disease and cultural issues. She is a King County Master Recyler Composter, a former educator with the King County Hazardous Wastemobile, and a member of Plant Amnesty. She is a new chicken owner and is busy writing her memoirs, including stories of her father's love of rhododendrons and Japanese maples and her mother's antics in the vegetable garden.
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