WHITE PLAINS, NY — A half-day workshop titled “Healthy Soils, Healthy Plants: Laying the Groundwork for Success” will be held on Tuesday, December 8, at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The workshop, offered by Westchester County’s Department of Planning and Soil and Water Conservation District, will address the critical role soils play in the environment to sustain people and plants, and beautify the landscape.
The workshop is relevant to homeowners and gardeners and of special interest to professionals in agriculture, environmental management, landscape maintenance, property management, development and landscape architecture.
“The U.N. proclaimed 2015 to be the International Year of Soils. In recognition of its proclamation, this workshop focuses on the relationship between soils and plants and addresses how improving the soil will benefit our ecosystem and our communities,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino.
The scheduled topics and speakers are:
· Start with the Soil: The Groundwork for Healthy Plants; Stephanie Murphy, PhD, Director of the Soil Testing Laboratory at Rutgers University/New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
· Weird Science: Addressing Plant Symptoms Related to Soils; Tamson Yeh, PhD, Pest Management and Turf Specialist for Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
· Strategies for Remediating Compromised Soils in the Landscape; Nina Bassuk, PhD, Professor and Program Leader of the Urban Horticulture Institute at Cornell University, Horticulture Section, School of Integrative Plant Science
· Composting to Reduce the Waste Stream and Make a Great Soil Amendment; Jean Bonhotal, Director of the Waste Management Institute at Cornell University, Soil and Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science
The December 8 workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. Registration and breakfast begins at 8 a.m. The $35 workshop fee includes a continental breakfast and program materials. Advance registration and payment is required by December 3. Parking at the County Center, located at 198 Central Avenue in White Plains, is $7. For additional information, download the event flyer at www.westchestergov.com/soilwater or contact Robert Doscher at (914) 995-4423 or rrd1@westchestergov.com.
The workshop is co-sponsored by Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension of Westchester and the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College. It is New York State-approved for 4.0 Health, Safety and Welfare (HSW) hours for landscape architects, for 4.0 continuing education units (CEUs) for arborists from the International Society of Arborists (ISA) and qualifies for professional development credits from other organizations.