Virtual GArden Conference sPEAKER bIOS
Rob Bishop is a graduate of Juneau Douglas High School and UAS with a degree in Construction Technology and Building Science. On October 2007, Rob and his wife moved to Game Creek Community Farm on the outskirts of Hoonah, Alaska.
He began Game Creek Construction in 2008 to support his family and is still involved in general contracting within the rural communities. With an interest in local fruit, he began growing fruit trees in the summer of 2008. Much of his inspiration came from observing the many laden fruit trees throughout neighboring properties. The taste of local apples and cherries surpassed all store-bought quality fruit and created an inspiration to plant orchards within Southeast despite over-coming many obstacles from rodents, bears, incorrect apple varieties for our area, and human error. Thanks to "You Tube" videos and experimentation, he mastered grafting and began replication local trees that would prove worthy of their keep by way of flavor and production. Rob's passion for fruit trees has now developed into a new business, "Alaska Apple Farms." Rob states, "it is our greatest desire to share what we've discovered as we endeavor to pioneer sustainable inspirational fruits for rural Alaskans."
Visit: Alaska Apple Farms
Joel Bos moved to Alaska in 2004 to become a forest fire fighter for the state. He met his wife Emily and they now have 2 children together, Summit (9) and Maebell (6). During his time in Anchorage, he became a Master Gardener and began his journey of pursuing sustainable food production.
Since moving to Juneau in 2015, Joel has found success in growing vegetables in his home and community garden projects. He is also an avid forager for greens and berries filling his freezer and pantry as well as helping to feed our community local foods. He is a board member of the Juneau Community Garden, where he helps with the charity plots, Master Gardener plots and the spent brewery grain composting project. Joel is the garden manager at the Gruening Park Apartments community garden. He works part time with the 21st Century Grant programs, building gardens and teaching elementary students gardening through hands on experience at Riverbend, Glacier Valley, and Harborview Elementary schools. He is the owner of a small food production business called Tidalwood Food and Forage with plans to expand production this year, branching out into constructing, seeding, and helping maintain vegetable gardens for Juneau homeowners looking to get into home gardening. Joel's career goal is to start a non-profit educational farm that would both educate new gardeners, young and old, as well as feed our community with local fresh produce. He looks forward to every growing season, and is hoping to spread his passion for food sustainability and food security.
Ed Buyarski was transplanted from Upper Michigan through Southern Idaho to Alaska in 1983 after a visit in 1977 via bus, train, ferry and thumb. He and his wife Janis raised two children in Alaska and now visit them in California and pick fruit in the winter with their grandchildren.
Ed has been gardening in Southeast Alaska since 1984 in Wrangell, Petersburg, where he became a Master Gardener, Sitka, Juneau and Haines. He started his business-Ed's Edible Landscaping-to give people a chance to have beautiful as well as tasty plants in their yards. Many fruits and berries have been planted with success resulting in a lot of fresh eating, jams, jellies and pies over the years. Growing and propagating many varieties of Primulas has become another profitable part of his business. He has grown over a hundred varieties of potatoes and several dozen different garlic cultivars in past gardens.
Ed is a past President of the American Primrose Society as well as Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners and enjoys teaching gardening classes. He has volunteered for Alaska Public Radio as a host of Garden Talk on KTOO in Juneau and KFSK in Petersburg.
Gino Graziano is an invasive weeds specialist with the integrated pest management program. Within this area he works with gardeners, agricultural producers, and land managers to identify priorities and control practices that meet their land management objectives. His passion is wild land weed management, and he has lately emphasized on the good and bad aspects of herbicide fate, management of the European bird cherry ( Pru nus padus), and will soon be exploring the use of a biocontrol to manage Japanese knotweed in Southeast Alaska. Outside of work Gino is a passionate gardener growing the majority of carrots, potatoes, and peas his family eats in addition to many of the other staple crops common to Alaska gardens. You would likely be appalled to know he struggles with chickweed too. What could you learn from this guy? The view of his garden is deceiving because the threshold for tolerance varies depending on the crop, time needed to recreate versus manage, and willingness to use herbicides on only plants like orange hawkweed that unequivocally need them when removal is desired.
Patricia Hartman, aka Pat, grew up in Ogden, Utah, living near her grandparents, and was adept at exploring the acres of terraced garden beds, climbing the orchard trees and helping harvest the seasonal produce. She has spent the last 40 years growing ornamental gardens and vegetable gardens throughout the Western United States. Her Hobby of building and maintaining an Outdoor Garden Railroad has lead to her interest in growing hardy succulents, all small/ miniature plants and the Art of Bonsai. Pat is a plant aficionado, world traveler, and active member of the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners, Juneau Garden Club, Friends of the Jensen Olson Arboretum, President of the Juneau Primrose Chapter and sits on the board of the American Primrose Society.
