11:30 a.m.: Registration and Networking
11:45 a.m.: Buffet Opens
12:15 p.m.: Meeting/Program
Sandra Mason is a unit-based horticulture educator with University of Illinois Extension. She provides leadership and expertise in horti
culture and environmental programs in Champaign, Ford, Iroquis, and Vermilion counties. Mason has a B.S. (with honors) in horticulture and a M.S. degree in agricultural education from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She held a wide variety horticultural positions before joining Extension.
Mason uses her expertise in horticulture (flowers, houseplants, vegetables, fruits, lawns, and shrubs) to supply answers to questions and educate through workshops and other educational programs. She trains and assists in coordinating the
Master Gardeners who can then also provide expertise and educational programs to the public. The
Idea Garden on South Lincoln Avenue in Urbana is just one example. Mason also provides expertise in composting and landscape waste issues, intergrated pest management, and proper pesticide use.
Mason appears on a call-in program on a monthly basis for the WILL radio program
Focus 580. She can be heard the second Tuesday of the month from 10-11 a.m. Mason is a regular panelist on the WILL television program
Illinois Gardener. It airs Thursdays at 7:00 a.m. Mason hosts the
In the Garden segment of WCIA TV’s
The Morning Show each Thursday at 6:50 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. Past programs are available for viewing.
She also periodically appears on other radio and television stations in the county. In addition, she writes the weekly
Homeowner’s Column for the Champaign-Urbana
News-Gazette. Mason’s professional affiliations are the American Horticultural Society, the American Society of Horticultural Science and the Extension Association of Illinois.