Island County Master Gardener Foundation

Preserving Puget Sound with Plants
2025-06-26 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Pacific Rim Institute, 180 S. Parker Road, Coupeville, WA, 98239, United States
Presentation: Preserving Puget Sound with Plants
with Kelly Zupich, Shore Friendly Program Coordinator
The Shore Friendly program helps landowners protect their shorelines and bluffs through landscaping. Come learn what their program offers our community and which plants are their super heroes!
See the Recording –Click here:

Hello Sea Level Rise Workshop Participants and Master Gardeners,
Thank you for attending one of our Sea Level Rise workshops and our Shore Friendly presentation. resources. We have been able to pull together the attached and below materials for you! Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions and appreciate you taking the time to learn about our shoreline ecosystems.

Elise Adams, Marine Resource Committee Coordinator

Email: E.Adams@islandcountywa.gov | Office: +1(360)678-7892
1 NE 7th Street, Coupeville, WA 98239

Shore Friendly Program – Shore Friendly Program | Island County, WA
Shoreline Site Visit Request Form – Shore Friendly Site Visit Request

Exploring Plants in your Garden for Pest and Disease
2025-06-15 13:00 - 14:00 | Greenbank Farm, 765 Wonn Rd., Greenbank, WA
Presenter: Jenny Glass – WSU Puyallup Extension Coordinator / Plant Diagnostician
Learn to incorporate plant disease and post detection/diagnosis into your gardening habits. You will get tools to help prevent/manage diseases and pests and see a variety of samples for investigation.
The classes in this Education Series are FREE, and all are welcome to attend.

Forest Sustainability
2025-05-29 19:00 | Pacific Rim Institute, 180 S. Parker Road, Coupeville, WA, 98239, United States
Presentation: Gary Ketcheson will speak on Forest Sustainability.

Gary has been a Master Gardener Whidbey Island since 2013.

Plant Sale on Camano Island
2025-05-17 09:00 - 13:00 | Camano Island Multi-Purpose Center, 141 East Camano Drive, Camano, WA
Visit the Plant Sale Web Page for details.

Earth Day at Camp Casey
2025-04-19 09:30 - 14:30 | Camp Casey, 1276 Engle Rd, Coupeville, WA, 98239, United States
Join with other local community organizations to celebrate Earth Day and share information about sustainable gardening practices. We will have free Western Redcedar trees to give away to youth. Event website

Saturday, April 19 at Camp Casey
Two shifts: 9:30-12:00, and 12:00-2:30
https://givepul.se/48gbv9

Get Growing: Gardening on a Shoestring
2025-04-12 14:00 - 15:00 | Camano Island Multi-Purpose Center, 141 East Camano Drive, Camano, WA
Cathy Lofton-Day will review some of the many benefits of gardening along with tips and propagation methods that will save you money, make your garden more resilient in our changing climate, provide an abundance of free plants and even free food – all while helping the environment.

For Whidbey Island volunteers, join via Zoom:
https://wsu.zoom.us/j/4403916536?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 440 391 6536
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Gardening Fact or Fiction? Cultivating Science Literacy for Gardeners
2025-03-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Pacific Rim Institute, 180 S. Parker Road, Coupeville, WA, 98239, United States
with Loren Imes

In this engaging and informative class, we will learn how to identify and debunk common gardening myths and provide you with the tools to cultivate a thriving garden based on solid science

Link to the presentation:
https://youtu.be/zIWy3QRJRkQ

Recognizing Juvenile Stages of Beneficial Insects
2025-02-27 18:30 - 20:00 | via Zoom – Please register for email notification
with Laurel Moulton, Regional Horticulture Specialist and Master Gardener Program Coordinator for Clallam County.

You see the aphids, but what about the Lady Beetle larva feasting on them or the eggs laid nearby?

Laurel will help us identify the juvenile stages of our most common beneficial insects.

photo: “Convergent Lady Beetle Lara” by Katja Schulz is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Please register via the meeting registration form

Link to the class recording: https://youtu.be/6VF7ckJHe1I

Choosing Soil Amendments Wisely
2025-01-30 19:00 - 20:00 | via Zoom – Please register for email notification
with Muriel Nesbitt

Are you ready to prepare your soil for this year’s harvest of flowers and food?
Muriel Nesbitt, retired biology professor and veteran Master Gardener will speak to us about common soil amendments.
What do they do for our soils? How are they obtained? Are they sustainable? Are there better alternatives?

See the class recording on YouTube:

Choosing Soil Amendments Wisely

The Wild Side of Wonder
2024-10-31 19:00 - 20:00 | via Zoom – Please register for email notification
with Maribeth Crandell

We all benefit from time outside every day. A walk in the woods, by a lake, on a beach or a bluff, benefits us body, mind and soul. Whidbey, Fidalgo and Guemes Island trails are close and convenient year round. Find out which walks are accessible by bus, which are more challenging and which are good for strollers, wheelchairs and walkers. Discover the wonder of a wetland, or the songs of streams. See the seasonal changes of birds and wildlife. Admire the pallet of color from golden paintbrush and purple camas, to deep red rose hips and rusty bracken. Explore and enjoy our natural landscapes close to home.

photo by Jack Hart

The class recording is available at the link below.