Steve Hootman is the Executive director and Curator of the Rhododendron Species botanical garden in federal Way, WA where he has been a employee since 1992. Steve has led or participated in over 20 expeditions into the remote regions of China, the Himalayas, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea in search of new and interesting plants. Steve is widely published and has provided lectures to interested people all around the world. He has introduced dozens of specie into cultivation and has collected numerous taxa that were completely new to science and is considered one of the top experts in the world on the genus Rhododendron.
Visit : Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
John Krapek is a plant ecologist by training who has always been interested in botany, gardening, and local agriculture. After completing his M.S. degree in forest ecology, studying yellow-cedar in Southeast Alaska, John heard about other people in Alaska exploring indoor growing as a way to provide a year-round supply of produce in an area with a difficult growing climate. In his research on the potential for indoor growing in Juneau, John was connected with Trevor Kirchhoff, who has years of indoor gardening, hydroponic, and aquaponic experience. John and Trevor began discussing ideas for an indoor farm in Juneau and launched Juneau Greens in the summer of 2017. An indoor, climate controlled hydroponic farm, Juneau Greens supplies living basil to grocery stores in town, butter lettuce and other greens to restaurants, and a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA) style "Greens Box" distributed through Panhandle Produce. John is also interested in soil farming and potentially extending Juneau Greens beyond indoor growing at some point."
Visit: Juneau Greens
David Lendrum is a professional horticulturist working all over Southeast Alaska, raised in the agricultural life of his parents organic you pick farm in California, he began working in nurseries at 14 and discovered the fascinating world of plant management, propagation, and cultivation. He operated a row crop farm in the highlands of Ecuador, opened his first nursery field growing perennials in Oregon, worked as a propagation technician for a high temperature photosynthesis research facility at Stanford, and as a grower for a Rhododendron nursery in the Willamette Valley
Moving to Juneau in the early 80's with Margaret Tharp, they began Landscape Alaska, one of the first nurseries in Southeast Alaska. Meeting and sharing with pioneer gardeners and farmers they learned how to manage the particular conditions and environments of this fascinating world, those experienced and practical growers really did it old school, and they were willing to share. Gardening and horticulture is really a community building process, it helps us have better lives, get to know our neighbors, and share what we all learn.
David is now Landscape Superintendent for the University, and with Margaret, broadcasts "Conversations With Alaska Gardeners" a radio call in show that, during the gardening season, is heard all over the Southeast Archipelago. Staying abreast of current developments and researching historical techniques that are once again appropriate, he's endlessly fascinated by the world of Horticulture, and is eager to share.
Visit: Landscape Alaska
Sarah Lewis, AIA, MSW is the Health, Family, and Community Developments Agent for the Juneau District of the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service. She teaches local food preservation and entrepreneurship
workshops throughout Southeast, and offers programming in chronic disease prevention, family emergency preparedness, efficient home resource use, and general family resilience.
Visit: www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/juneau/
David Love is a biologist and Master Gardener, who has been gardening in Southeast Alaska since about 1995. Beginning in 2012, he and his lovely wife Nikki, began growing garlic, carrots, potatoes and rhubarb for sale from their micro-farm in Gustavus. David has received two Specialty Crop Grants through Alaska Division of Agriculture to: 1) study production, storage, and preliminary market analysis of 4 hard neck garlic varieties grown on farms from Ketchikan to Haines and, 2) research the production, survival and growth, and market acceptance of unique and flavorful rhubarb varieties grown on 4 farms from Petersburg to Haines. David will be talking about preliminary results of the Rhubarb Specialty Crop Grant research. These projects would not be possible or successful without the help of the other Southeast Alaska growers who have, and are, collaborating on the research. Thanks especially to Joe Orsi, Andy Piston, Ed Buyarski, Sally Boisvert, Bo Versa no and Marja Smets.
Visit: Rootsellerfarm
Jessie Moan is a forest entomologist with UAF's Cooperative Extension Service in Anchorage. Most of her work centers around working with homeowners and landowners to identify plant health problems and finding solutions to manage them. Her work interests include invasive forest pests, biological control, and insect outbreak dynamics. Her personal insect interests involve insects that do "weird" or "gross" things. (see also: biological control, sometimes)
Will Murray is a '91 graduate of Humboldt State University, and has a B.S. in Range Management, with minors in Botany and Geography. He came to SE Alaska in October 2014 and has worked as a Resource Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) out of the Juneau Field Office since beginning his Alaska adventure 5 % years ago.
