By Kevin Jones

On Jan. 30, the Penn State Extension of Clinton County will host the third and final installment of their Garden Sense event at Clinton County Extension Learning Center in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Clinton County Master Gardener Coordinator Debra Burrows explained that the event hopes to share knowledge about environmentally friendly gardening.

“The point of the event is to for us to share information about environmentally friendly gardening and lawn care with the community,” Burrows said.

Burrows said that the event is in its second year and will continue to be an annual event for Clinton County’s Penn State Extension.  She went on to say that the some of the speakers who will make presentations at the event will be from Penn State Extension, while others will be from external organizations.

For the Jan. 30 event there will be three workshops, according to Penn State Extension’s website http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/events/garden-sense-2016.

The first workshop at 9 a.m. will be called Using Plant Resistance to Fight Pests and is presented by Extension Horticulture Educator Thomas Butzler. There will be another workshop on outdoor photography presented by retired Penn State Master Gardener Charles Hildebrand at 10 a.m. The final workshop of the day, on the topic of soil health, will start at 11 a.m. and will be presented by James Harbach and Gerard Troisi who are a cover crop farmer and crop consultant respectively according to Penn State Extension’s website.

James Harbach started working with Penn State Extension in the summer of 2015 when he hosted a tour for the master gardeners after which he was asked to speak at this year’s Garden Sense event.  This is the first time Harbach has been asked to speak for the Penn State master gardeners, but he is very involved in the agricultural groups in the area.  Harbach was impressed when he met with the master gardeners.

“What impressed me the most was their genuine concern,” Harbach said. “The event is an excellent opportunity to share our message.” 

Harbach explained that the topic of soil health, which he will be presenting on, has a significant effect on the areas water quality.

“Regenerating the soil is one of the things that will help our water quality. If public opinion changes regulations may change,” Harbach said.

Burrows explained that the event will educate the community and show them environmentally friendly ideas, giving members of the community options.  She went on to further elaborate that some of the things that would be discussed would be environmentally friendly ways of lawn care with less fertilizer and water, focusing on the hours and resources that could be saved.

Although there is no cost to attend the event, preregistration is required. Those interested in attending can register at Penn State Extention’s website http://extension.psu.edu/plants/gardening/events/garden-sense-2016.