We appreciate everyone who attended and filled in evaluations for our four speakers at our 2023 Symposium. Look for us again for our 2024 Symposium. If you have any suggestions for speakers, please email: nancyk@vcmga.org
9:30 – Brad Voss: Horticulture agent of Collin County and works with the Collin County Master Gardeners
Presentation Title: “Drought-Proofing: Working with Nature”
Description: Summers of rising temperatures and little rainfall have taken a toll on our gardens and landscapes. Brad Voss will be here to assist us in planning and maintaining our landscapes to be responsible stewards of our water resources.
Bio: As a Horticulture agent of Collin County, Brad Voss oversees and works with the Collin County master gardeners. He holds a B.S. with honors in Agricultural Sciences and an M.S. in Agricultural Sciences. He is a Texas A&M Commerce graduate.As a horticultural agent with The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Brad provides education and outreach programs that address important horticultural issues, such as proper plant selection, water conservation, proper use of pesticides and fertilizer, diagnosis and management of plant disease, disorders and pests. With Collin County Extension Horticulture program he develops educational and outreach programs to meet the specific needs of the local community. He has spoken for many master gardener training programs and meetings in many areas of Texas.
Brad is especially concerned with growing drought-tolerant plants in our landscapes and working with nature. He teaches “Be prepared for drought to hit.” He wants gardeners to learn about the value of using native and adaptive plants in your landscape, while also learning about easy practices you can adopt to help you save water and protect your plants from some of our harshest weather. Learn about tools such as soil moisture meters, the WaterMyYard program, and the Earth-Kind Plant Selector.
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10:45 – Jason Alfaro: Tree Mann Solutions, Houston –
Presentation Title: “Native Understory Trees for Victoria and the Crossroads Area.”
Description: This presentation will review the best practices for picking out a tree with limited greenspace. We will discuss proper placement and selection, including native trees for smaller spaces that are suitable for the Victoria/Crossroads area.
Bio: My fascination with trees began when I was a child. Witnessing the strength and beauty of them was something that I fell in love with and is what helped keep me outside, especially during warm summer days. I started working for a local parks and recreation agency and loved how the programs and parks brought a community together. Prior to the Bastrop Wildfires I started to become interested in arboriculture. After the fire I realized how closely tied both the parks and recreation and tree industry was connected. While it doesn’t take a college degree to become a certified arborist, you do need to have certain prerequisites in order to take a test for the certification. I obtained this certification over ten years ago and I am currently working towards obtaining a board-certified master arborist certification. I’m thankful for my wife of 10 years and my family for bearing with me.
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12:45 – Christine Anastas – Master Gardener/Master Naturalist
Presentation Title: “Monarchs, Migration and Milkweed”
Description: Christine has developed and conducted workshops for MLMP (Monarch Larva Monitoring Project) training and community presentations on Monarch and Milkweed conservation and is a presenter for National Wildlife Federation on various monarch and milkweed topics.
Bio: Christine Anastas is a Texas Master Naturalist, Master Gardener, and active member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. She has been involved with growing native milkweed plants and monarch citizen science projects since 2012. Her current citizen projects include MLMP, Journey North, Monarch Health, IMMP, (Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program) and Monarch Watch, and is part of the beta testing for the University of Michigan M3 Monarch Migration Project.
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2:00 – Lauren Simpson – Naturalist and Creator of St. Julian’s Crossing Wildlife Habitat/Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Houston Law Center –
Presentation Title: “Creating a Pollinator Paradise at Home”
Description: Calling all neighbors! Pollinators and other wildlife face many challenges to their survival, and they need our help. The good news is that we can take simple steps to help them—right here, right now, right in our own gardens. In this presentation, Lauren Simpson introduces our pollinators and shares simple techniques for transforming our own garden into a beautiful, native-plant paradise—one that supports wildlife and pleases neighbors! (Native-plant seeds from the speaker’s own gardens will also be shared.)
BIO: Since early 2015, and in her individual capacity, Lauren Simpson has transformed her home gardens into a wildlife-friendly habitat, currently a Certified Wildlife Habitat, Monarch Waystation, Certified Monarch Garden, and Certified Butterfly Garden. She promotes insect conservation and habitat gardening through presentations, events, interviews, and articles, as well as through a website and Instagram and Facebook communities under the appellation “St. Julian’s Crossing Wildlife Habitat”—the name adopted for her family’s Monarch Waystation. Ms. Simpson is a member of local chapters of the Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), Native Prairies Association of Texas, and North American Butterfly Association. She has also received Level 1 and Level 2 certifications through the NPSOT Native Landscape Certification Program (NLCP), has attended the “Monarch Conservation Workshop: Train the Trainer” training, and chairs the NPSOT subcommittee for the NLCP Advocacy companion class.
Independent of her naturalist activities, Ms. Simpson is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Houston Law Center, teaching Lawyering Skills and Strategies (LSS). She is a spring 2016 recipient of the University of Houston Teaching Excellence Award (Instructor/Clinical category); one of three 2018 AALS Teachers of the Year selected by the Law Center; and the 2017, 2018, 2019 (co-recipient), 2021, 2022, and 2023 Student Bar Association Professor of the Year for Law Center faculty teaching in the part-time program. In spring 2023, her LSS team had the honor of receiving the 2023 UH Group Teaching Excellence Award.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW SCHOOL CENTER
