Speaker Program – 2017
2017 Speakers Profiles
March 22nd Speaker: Ken Lund and Linda Hawkins
Topic: Four Seasons Tree Care
It started as a summer job and now Ken Lund has over 40 years of experience in arboriculture. As the President of Four Seasons Tree Care and Service Ltd. Ken brings with him expertise in all aspects of tree and shrub care. Ken graduated the Humber College Urban Tree Maintenance program with honors and went on to teach in that program. Ken is a Certified Arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. He was the 1999 president for the Ontario Chapter and served two terms on the board of directors. He is also a founding member of the Ontario Commercial Arborists Association serving as the treasurer for 16 years. Ken has completed the American Society of Consulting Arborists Academy and is a qualified Tree Risk Assessor under the International Society of Arboriculture.
Linda has been working in Arboriculture since 1985. Her career started in the municipal sector and then she moved to the commercial industry after 16 years. Her last 7 years has been in the Plant Health Care area. Linda is currently employed with Four Seasons Tree Care in the sales and consulting end of Arboriculture and am enjoying the new direction. Linda is a Certified Arborist and qualified as a Tree Risk Assessor. She teaches at Humber, Seneca and Durham Colleges. Linda is a past President of the Ontario Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and still volunteers on several of their committees.
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April 26th Speaker: Paul Knowles
Topic: The Odd & Eccentric Truth About Gardeners
Paul Knowles is an author and publisher. His latest book is “Escaping Eden”. He has written 13 books, including “Down the Garden Path” and “Back to the Garden”. September, 2007, saw the publication of an anthology of literature called “Mixed Messages” which he edited as a project to raise money for hospice and cancer causes.
Paul writes gardening, humour, travel and feature articles for The Toronto Sun, The Stratford Beacon-Herald, Forever Young, The Ottawa Citizen, Zoom Airlines, Southbound, Selections, Exchange, Visitor and many other periodicals. His work has been published in Canadian Gardening, The Reader’s Digest, Maclean’s and heard on CBC Radio.
Paul has a busy schedule as a guest speaker to gardening and community organizations. He has served as speaker coordinator at The Stratford Garden Festival and the Niagara Garden and Flower Show; in addition to speaking at both of those shows, he has spoken at Canada Blooms and other garden shows.
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May 24th Speaker: James Graham
Topic: Down The Garden Path
Past President of the OHA, & a life member of the Waterloo Hort and a former director for District 19. His gardening adventures began when "I was 5 years old when a clerk in a store gave him a pkg. of pumpkin seeds...." Success assured that he was forever hooked. By the age of 12 he was in charge of the family gardening from annuals to dahlias to perennials to a huge vegetable garden. Before long a fling with roses began & a bed of tuberous begonias brightened the north side of the house. The vegetable garden increased in size & some seeds were purchased by the pound. Today, home is a semi-naturalized 2/3 acre lot in the City of Waterloo with a spring fed stream, a bog, a small pond.
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June 28th Speaker: Kevin and Olga Elchuk
Topic: Everything You Wanted To Know About Hostas
Kevin and Olga Elchuk opened up Giboshihill Hostas in 2009.They discovered hostas in 1994, joined the Ontario Hosta Society in 2002 and the American Hosta Society in 2004.Kevin runs the business full time during the summer and works outside the home through the fall, winter and early spring. Olga works full time outside the home. Kevin graduated from Sir Sandford Fleming College in Lindsay in 1983 as a Forest Technician, Olga grew up with gardening in her blood from day one.
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September 28th Speaker: Pat de Valence
Topic: Go Wild! Make Your Garden a Habitat
Pat de Valence has been gardening in the Greater Toronto Area for over 25 years. She began gardening in 1990, after taking basic gardening course led by a Master Gardener, offered through the Toronto Botanical Garden. As a new gardener, Pat came to appreciate gardening’s unique combination of science and art, and its big contribution to physical fitness, stress management and artistic expression. Now she spends nearly all of her spare time in her ½-acre garden on the Oak Ridges Moraine
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October 25th Speaker: Edith George
Topic: Heritage Tree—Preserving Our Natural Roots
Edith George has been an Advisor to the Ontario Urban Forest Council for over ten years. She is a former Director of the Board of the Weston Historical Society. She is quick to admit her passion for heritage trees and travels the province of Ontario answering the questions, "What is a heritage tree?" and "Why should they be protected?"
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GARDEN AURORA
From the Ground Up
Dates and Topics
February 22 Speaker: No Speaker Topic: Awards Night and Social
March 22 Speaker: Ken Lund and Linda Hawkins Topic: Four Seasons Tree Care
April 26 Speaker: Paul Knowles Topic: The Odd & Eccentric Truth About Gardeners
May 24 Speaker: James Graham Topic: Down The Garden Path
June 28 Speaker: Kevin and Olga Elchuk Topic: Everything You Wanted To Know About Hostas
July Speaker: No Meeting Topic: No Meeting
September 27 Speaker: Pat de Valence Topic: Go Wild! Make Your Garden A Habitat
October 25 Speaker: Edith George Topic: Heritage Tree - Preserving Our National Roots