Insects in the Garden: The Good & the Bad with Texas A & M

7700 Northaven Road,Dallas TX 75230

20 May, 2023

Description

Bugs! Good? Bad? Beneficial? A pest? If it IS truly a pest, can it be tolerated, instead of killed? Are there strategies or behaviors we could use in our gardens to decrease the bad bugs and increase the good ones? Join us on May 20th, when we'll answer all these questions and more. Not all insects in your garden are bad, in fact many are your allies if you let them do the work. Learn how to control insect pests and encourage those we consider beneficial. All ages are welcomed to join us for this buggy afternoon to get your questions answered! FREE. BONUS! Texas Master Gardener volunteers will be with us Saturday to help you with you plant choices, answer questions, and tell you more about the resources through Agrilife Extension Services. Drop by and visit! NOTE: THIS CLASS IS INDOORS IN OUR CLASSROOM. A TICKET IS REQUIRED TO GUARANTEE A SEAT. As attendance is limited, we encourage you to register early and read our newly updated ticketing procedures. IF THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT, we welcome you to attend if we have not reached stated capacity within 5 minutes of the program starting, and if there is still available space. HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY: NHG encourages all our guests to be safe and our classroom capacity has been reduced as a precaution. Please note that masks are optional, and are made available to all attendees. Should you have any questions, please contact us prior to attending the event. Katerina Graham is the new Horticulture Extension Agent for the Texas A & M Agrilife Extension Service. Born and raised in Ecuador, she came to the US to attend college over 30 years ago with the intention of returning to Ecuador to work on her father’s farm. She got her degree in Animal Science, but never returned to Ecuador. Still, she was that child who spent her afternoons and weekends on her balcony tending her plants, where most of her birthday gifts were more plants, pots, or dirt. She attended Texas A&M to pursue a master’s in Wildlife Sciences, and half-way through her degree, she decided to focus on Environmental Education. Delving deeper into her childhood passion of gardening, she undertook the gardening series offered by Urban Harvest in Houston. Since projects were needed for her certification, she transformed her backyard into a combination of raised beds and native landscaping, and grew produce at a local farmer’s market for the next three years, while simultaneously designing and building a school garden at her children’s elementary school. She has worked as a contract teacher and managed a farmer’s market, and designed, built, and managed several raised-bed garden projects and community gardens in the Houston area. Later pursuing a research degree in Entomology under the Horticulture Dept. at Oregon State University, she was hired to work in biocontrol by the Agricultural Research Service- the USDA- upon her graduation. Through her experiences, she maintained a passion to ensure we grow both our food crops and ornamentals using strategies and techniques that ensure we work with, and not against, mother nature.