He comes from a ranching/farming background in Northern California and enjoys hunting and fishing as a means to further enlightenment, as well as a full freezer. An avid photographer and videographer, Will can often be seen with his dog, Col, taking pictures in the forest, or shooting GoPro video of his salmon fishing adventures on Montana Creek, or along the beaches at Sheep and Salmon Creeks in Juneau.
Will's job with the NRCS takes him all around Southeast Alaska, with a varied job description that includes assisting farmers and gardeners with conservation practice implementation such as soil testing and high tunnel installation, as well as pre-commercial thinning and pruning on native corporation lands. His work efforts during his time in Juneau have been about helping the small communities of SE Alaska with sustainable food production and supporting long-term economic growth.
National Weather Service/NOAA:
Cody Moore has been l/iving in Southeast Alaska for about a year. Prior to moving to Southeast Alaska area he lived in Louisville, KY for almost 13 years where he attended the University of Louisville and graduated with a degree in Atmospheric Science in 2017.
Cody says his passion for the weather started at a very young age. "I knew I wanted to be a meteorologist since I was about 5 years old. Growing up on Long Island, my passion for the weather began as I experienced strong thunderstorms in the summer to intense blizzards in the winter." His fascination for the weather continued as he moved to the Midwest and Ohio Valley where he experienced droughts, floods, winter storms, and severe weather events including chasing tornadoes.
"Moving to Alaska has been a lifechanging adventure. Since moving here, I have been able to hike up mountains, explore Southeast Alaska, and go places I never thought I'd be able to visit. At work, I have quickly been learning about the climate and the weather patterns in this complex region. From Taku Winds to strong winter storms to extreme droughts, the weather here has kept me very busy over the past year. I learn something new everyday about the fascinating weather in Southeast Alaska."
Caleb Cravens began working for NOAA National Weather Service in July of 2019. Born and raised in the rural area of Sparta, Tennessee, agriculture played a big role in the community. In a town full of family owned farms, he helped operate his own families' farm where they grew 100 plus acres of soybeans and raised cattle. After graduating high school, Cody moved to Starkville, Mississippi to attend Mississippi State University. Cody studied the field of atmospheric science along with additional studies in geography and communications, earning a bachelor's degree in Atmospheric sciences with a focus in Operational Meteorology, in May of 2018.
Cody say "My passion for weather started at a young age. growing up on a farm while also being an avid
outdoors man, I quickly realized how big of an impact weather can have on day to day operations. while you may not realize it, weather affects everyone every day. When you get our of bed, ho do you know what to wear? You usually check the forecast to see what type of weather is expected. this idea of people and weather having constant interaction with one another is whet drew me to study and pursue a career in Meteorology."
Rick Fritsch is a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service at the office in Juneau, Alaska. He and his family came to Juneau in the early spring of 2006. Apart from routine forecasting for Southeast Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Alaska, he is also the office focal point for climate and climate change, with emphasis on Southeast Alaska. Additionally, he is the office point of contact and program manager for aviation meteorology. He enjoys outreach activities; talking with and making presentations to adults, teachers, and school children. Apart from the National Weather Service, Rick is actively involved in a NASA program called earth-to-SKY, which is a NASA initiative to educate the public in the science of climate and climate change on Earth.
A 30 year Veteran of the United States Navy, Rick has degrees in biology, meteorology, and physical oceanography. He is also and active pilot and flies as much as the weather and budget will allow! Rick's family includes his wife Melissa, and their twin 17 year old daughters Katherine and Meredith.
Joe Orsi has been a past president of the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners and helped out with the start up of Juneau's first Community garden. His interests include experimenting with different crop varieties and growing produce on a larger scale to help Juneau become more sustainable. He enjoys sharing information with others to enable them to be more successful at growing produce in our challenging and short growing season. He has grown produce in Juneau for over 35 years, commercially for the past 12 years as Orsi Organic Produce, a Certified Naturally Grown farm.
Visit: Orsi Organic Produce
Colin Peacock is the Local Foods Coordinator at the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition. He started the Salt & Soil Marketplace which offers fresh, seasonal local food to Juneau residents year round. He is originally from Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 2003 with an Associates Chef's degree. He went on to lead conservation biology field programs and earned Bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology from Clark University in 2011.