Pond Stewardship

Use passcode: [REDACTED]

Everything Dahlias
2024-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 | via Zoom – Please register for email notification
with Dave Thomas
Dave, who is Island County’s longest serving Master Gardener, will be covering everything from propagation to overwintering, and insect and disease problems.

Go Green in the Garden: Using Nature’s Own Plant Food
2024-09-15 13:00 - 14:00 | WA
Presenter Anza Muenchow
Never buy fertilizer again when you learn how to enrich your plants and soil naturally. Anza Muenchow has been teaching and promoting growing and eating local food, to children and adults, through programs in Seattle and Whidbey Island for over 30 years. She is a member of the 2024 South Whidbey Tilth council.
The classes in this Education Series are FREE, and all are welcome to attend.

Plant Clinics Near You - Click for weekly schedule
2024-09-05 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-08-29 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-08-22 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-08-15 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-08-08 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-08-01 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-07-25 10:00 - 14:30, 2024-07-18 10:00 - 14:30 and 6 more dates | WA
Master Gardener volunteers staff plant clinics in the Extension Office, nurseries, garden centers, farmers markets, and hardware stores across Island County. We are available to answer your gardening questions – free of charge – so that you can get science-based answers to your gardening questions.
Plant clinics are typically held from spring through early fall in locations on Whidbey and Camano Islands.

Oak Harbor and North Whidbey

10am – 12pm, First Sunday of each month, March 3 – September 1
Country Store – 31686 State Route 20, Oak Harbor

Coupeville and Central Whidbey

10am – 12pm, Thursdays, April 25 September 26
WSU Extension Office -406 N. main St., Coupeville

South Whidbey

11am-2:30pm, Sundays, April 28-July 7
South Whidbey Tilth Farmers Market – 2812 Thompson Rd., Langley (Off Highway 525 at Thompson Rd.

Camano Island

11am-1pm, Fourth Saturday of the month, March 24 to September 28
Camano Plaza Ace Hardware – 370 NE Camano Dr., Camano Island

Winter Veggies Growing Guide: Island Stalwarts
2024-08-18 13:00 - 14:00 | WA
Presenter Anza Muenchow
Learn about some of the most successful winter vegetables for our island and best growing practices to help optimize your yield. Anza Muenchow has been teaching and promoting growing and eating local food, to children and adults, through programs in Seattle and Whidbey Island for over 30 years. Her knowledge and passion for growing food, as well as horticulture in general, make her classes delightful. She runs Maha Farm with her partner Marc Wilson. They have sold fresh produce at the Tilth market since 2006.
The classes in this Education Series are FREE, and all are welcome to attend.

Good Lawn / Bad Lawn
2024-07-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Master Gardener Education Garden at Greenbank Farm, 765 Wonn Road, Greenbank, WA, 98253, United States
Presenters Jim Peskuric and Mosa Neis
Reduce your monoculture lawn and grow a biodiverse lawn or meadow that supports healthier plants and soil, saves water, and encourages beneficial critters. Jim Peskuric completed his Master Gardener training in 2019 and his Sound Water Stewards training in 2022. Studying the land and sea inspired him to teach the science behind sustainable gardening, work to restore northwest native ecosystems and advocate for clean water and pollution free wildlife habitat. He volunteers at the Pacific Rim Institute where he helps to recover northwest native prairies and Garry Oak savannahs. He is champion for sustainable gardening practices so that we can all understand the fragile relationship between our properties and the sea.
Mosa Neis is a Restoration Technician at Pacific Rim Institute for Environmental Stewardship (PRI). She oversees PRI’s effort to repopulate Island County, Western Washington and beyond with northwest native prairie ecosystems. Her work at PRI contributed to delisting Castilleja levisecta (Golden Paintbrush) from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.
The classes in this Education Series are FREE, and all are welcome to attend.

Your Best Food Harvests for Fall/Winter 2024
2024-06-27 19:00 - 20:00 | via Zoom – Please register for email notification
Choose the fall and winter crops you enjoy. Prep your beds and amend your soil. Which crops to start now, and whether to direct sow or use transplants. Fall and winter protection will be discussed. Providing the best irrigation during the summer season will be discussed. We will have time for questions also.

Anza has been growing food in the PNW for 4 decades and has developed community gardens and school gardens in the Seattle area and Whidbey Island. A former Master Gardener Program coordinator for WSU Extension, she is now retired. She currently co-owns and operates Maha Farm in Clinton where she grows a year-round garden, and markets her produce through seasonal markets and a farm stand. Anza offers classes and garden consultations for food growing to help gardeners be successful in growing their own fresh fruits and veggies.

Firewise Gardening - Landscaping for Fire Resistance
2024-06-16 13:00 - 14:00 | Master Gardener Education Garden at Greenbank Farm, 765 Wonn Road, Greenbank, WA, 98253, United States
Western wildfires can ignite at any time. Learn how to put fire-resistance landscaping ideas in place and protect your home. This class will be presented by Collin McAvinchey of the Whidbey Island Conservation District. Collin has a decade of experience in conservation and natural lands management. He recently finished an 8-year tenure with the National Park Service, where he led landscape restoration efforts through invasive plant management and native plant restoration across the region. He has also served as a consulting forester to national parks in Washington, Oregon, and California in wild, developed, and post-fire environments.
The classes in this Education Series are FREE, and all are welcome to attend.
