By Jen Munson, Education Chair
Registration is now open for The Herb Society of America’s 2021 Virtual Educational Conference and Annual Meeting of Members (Virtual EdCon). This year, we are meeting online from June 10th – 12th and our host is Zoom. For our seasoned attendees, this is a safe way to celebrate the accomplishments of HSA award winners, recognize our new Rosemary Circle and Golden Sage Members, and enjoy educational programming in a socially distanced format. For first-time guests, our Virtual EdCon is a unique way to participate in our signature conference via a simulated experience.
During our Virtual EdCon, you will have the opportunity to enjoy nine outstanding programs featuring presenters from all parts of the country and beyond. Notable HSA member, Deni Bown, joins us from Spain to kick off the educational programming portion of the conference with a keynote titled “Herbs R Us.” Don Haynie, a returning favorite, will join us from Virginia, where he will share with us “12 Herbs Everyone Should Know and Love.” Author and lavender guru, Nancy Baggett, joins us for a “cook along” with her program “Culinary Lavender – Secrets to Cooking with this Surprisingly Versatile Herb.”
New to EdCon and representing our central geography is Laura Deeter, Ph.D. from Ohio State University on “Unity, Diversity, Color, and a Skeleton,” as well as Mark Dwyer of Wisconsin on “Maintaining the Perennial Garden – Deadheading to Division.” Another soon-to-be-new favorite is Karen Cottingham of the South Texas Unit on “Herbs in the Headlines: Notable Women in the Plant Sciences.”
To add a delicious dimension to EdCon, former White House Chef, John Moeller, will offer a culinary demonstration on “Cooking with Fines Herbes & Stories from the First Ladies’ Herb Garden.” Sue Goetz, a favorite in the herb world, will join us for “The Potted Herb Garden.” Lastly, New York Times best-selling author, Amy Stewart, will lead us in an interactive cocktail hour including a Q/A and short program on “Garden to Glass: Adventures in Cocktail Gardening.” To register for this amazing event and meet our exceptional speakers, visit https://www.herbsociety.org/grow/
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