After graduating, he changed course once again to peruse the life of a photographer. Colin used his marketing and photojournalism skills to help sustainable development projects, local food organizations, and non-profits achieve greater results through media and marketing. Culminating in 2016, where he launched a sustainable development company of his own in the rural high plains of Peru, Kai Pacha Foods
Visit: Salt and Soil Market Place
Deb Rudis is a wildlife biologist, retired from the US Fish & Wildlife Service where her work included promoting pollinator surveys on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. She has gardened in Juneau for 30 years. Her perennial flower beds are designed to improve habitat for local pollinators.
Samia Savell is a soil nerd who has been living and gardening in Juneau for about 18 years – the same amount of time she has worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, helping private landowners throughout southeast Alaska conserve natural resources on agricultural and forest land. Professionally, she works with forest landowners to improve conditions for wildlife and traditional/subsistence resources that thrive in our temperate rainforest, and with agricultural landowners to help them conserve resources while they grow crops in our somewhat challenging region. Outside of work she loves spending time outdoors with her family.
Darren Snyder, University of Alaska, Associate Professor of Extension, has been gardening in Juneau since arriving in 1995 and has learned quite a few ways to kill plants along the way. Since 2008, Darren has been working as an Extension Agent providing agriculture/Horticulture and 4-H youth development programs in Southeast Alaska through; basic gardening and Master Gardener courses; creating and supporting community and school gardens; supporting the local food movement producers and markets; helping found and operate the Alaska Food Policy council; create emergency food preparation tools; providing outdoor skills and harvest camps and more. Warning:
If it has to do with food, Darren's going to try to help!
Visit: Juneau Cooperative Extension
Margaret Tharp grew up in an environment of formal gardens set against the wild world, her love of the landscape and her passion for the natural world is what brought her to Alaska.
Margaret Tharp MLA is Landscape Alaska, she along with horticulturist David Lendrum, designs, manages and directs all work on the sites. She is a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon, and does this work because she loves it. Beginning with residential work, she has grown into a designer working at all scales. She has years of experience in this field, including designing the landscape for Thunder Mountain High School, installing the landscape for the new State Museum, renovating and maintaining the largest landscape in Juneau at the Parkshore Condominiums, and most recently designing and installing the landscape around the Alaska Capitol Building.
Her design for the Juneau Police Station which was an example of her Masters work "Salvaging and Reusing the Native Landscape in Juneau Alaska"is the only time a landscape design was selected as the 1 % for Art in the history of the program.
Her residential design work exemplifies the same environmental care and attention to detail as her public work. Examples include Ginger Johnsons flower filled spectacular home on Fifth st in Douglas, The Zack home above the beach in West Juneau, and Jo Pegues home on Mint Way.
She has changed the way landscapes are built in our environment, and her program will reflect on that process
Visit: Landscape Alaska
Robert Trousil works for the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. A civil engineer by trade, he oversees the Southcoast Regions' geotechnical, hydraulics, and materials laboratory units. Their work area includes projects from the southern tip of Alaska's panhandle to Adak on the Aleutian chain. His family enjoys growing produce at the Community Garden in Juneau and contributing to running the annual Farmers Market. He particularly enjoys hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing with his family. He and his family have lived in Juneau for over ten years, thoroughly enjoying all that Juneau and the rest of Alaska has to offer
Eli Wray is a lifelong gardener and farmer. As a longtime employee of Glacier Gardens, Eli focused on potted plant care and production, landscape installation and greenhouse cultivation. In 2013 he started a small seasonal farm stand which supplied Alaska Grown produce to the community. This farm stand eventually grew into a desire to address the need for an increased local foods presence in Juneau. What emerged in 2018 was a brick and mortar local foods storefront, called Panhandle Produce. Today Panhandle now supports over a dozen farms & home growers in Southeast Alaska, three CSA's, and a non-profit online local foods marketplace (Salt & Soil). Last year Eli launched his farm, Windfall Farm which supports a 20 person CSA May-September.
