Heather Crawford grew up in New Canaan where playing in the woods, gardening and falling into any available body of water were early indications of her love of the environment! She attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, and received her degree in Biology with a Marine Biology emphasis, before fleeing back to the East Coast. Heather received her M.S. in Biological Oceanography from UCONN; then worked for the Connecticut Sea Grant College Program as an extension educator specializing in land use impacts on water quality and the habitats of Long Island Sound. After 14 years with Sea Grant, Heather left to concentrate on raising her daughters and practice what she had been preaching by turning her family's 1830 farmstead into an environmentally friendly building and landscape. As a free-lance environmental educator, Heather provides training for landscapers, garden clubs and other interested groups on ways that individuals can lighten their imprint on the landscape.
Making Rain Water Work for You
Saturday, March 15th, 11:00 am
Mar Jennings is a modern lifestyle expert specializing in gardening, home décor, entertaining, and green living. A contributing editor and television personality, Mar has been featured in both local and national publications and is host and executive producer of “The Mar Jennings Home and Garden Show,” a newly syndicated lifestyle program.
In 2007, Mar published his debut book, Life on Mar’s: A Four Season Garden, a gardening lifestyle book complete with outdoor living ideas, crafts, recipes, and a
photographic look at Mar’s own Westport garden through the four seasons. Whether in the home or garden, Mar provides tips for a casual luxury lifestyle balancing natural solutions with everyday simple elegance. Mar strives for a harmonious four-season garden through texture, color and fragrance. His goal is to create recipes and projects that can be understood by all, with results that can be attained by everyone. At www.marjennings.com, Mar shares many of his lifestyle tips which inspire audiences to live creatively and enjoy all the opportunities that a home and garden can offer.
A Four Seasons Garden
Saturday, March 15th, 12:30 pm
Sunday, March 16th, 2:30 pm
Michael Gardocki, president and founder of Allspect Home Inspection Services, has been a home inspector serving Fairfield and New Haven counties for the past twenty-four years. In addition to being a certified ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) inspector, he holds a Connecticut supervisory pest control license and arborist license, and also performs environmental testing. Active in teaching, Mike served many years as education chair for the Southern New England chapter of ASHI, and currently instructs at the Connecticut Real Estate Academy. He also presents seminars on in-home energy conservation at United Illuminating’s Smart Living Center in Orange.
Smart Living- Landscaping for Energy Efficiency
Saturday, March 15th, 2:00 pm
Winthrop Baum and his wife Stefanie have been keeping honeybees in the backyard of their Fairfield home since 1992. Win has served as President of the regional Back Yard Beekeepers Association (one of the largest associations of its kind in the country), and is currently serving on its Board of Directors. Stefanie does the harvesting and marketing of their honey, while Win does all the field work. Win is currently engaged in trying to produce bees that are better acclimated to our region through genetic selection, selecting biological factors for survival. In the non-beekeeping world, Win is a commercial property developer in Connecticut.
Bee Story: Not a Cartoon—a Real Life Mystery Affecting Our Food Supply
Saturday, March 15th, 3:30pm
Kathy Wandelmaier earned her Master Gardener certification from UCONN in 2002. However, her gardening roots started long before that. Per Kathy, “I’ve been messing around with plants since I killed my first cactus when I was in the 5th grade. My houseplants followed me to college (Rutgers, 1983) where I regrettably chose to major in business administration instead of horticulture.” She also holds a certificate in Garden Design from the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY. Kathy owns Nearly Wild Garden Design in Brookfield, CT. Through Nearly Wild, Kathy offers garden design consultation services. She’s active at the Fairfield County Extension office by manning the "hotline" and mentoring Master Gardener interns. She also serves on the board of the Brookfield Open Space Legacy, Brookfield's private land trust. Kathy is on her third home and garden, and for the moment feels satisfied with what she’s accomplished. But as she says, “Gardens are never really done are they?”
Low Maintenance Terrariums for the Busy Gardener
Sunday, March 16th, 11:30am
Stephen C. Gooss is a graduate of Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture. An avid "plant fanatic", Steve is a Vice President of the Fairfield County Horticultural Society, oversees the monthly judging of horticultural exhibits, and is a featured speaker on a variety of topics. Mr. Gooss has lectured to such groups as the Senior Citizen’s Center of Westport, the Westport Women’s Club and Norwalk Community College as part of its continuing education program. Steve also offers his expertise as a private consultant and for the past nine years has served Geiger's Garden Center as Garden Center Manager and Manager of the Water Gardening Program.
Edible Crops in Containers
Sunday, March 16th, 1:00pm
