Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State presents the 2023 WSU Master Gardener Advanced Education Conference

Tacoma, WA – Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State in partnership with the WSU Master Gardener State Program will present the 2023 WSU Master Gardener Advanced Education Conference, taking place at Marriott Tacoma Downtown on September 27-30, 2023.

The Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State and the WSU Master Gardener State Program are proud to announce the 50th Anniversary of the Master Gardener Program.

The Master Gardener Program is WSU Extension’s flagship volunteer program; a grassroots, sociologic movement that started at Washington State University in 1973 and was emulated across the United States and into Canada and South Korea. 

The conference will be the culminating event of a year-long anniversary celebration. The 2023 Advanced Education Conference offers top-notch classes and instructors, and significant WSU-approved continuing education hours to statewide Extension Master Gardeners who serve our communities here in Washington State. 

Thirty-five classes are taught on research-based gardening and environmental stewardship practices. The WSU Master Gardener Advanced Education Conference is open to the public.

Early registration opened on May 1, 2023. Program information, hotel reservations and ticket prices can be found here.

Michael Blackstock
Photo courtesy Partnership for Water 
Sustainability

Keynote speaker, Michael Blackstock (Gitxsan name: Ama Goodim Gyet), is a writer and visual artist. He has written over 20 publications, and produced over a dozen limited edition northwest coast art prints. 

Michael is currently the artist in residence at the Echo Valley Ranch and Spa, Jesmond, BC, where he carved faces on living trees, as spiritual guardians for the water springs. 

Michael has a Master of Arts degree in First Nations Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia in 1997. He is also professional forester, and a charted mediator. Michael was mentored by his uncle Walter Harris as a northwest coast carver. 

Michael served on the UNESCO Expert Advisory Group on Water and Cultural Diversity from 2008-2012 and worked with youth artists around the world to curate an art project on water.

As an Independent Indigenous Scholar and founder of the Blue Ecology™ theory, Blackstock offers a unique First Nations perspective on the climate crisis, inserting water into the difficult debates about carbon emissions. He has published over two dozen peer reviewed papers, bridging Science and centuries old Indigenous ways of honoring nature.

The Master Gardener Foundation of Washington State is instrumental in providing funding to advance the Master Gardener Program and education through horticultural-based research generated through Washington State University and affiliated university systems. 

WSU Extension Master Gardeners empower and sustain diverse communities with relevant and unbiased, research-based horticulture and environmental stewardship education.