Visit: Panhandle Produce
Kylie Wray who was born and raised in Juneau, is a JDHS / UAA graduate who returned to her hometown in 2012, and spent a handful of years in the tourism and hospitality industry before beginning her farm apprenticeship under her partner (now husband), Eli. In 2016, after helping run their roadside farm stand for three consecutive summers, she took over as the manager for Second Saturday Farmers & (rafters Market, the only regular farmers market in Juneau at the time. As an avid pickle maker, she also became known for her pickle stands at these monthly markets. Today she still serves as the market coordinator for the Juneau Saturday Market at the JACC. Kylie also co-owns and operates Panhandle Produce, alongside Farmer Eli. In her spare time Kylie enjoys playing outside with her dogs, filling her fermentation crocs, and visiting as many other farmers markets as possible
Visit: Panhandle Produce
He began Game Creek Construction in 2008 to support his family and is still involved in general contracting within the rural communities. With an interest in local fruit, he began growing fruit trees in the summer of 2008. Much of his inspiration came from observing the many laden fruit trees throughout neighboring properties. The taste of local apples and cherries surpassed all store-bought quality fruit and created an inspiration to plant orchards within Southeast despite over-coming many obstacles from rodents, bears, incorrect apple varieties for our area, and human error. Thanks to "You Tube" videos and experimentation, he mastered grafting and began replication local trees that would prove worthy of their keep by way of flavor and production. Rob's passion for fruit trees has now developed into a new business, "Alaska Apple Farms." Rob states, "it is our greatest desire to share what we've discovered as we endeavor to pioneer sustainable inspirational fruits for rural Alaskans."
Visit: Alaska Apple Farms
Joel Bos moved to Alaska in 2004 to become a forest fire fighter for the state. He met his wife Emily and they now have 2 children together, Summit (9) and Maebell (6). During his time in Anchorage, he became a Master Gardener and began his journey of pursuing sustainable food production.
Since moving to Juneau in 2015, Joel has found success in growing vegetables in his home and community garden projects. He is also an avid forager for greens and berries filling his freezer and pantry as well as helping to feed our community local foods. He is a board member of the Juneau Community Garden, where he helps with the charity plots, Master Gardener plots and the spent brewery grain composting project. Joel is the garden manager at the Gruening Park Apartments community garden. He works part time with the 21st Century Grant programs, building gardens and teaching elementary students gardening through hands on experience at Riverbend, Glacier Valley, and Harborview Elementary schools. He is the owner of a small food production business called Tidalwood Food and Forage with plans to expand production this year, branching out into constructing, seeding, and helping maintain vegetable gardens for Juneau homeowners looking to get into home gardening. Joel's career goal is to start a non-profit educational farm that would both educate new gardeners, young and old, as well as feed our community with local fresh produce. He looks forward to every growing season, and is hoping to spread his passion for food sustainability and food security.
Ed Buyarski was transplanted from Upper Michigan through Southern Idaho to Alaska in 1983 after a visit in 1977 via bus, train, ferry and thumb. He and his wife Janis raised two children in Alaska and now visit them in California and pick fruit in the winter with their grandchildren.
Ed has been gardening in Southeast Alaska since 1984 in Wrangell, Petersburg, where he became a Master Gardener, Sitka, Juneau and Haines. He started his business-Ed's Edible Landscaping-to give people a chance to have beautiful as well as tasty plants in their yards. Many fruits and berries have been planted with success resulting in a lot of fresh eating, jams, jellies and pies over the years. Growing and propagating many varieties of Primulas has become another profitable part of his business. He has grown over a hundred varieties of potatoes and several dozen different garlic cultivars in past gardens.
Ed is a past President of the American Primrose Society as well as Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners and enjoys teaching gardening classes. He has volunteered for Alaska Public Radio as a host of Garden Talk on KTOO in Juneau and KFSK in Petersburg.
Gino Graziano is an invasive weeds specialist with the integrated pest management program. Within this area he works with gardeners, agricultural producers, and land managers to identify priorities and control practices that meet their land management objectives. His passion is wild land weed management, and he has lately emphasized on the good and bad aspects of herbicide fate, management of the European bird cherry ( Pru nus padus), and will soon be exploring the use of a biocontrol to manage Japanese knotweed in Southeast Alaska. Outside of work Gino is a passionate gardener growing the majority of carrots, potatoes, and peas his family eats in addition to many of the other staple crops common to Alaska gardens. You would likely be appalled to know he struggles with chickweed too. What could you learn from this guy? The view of his garden is deceiving because the threshold for tolerance varies depending on the crop, time needed to recreate versus manage, and willingness to use herbicides on only plants like orange hawkweed that unequivocally need them when removal is desired.
Patricia Hartman, aka Pat, grew up in Ogden, Utah, living near her grandparents, and was adept at exploring the acres of terraced garden beds, climbing the orchard trees and helping harvest the seasonal produce. She has spent the last 40 years growing ornamental gardens and vegetable gardens throughout the Western United States. Her Hobby of building and maintaining an Outdoor Garden Railroad has lead to her interest in growing hardy succulents, all small/ miniature plants and the Art of Bonsai. Pat is a plant aficionado, world traveler, and active member of the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners, Juneau Garden Club, Friends of the Jensen Olson Arboretum, President of the Juneau Primrose Chapter and sits on the board of the American Primrose Society.
