Jefferson County Director of Extension Laura Lewis will introduce gardeners to where plant species originated and the importance of this knowledge on crop breeding at noon Thursday, July 28, in the county commissioners meeting room at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E Fourth St. in Port Angeles.

She will provide a broad overview of plant geography and how plant species have diffused from their centers of origin and become domesticated. She will “deconstruct” a menu of polenta, Asian salad and pear, apple and cranberry tarte to reveal the origin of the plant species for the grains and fruits and vegetables in that menu.

Lewis began working in Pacific Northwest gardens as soon as she could walk. She worked on an organic farm in high school and earned her bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Washington State University. She worked with farmers and gardeners in Niger, West Africa, as a Peace Corps volunteer. Upon returning to the U.S., she worked for the USDA in its National Genetic Resources Program with nut and tree fruit species.

She always has had an interest in understanding how organisms diversify and so she completed her Ph.D. from the University of California–Davis in geography. She examined the biogeography and genetic diversity of pearl millet in Africa.

She then took a position with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, as a professor of biogeography. In the fall of 2011, she accepted her current position as director at WSU Jefferson County Extension and is researching plant and animal germplasm conservation, farmer education and food justice.

The presentation is part of the Clallam County Master Gardener Brown Bag series held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. Presentations, which are open to the public, are from noon-1 p.m. For questions, call 417-2279.