Bill Luedecke III is a realtor and Master Gardener in from Oatmeal, Texas where Bill follows his true passion: growing things. Gardening is sometimes a bit tricky in the Texas Hill Country and Bill can help your through it in his book “Gardening in the Texas Hill Country.” From Bill you will learn which tools and formulas work best in our rocky, alkaline soil. You’ll also get the inside scoop on fending off deer and other critters that want to feast on your thriving plans, On the flip side, you’ll learn how to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, how to build a raised-bed garden and how to enjoy great home-grown fruits and vegetables or beautiful roses.

Lynn Cuny is the founder and Managing Director of Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Kendalia, Texas. Even as a child in San Antonio in the early 1950's, Lynn Cuny recognized that she had an unusual affinity for nature and animals, along with a particular concern for the suffering that often resulted from their encounters with humans. As a young adult she began work as an animal caretaker at the San Antonio Zoo, but she found herself at odds with the philosophy that saw wildlife as suitable objects for captivity and exhibition. She soon left to find better ways of helping animals.

WRR was founded in 1977 in San Antonio, Texas. Since Spring 2004, WRR has been located at a new 187-acre facility near Kendalia, Texas. WRR serves the cities of San Antonio, Austin, and all surrounding counties, as well as the entire state of Texas. WRR also provides assistance on a national basis to wild animals in need of rescue.

WRR provides a permanent home for a variety of mammals (e.g., wolves, bears, big cats, and primates) and non-indigenous birds and reptiles. Each year over 5,000 animals are brought to WRR, mostly from surrounding areas, but many from around the country; the majority of these were rehabilitated and released or given permanent sanctuary.

John is the owner of The Natural Gardener, Austin's organic garden center, and Lady Bug Natural Brand, His award-winning nursery is a three-time winner of Today's Garden Center's "Revolutionary 100 Garden Centers," ten-time winner of Austin Chronicle's "Best of Austin," and has been featured in many national gardening magazines. In 2008, The Natural Gardener was honored with the national award of "Innovative Garden Center of the Year" by Garden Center Magazine.

For 27 years, John has hosted America's longest continuously running organic gardening radio talk show on 590 KLBJ. On television, John once hosted the first national organic gardening series on PBS, "The New Garden." Currently he appears on "Central Texas Gardener" (over 10 years) and the "Weekend Gardener" (19 years). He has won state, local, and regional awards for his work in promoting organic gardening and farming, including "Texas Legendary Promoter of Organics."

Salts, Sugars, Syrups, Infusions and Steeping — Sibby will talk briefly about different ways to use both fresh and dried lavender in your kitchen. There will be foods available for sampling to see how tasty culinary lavender can be! Tastings: Cranberry Citrus Lavender Sparkler, Baby Lettuces with Medallion of Crumb Crusted Goat Cheese, Lavender Infused Blueberry Vinaigrette and Juniper Provence Grilled Chicken Slice, Lavender Scented Chocolate Ganache Truffles.

Melanie Van Aken co-owner of Heron’s Nest Herb Farm for the last 12 years. Midwife in Central Texas – retired after 28 years and over 1000 births.

Most of my continuing education as a midwife was spent studying herbs and alternative health care practices, including Aromatherapy. For the past 3 years I have been hosting classes on the farm sharing my love for Lavender and other Essential oils. Come and find out how easy it is to incorporate Lavender and other Eos into your daily life. We will explore the many uses and benefits and end the class with a hands on project. We will make a 2 oz Mister with Lavender and 7 other great Essential Oil Scents.

In the midst of what we call our "progress" an occasional person has the genius to combine solid ecological knowledge with technical skill and to apply the results with good common sense. We probably owe it to these persons that we are still here. In the areas of soil building and maintenance and of the recycling of organic wastes, one of these leaders is Malcolm Beck. He has spent almost a lifetime in the study, experiment and practice which equip an inventive spirit to create new systems solving both old and new problems with our natural resources like soil, water and air.

Malcolm owned and ran Garden-Ville, a successful organic farm with its own marketing center, for decades. During all that time he conducted his own research on organic growing techniques, lectured widely on his discoveries in managing plants and soils, and published a book on insects in the organic garden. Gradually his interest focused on how to achieve and permanently maintain the finest soil quality. Soon that led him into much experimentation with composting. When he had applied much of the science and was well on the way to mastering the art of composting, everyone was after him for his compost. He gave it to us until, in self defense, he had to start selling it. Malcolm is a firm believer that if you work with nature, nature will reward your efforts.