Steve Hootman is the Executive director and Curator of the Rhododendron Species botanical garden in federal Way, WA where he has been a employee since 1992. Steve has led or participated in over 20 expeditions into the remote regions of China, the Himalayas, Vietnam and Papua New Guinea in search of new and interesting plants. Steve is widely published and has provided lectures to interested people all around the world. He has introduced dozens of specie into cultivation and has collected numerous taxa that were completely new to science and is considered one of the top experts in the world on the genus Rhododendron.
Visit : Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
John Krapek is a plant ecologist by training who has always been interested in botany, gardening, and local agriculture. After completing his M.S. degree in forest ecology, studying yellow-cedar in Southeast Alaska, John heard about other people in Alaska exploring indoor growing as a way to provide a year-round supply of produce in an area with a difficult growing climate. In his research on the potential for indoor growing in Juneau, John was connected with Trevor Kirchhoff, who has years of indoor gardening, hydroponic, and aquaponic experience. John and Trevor began discussing ideas for an indoor farm in Juneau and launched Juneau Greens in the summer of 2017. An indoor, climate controlled hydroponic farm, Juneau Greens supplies living basil to grocery stores in town, butter lettuce and other greens to restaurants, and a weekly community supported agriculture (CSA) style "Greens Box" distributed through Panhandle Produce. John is also interested in soil farming and potentially extending Juneau Greens beyond indoor growing at some point."
Visit: Juneau Greens
David Lendrum is a professional horticulturist working all over Southeast Alaska, raised in the agricultural life of his parents organic you pick farm in California, he began working in nurseries at 14 and discovered the fascinating world of plant management, propagation, and cultivation. He operated a row crop farm in the highlands of Ecuador, opened his first nursery field growing perennials in Oregon, worked as a propagation technician for a high temperature photosynthesis research facility at Stanford, and as a grower for a Rhododendron nursery in the Willamette Valley
Moving to Juneau in the early 80's with Margaret Tharp, they began Landscape Alaska, one of the first nurseries in Southeast Alaska. Meeting and sharing with pioneer gardeners and farmers they learned how to manage the particular conditions and environments of this fascinating world, those experienced and practical growers really did it old school, and they were willing to share. Gardening and horticulture is really a community building process, it helps us have better lives, get to know our neighbors, and share what we all learn.
David is now Landscape Superintendent for the University, and with Margaret, broadcasts "Conversations With Alaska Gardeners" a radio call in show that, during the gardening season, is heard all over the Southeast Archipelago. Staying abreast of current developments and researching historical techniques that are once again appropriate, he's endlessly fascinated by the world of Horticulture, and is eager to share.
Visit: Landscape Alaska
Sarah Lewis, AIA, MSW is the Health, Family, and Community Developments Agent for the Juneau District of the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service. She teaches local food preservation and entrepreneurship
workshops throughout Southeast, and offers programming in chronic disease prevention, family emergency preparedness, efficient home resource use, and general family resilience.
Visit: www.uaf.edu/ces/districts/juneau/
David Love is a biologist and Master Gardener, who has been gardening in Southeast Alaska since about 1995. Beginning in 2012, he and his lovely wife Nikki, began growing garlic, carrots, potatoes and rhubarb for sale from their micro-farm in Gustavus. David has received two Specialty Crop Grants through Alaska Division of Agriculture to: 1) study production, storage, and preliminary market analysis of 4 hard neck garlic varieties grown on farms from Ketchikan to Haines and, 2) research the production, survival and growth, and market acceptance of unique and flavorful rhubarb varieties grown on 4 farms from Petersburg to Haines. David will be talking about preliminary results of the Rhubarb Specialty Crop Grant research. These projects would not be possible or successful without the help of the other Southeast Alaska growers who have, and are, collaborating on the research. Thanks especially to Joe Orsi, Andy Piston, Ed Buyarski, Sally Boisvert, Bo Versa no and Marja Smets.
Visit: Rootsellerfarm
Jessie Moan is a forest entomologist with UAF's Cooperative Extension Service in Anchorage. Most of her work centers around working with homeowners and landowners to identify plant health problems and finding solutions to manage them. Her work interests include invasive forest pests, biological control, and insect outbreak dynamics. Her personal insect interests involve insects that do "weird" or "gross" things. (see also: biological control, sometimes)
Will Murray is a '91 graduate of Humboldt State University, and has a B.S. in Range Management, with minors in Botany and Geography. He came to SE Alaska in October 2014 and has worked as a Resource Conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) out of the Juneau Field Office since beginning his Alaska adventure 5 % years ago.
