Fall Fling
The Fall Fling is an education
program hosted by MCMGA.
The program is meant to educate people about local gardening issues and opportunities and increase interest in the master gardener program. It is open to anyone in the community for a nominal fee. The inaugural program was held on September 28, 2024 and was a great success.
The second annual Fall Fling is scheduled for September 27, 2025. Watch our social media channels for announcements about location and speakers as details are confirmed.
2024 Program
This year’s line-up features four speakers with expertise in the following topics. There will be time for Q&A after each presentation.
Collecting and Processing Native Plant Seeds
Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Program Leader at Indiana Native Plant Society
A Basic Introduction to Pruning
Haskell Smith, Urban Forester, City of Bloomington
Pollinator Habitat Enhancement for Home Landscapes
Mary Welz, Indiana Partner Biologist at Pollinator Partnership
Gardening in our Climate Changing World
Dr. Bennet Brabson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington
Learn more about our speakers
Bill Daniels, Native Seed Communities Program Leader at Indiana Native Plant Society
Bill retired in 2019 from a work-life spent primarily in horticulture and environmental, health and safety, and now spends much of his time procuring, processing and propagating native plant seeds.
In addition to being the Indiana Native Seed Communities Program Leader, he helps with the Monroe County-Identify and Reduce Invasive Species (MC-IRIS) Fall Native Plant Sale and Sycamore Land Trust’s Native Plant Nursery. He is also a Master Gardener. Other areas of interest include vocal music and the effects of our food choices on biodiversity loss.
Haskell Smith, Urban Forester, City of Bloomington
Haskell Smith has been with the City of Bloomington in Urban Forestry since 2014, working nearly every job top to bottom. He currently holds two ISA credentials and sits on the board of directors for both the Indiana Arborist Association and the Indiana Community Forest Council.
Mary Welz, Indiana Partner Biologist at Pollinator Partnership
As a naturalist and plant enthusiast, Mary is passionate about the conservation of pollinators and the native plant communities upon which they depend. She earned a BS in Biology at Indiana University and studied Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia.
Among her professional roles, she worked for an ecological service provider, served as a Regional Specialist for State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management, and prior to joining Pollinator Partnership, worked as the environmental educator for Sycamore Land Trust. Through these positions, she conducted administrative support for native plant nursery operations, provided habitat planning technical assistance, and engaged various audiences through nature interpretation and land stewardship volunteer opportunities.
As P2’s Indiana Partner Biologist, Mary now assists small, specialty, urban, and other agricultural producers across Indiana with establishing pollinator friendly habitat by providing Farm Bill application and conservation planning support. She also works to create educational content to feature wildlife habitat success stories and promote conservation practices that benefit pollinators and other wildlife. After hours, Mary delights in tending her herb and vegetable garden, restoring her home landscape with native plants, and volunteering to 'wrangle' invasive plants.
Bennet Brabson, Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington
Bennet Brabson is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at Indiana University Bloomington, presently focusing his research on climate research and environmental physics. Dr. Brabson received his BA in Physics from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and his Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.
Dr. Brabson has received various teaching awards at IUB, has published over 100 articles on high-energy physics and climate change, and has given numerous talks and lectures in the US and UK on high energy physics, on the science of climate changes, and on new energy resources.
His present research focuses on relationships among extreme temperatures, soil moisture, and the northern hemisphere jet stream in the US Midwest.
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