Education
Wednesday, August 12 | 4:15 - 5:00pm
Talking to Strangers - How to Master the Interview by Mary-Kate Mackey
As garden writers, it’s our job to consistently learn, communicate and dig a little deeper. Author and writing coach Mary-Kate Mackey will discuss the techniques needed to be a compassionate, strategic and efficient interviewer. She will discuss tips for proper preparation, phone interviews, email responses, and attentive listening so you can get the most from each subject, regardless of the topic and create engaging content from your efforts.
Meet the Speaker
Mary-Kate Mackey
Mary-Kate Mackey is a multi-award-winning garden writer. Her work has appeared in numerous national and regional publications, including Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Country Gardens, and The Sunset Western Garden Book. Online, she writes for Hartley-Botanic Greenhouses and Encore Azaleas. She’s the author of Write Better Right Now—The reluctant writer’s guide to confident communication and self-assured style, a book inspired by her 14 years of teaching at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication.
Rising to the Top: Getting to the Top of Search Results by Stacey Hirvela
Content! Content! Content! We create it all day long, but how can we make sure it is seen by our intended audience? The answer is SEO, or search engine optimization. Whether you find SEO intimidating or simply want to learn a few new tips – Stacey Hirvela of Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs will teach you how to select and frame topics, format text and write copy for the best Google results possible. The skills, concepts, and ideas presented will help shift your mindset to writing for SEO so that you not only increase your current audience but increase the potential for additional work.
Meet the Speaker
Stacey Hirvela
A life-long gardener and lover of nature, Stacey has spent her career sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for gardening. Though she thought she’s never use her degree in linguistics, it turns out to be quite useful in this digital age for creating content that meets readers’ needs and gets found online. She gardens on a frequently deer-browsed urban quarter acre in beautiful west Michigan.
GE versus GMO - Do You Know? by Louise Clarke
As Garden Writers, it is crucial that we become subject matter experts in our fields. In particular, the phrases Genetic Engineering (GE) and Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) are terms that we all must ensure we are using correctly. Join Louise Clark, from Verdant Earth Educators, as she breaks down the confusing acronyms and learn how exactly the classifications are determined and when to use them in your writing. As garden communicators, we need to be on the front line of combatting misinformation and that begins with our own education.
Meet the Speaker
Louise Clarke
Louise Clarke is the Bloomfield Farm horticulturist and green roof guru at the University of Pennsylvania's Morris Arboretum, as well as an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist. Louise's prior training in clinical laboratory science allows her to critically evaluate, understand, and interpret scientific research for lay audiences. A graduate of Temple University in Environmental Design and Horticulture, she is also co-principal of Verdant Earth Educators LLC, a consulting and instructional business serving the green industry.