He comes from a ranching/farming background in Northern California and enjoys hunting and fishing as a means to further enlightenment, as well as a full freezer. An avid photographer and videographer, Will can often be seen with his dog, Col, taking pictures in the forest, or shooting GoPro video of his salmon fishing adventures on Montana Creek, or along the beaches at Sheep and Salmon Creeks in Juneau.
Will's job with the NRCS takes him all around Southeast Alaska, with a varied job description that includes assisting farmers and gardeners with conservation practice implementation such as soil testing and high tunnel installation, as well as pre-commercial thinning and pruning on native corporation lands. His work efforts during his time in Juneau have been about helping the small communities of SE Alaska with sustainable food production and supporting long-term economic growth.
National Weather Service/NOAA:
Cody Moore has been l/iving in Southeast Alaska for about a year. Prior to moving to Southeast Alaska area he lived in Louisville, KY for almost 13 years where he attended the University of Louisville and graduated with a degree in Atmospheric Science in 2017.
Cody says his passion for the weather started at a very young age. "I knew I wanted to be a meteorologist since I was about 5 years old. Growing up on Long Island, my passion for the weather began as I experienced strong thunderstorms in the summer to intense blizzards in the winter." His fascination for the weather continued as he moved to the Midwest and Ohio Valley where he experienced droughts, floods, winter storms, and severe weather events including chasing tornadoes.
"Moving to Alaska has been a lifechanging adventure. Since moving here, I have been able to hike up mountains, explore Southeast Alaska, and go places I never thought I'd be able to visit. At work, I have quickly been learning about the climate and the weather patterns in this complex region. From Taku Winds to strong winter storms to extreme droughts, the weather here has kept me very busy over the past year. I learn something new everyday about the fascinating weather in Southeast Alaska."
Caleb Cravens began working for NOAA National Weather Service in July of 2019. Born and raised in the rural area of Sparta, Tennessee, agriculture played a big role in the community. In a town full of family owned farms, he helped operate his own families' farm where they grew 100 plus acres of soybeans and raised cattle. After graduating high school, Cody moved to Starkville, Mississippi to attend Mississippi State University. Cody studied the field of atmospheric science along with additional studies in geography and communications, earning a bachelor's degree in Atmospheric sciences with a focus in Operational Meteorology, in May of 2018.
Cody say "My passion for weather started at a young age. growing up on a farm while also being an avid
outdoors man, I quickly realized how big of an impact weather can have on day to day operations. while you may not realize it, weather affects everyone every day. When you get our of bed, ho do you know what to wear? You usually check the forecast to see what type of weather is expected. this idea of people and weather having constant interaction with one another is whet drew me to study and pursue a career in Meteorology."
Rick Fritsch is a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service at the office in Juneau, Alaska. He and his family came to Juneau in the early spring of 2006. Apart from routine forecasting for Southeast Alaska and the eastern Gulf of Alaska, he is also the office focal point for climate and climate change, with emphasis on Southeast Alaska. Additionally, he is the office point of contact and program manager for aviation meteorology. He enjoys outreach activities; talking with and making presentations to adults, teachers, and school children. Apart from the National Weather Service, Rick is actively involved in a NASA program called earth-to-SKY, which is a NASA initiative to educate the public in the science of climate and climate change on Earth.
A 30 year Veteran of the United States Navy, Rick has degrees in biology, meteorology, and physical oceanography. He is also and active pilot and flies as much as the weather and budget will allow! Rick's family includes his wife Melissa, and their twin 17 year old daughters Katherine and Meredith.
Joe Orsi has been a past president of the Southeast Alaska Master Gardeners and helped out with the start up of Juneau's first Community garden. His interests include experimenting with different crop varieties and growing produce on a larger scale to help Juneau become more sustainable. He enjoys sharing information with others to enable them to be more successful at growing produce in our challenging and short growing season. He has grown produce in Juneau for over 35 years, commercially for the past 12 years as Orsi Organic Produce, a Certified Naturally Grown farm.
Visit: Orsi Organic Produce
Colin Peacock is the Local Foods Coordinator at the Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition. He started the Salt & Soil Marketplace which offers fresh, seasonal local food to Juneau residents year round. He is originally from Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 2003 with an Associates Chef's degree. He went on to lead conservation biology field programs and earned Bachelor's degree in Conservation Biology from Clark University in 2011.
