Local Master Gardeners Jeanette Stehr-Green and Judy English were among the guest speakers at the Washington State University 2015 Master Gardener Advanced-Education Conference in Vancouver on Sept. 17.

English talked about sharing gardening information on the radio and Stehr-Green reported on the Growing Healthy Project.

Live and pre-recorded radio has been an effective means for local Master Gardeners to share timely gardening advice with a large listening audience in Clallam County. On the last Monday of each month, KONP Radio 1450 AM presents a live, hour-long gardening show hosted by Todd Ortloff with Master Gardeners Judy English, Jeanette Stehr-Green and Bill Wrobel. Twice weekly, KSQM 91.5 FM airs short gardening segments that were pre-recorded by a host of different Clallam County Master Gardeners.

Growing Healthy is an effort to help low-income people in Clallam County who have diabetes, or who are at-risk for diabetes, eat healthier, get more exercise and feel better through gardening. The locally designed program, originally funded by the American Medical Association Foundation, brings Clallam County Master Gardeners together with unlikely partners including Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics free medical clinic, First Step Family Support Center and Port Angeles Community Garden.

Both presentations were invited talks by conference organizers.

“For our small program to get this recognition is incredible,” Lorrie Hamilton, Clallam County Master Gardener program coordinator, said.

English has been a Master Gardener since 2005. Stehr-Green has been a Master Gardener since 2003 and was the 2012 Clallam County Veteran Master Gardener of the Year. Both have been recipients of the Golden Trowel Award, local recognition for years of outstanding service to the community and the Master Gardener organization.

For more information about Clallam County Master Gardeners, call 417-2279.