Clio Tarazi and Pat Decker From Master Gardeners
Our speakers for Thursday, August 17, 2023, were Clio Tarazi and Pat Decker from the UC Master Gardener Program of Sonoma County. Clio is a retired urban planner who focused on affordable housing and financing prior to her retirement. She served on the Master Gardeners’ Board of Directors for 5 years and was the President for 3 years. Pat Decker is a retired executive from the wireless industry. She joined the Master Gardeners in 2008. She now leads the organization’s effort to develop the Children’s Garden at Los Guilicos.
The Master Gardener program started in Sonoma County 42 years ago. Its vision is to cultivate environmental stewardship “one garden at a time.” It provides science-based horticultural information to home gardeners. The members are UC-trained and operate an information desk, public workshops and lectures, demonstration projects, and Garden Sense, among others. The Master Gardener’s program is one of the many programs operated by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. The Master Gardener’s mandate is to provide practical help to local personal gardeners.
The Master Gardener program seeks to increase sustainable gardening by teaching gardeners to plant the right plants in the right place. They also teach gardening methods to nurture soil without tilling, adding mulch and compost to preserve microbial action in soil, using an integrated pest management system, protecting and encouraging wildlife, conserving energy, and conserving and protecting water. Their core teaching projects include semi-weekly articles in the Press Democrat, digital content such as You-Tube, library lectures, demonstration gardens, and resilient (fire-wise) landscaping.
A new and amazing project for the Master Gardeners is a garden at Los Guilicos for the Valley of the Moon Children’s Center. The previous garden was completely destroyed in the Glass Fire. The Gardeners have a 5-year license to build and operate the garden. Much of the work has been completed, including trenching and installation of irrigation and planting borders for a pollinator garden. The seeds for these plants were grown by individual master gardeners at their own homes. John Dennis, a well-known landscape architect, helped design the garden. They used 40 cubic yards of compost and mulch and planted 650 plants in themed beds. They are currently giving 10-20 pounds of vegetables to Valley of the Moon each week! The Master Gardener’s Youth Foundation Program will kick off at a Jamboree on October 14, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Clio and Pat seek to collaborate with Sunrise for the next phase of the project by helping the Master Gardeners build ADA compliant planters, a 3-bin composter, and a crew to construct a shade structure. (And they are already in discussions with Leroy!)
Thank you to Pat and Clio for the lively presentation of this important community resource. We appreciate all the work you do and look forward to future collaboration!
To VIEW a limited-time recording of Pat and Clio's presentation, click HERE!
