Speakers Bureau

Talks on horticulture and environmental sustainability
WSU Extension > Yakima County > Master Gardener Home > Educational outreach > Speakers Bureau
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We are educators

Master Gardeners present to a group of participants outdoors. Their tools and presentation materials are spread out on a tarp over a green picnic table. The grassy area of the park is surrounded by a variety of trees.

Need a speaker? WSU Master Gardeners offer presentations on gardening topics, sharing research-based knowledge. Request an expert for your club or class on vegetable growing, soil health, attracting pollinators, or custom topics meeting your group’s interests.

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Requesting a Speaker: It’s easy!

Preview our library of presentations below. When you find a topic that aligns with your interest submit a request via email and we will get you scheduled. If you don’t find a topic that interests you, you can request a custom presentation and we will try to accommodate you.
Simply fill out the Speakers Request Form by clicking the link below. Instructions provided on the form.

Speaker Request Form
A Master Gardener presents to a large audience of participants sitting two trees on a grassy lawn. The Master Gardener has materials spread out on a picnic table with a green plastic table cloth. Some participants sit in folding camp chairs while others are at the picnic tables. There is a parking lot in the background.

About our speakers

Master Gardeners are university-trained volunteers who serve as educators in their communities. The Yakima County Master Gardeners are active in presenting garden programs, developing community gardens, and sharing garden knowledge.

Master Gardeners Speaker’s Bureau members are available to speak to your group about many varied gardening topics. We can develop a custom presentation for you or you can choose from our list of popular topics.

Our Presentation Topics

  • Growing Houseplants
  • Care of Houseplants
  • Grow a Garden of Cut Flowers
  • Dahlias
  • Indoor Seed Starting
  • Propagating Succulents
  • Culinary Herbs
  • Planting Containers
  • Prairie Pockets
  • Saving Tender Perennials
  • Downsizing and Replacing Lawns
  • The Resilient Yard…gardening in a changing climate
  • Gardening with Natives
  • Ornamental Grasses
  • Drip Irrigation Basics
  • Growing Table Grapes
  • Vegetable Gardening Basics
  • Edible Weeds
  • Native Bees
  • Butterfly Gardening
  • Gardening for Pollinators
  • Gardening for Pollinators
  • Hummingbirds
  • Insects – The good, the bad, and the just ugly
  • Raising Backyard Chickens
  • Grow and Eat Well to Diminish Diabetes
  • Seed Starting
  • Seed Saving
  • Soil Building
  • No-til Gardening
  • Outdoor Vermiculture
  • Edible Gardening
  • Gardening for Greater Self-Sufficiency
  • Pruning Tomatoes

If you would like ongoing updates on available presentations and our Master Gardener program, check this page often and join our group email list.

Frequently Asked Questions:

A: The Master Gardeners Program is an Extension Program of Washington State University. Part of our charter as a Land Grant University is to provide this type of education, without charge.
However, Land Grant Universities also have restrictions on what activities we can fund. We have a parallel Foundation organization that helps us fund raise for those activities. If you find value in these presentations and have budget, please consider making a donation to our Foundation. The monies contributed go to expanding the programs and reach of Master Gardeners activities within the county.

Ask us for a “Custom” presentation when you submit your request. We cannot promise we’ll do it, but sometimes the topic you are interested in is also an area of interest to one of our Master Gardeners and your request could be the ‘call to act’ for them. Also, we can sometimes ‘lego-together’ modules from related presentations to better map to the topic you want covered. It never hurts to ask.