After graduating, he changed course once again to peruse the life of a photographer. Colin used his marketing and photojournalism skills to help sustainable development projects, local food organizations, and non-profits achieve greater results through media and marketing. Culminating in 2016, where he launched a sustainable development company of his own in the rural high plains of Peru, Kai Pacha Foods
Visit: Salt and Soil Market Place
Deb Rudis is a wildlife biologist, retired from the US Fish & Wildlife Service where her work included promoting pollinator surveys on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska. She has gardened in Juneau for 30 years. Her perennial flower beds are designed to improve habitat for local pollinators.
Samia Savell is a soil nerd who has been living and gardening in Juneau for about 18 years – the same amount of time she has worked for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, helping private landowners throughout southeast Alaska conserve natural resources on agricultural and forest land. Professionally, she works with forest landowners to improve conditions for wildlife and traditional/subsistence resources that thrive in our temperate rainforest, and with agricultural landowners to help them conserve resources while they grow crops in our somewhat challenging region. Outside of work she loves spending time outdoors with her family.
Darren Snyder, University of Alaska, Associate Professor of Extension, has been gardening in Juneau since arriving in 1995 and has learned quite a few ways to kill plants along the way. Since 2008, Darren has been working as an Extension Agent providing agriculture/Horticulture and 4-H youth development programs in Southeast Alaska through; basic gardening and Master Gardener courses; creating and supporting community and school gardens; supporting the local food movement producers and markets; helping found and operate the Alaska Food Policy council; create emergency food preparation tools; providing outdoor skills and harvest camps and more. Warning:
If it has to do with food, Darren's going to try to help!
Visit: Juneau Cooperative Extension
Margaret Tharp grew up in an environment of formal gardens set against the wild world, her love of the landscape and her passion for the natural world is what brought her to Alaska.
Margaret Tharp MLA is Landscape Alaska, she along with horticulturist David Lendrum, designs, manages and directs all work on the sites. She is a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon, and does this work because she loves it. Beginning with residential work, she has grown into a designer working at all scales. She has years of experience in this field, including designing the landscape for Thunder Mountain High School, installing the landscape for the new State Museum, renovating and maintaining the largest landscape in Juneau at the Parkshore Condominiums, and most recently designing and installing the landscape around the Alaska Capitol Building.
Her design for the Juneau Police Station which was an example of her Masters work "Salvaging and Reusing the Native Landscape in Juneau Alaska"is the only time a landscape design was selected as the 1 % for Art in the history of the program.
Her residential design work exemplifies the same environmental care and attention to detail as her public work. Examples include Ginger Johnsons flower filled spectacular home on Fifth st in Douglas, The Zack home above the beach in West Juneau, and Jo Pegues home on Mint Way.
She has changed the way landscapes are built in our environment, and her program will reflect on that process
Visit: Landscape Alaska
Robert Trousil works for the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities. A civil engineer by trade, he oversees the Southcoast Regions' geotechnical, hydraulics, and materials laboratory units. Their work area includes projects from the southern tip of Alaska's panhandle to Adak on the Aleutian chain. His family enjoys growing produce at the Community Garden in Juneau and contributing to running the annual Farmers Market. He particularly enjoys hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing with his family. He and his family have lived in Juneau for over ten years, thoroughly enjoying all that Juneau and the rest of Alaska has to offer
Eli Wray is a lifelong gardener and farmer. As a longtime employee of Glacier Gardens, Eli focused on potted plant care and production, landscape installation and greenhouse cultivation. In 2013 he started a small seasonal farm stand which supplied Alaska Grown produce to the community. This farm stand eventually grew into a desire to address the need for an increased local foods presence in Juneau. What emerged in 2018 was a brick and mortar local foods storefront, called Panhandle Produce. Today Panhandle now supports over a dozen farms & home growers in Southeast Alaska, three CSA's, and a non-profit online local foods marketplace (Salt & Soil). Last year Eli launched his farm, Windfall Farm which supports a 20 person CSA May-September.
Visit: Panhandle Produce
Kylie Wray who was born and raised in Juneau, is a JDHS / UAA graduate who returned to her hometown in 2012, and spent a handful of years in the tourism and hospitality industry before beginning her farm apprenticeship under her partner (now husband), Eli. In 2016, after helping run their roadside farm stand for three consecutive summers, she took over as the manager for Second Saturday Farmers & (rafters Market, the only regular farmers market in Juneau at the time. As an avid pickle maker, she also became known for her pickle stands at these monthly markets. Today she still serves as the market coordinator for the Juneau Saturday Market at the JACC. Kylie also co-owns and operates Panhandle Produce, alongside Farmer Eli. In her spare time Kylie enjoys playing outside with her dogs, filling her fermentation crocs, and visiting as many other farmers markets as possible
Visit: Panhandle Produce