Sara Escobar

Evening Star

This month’s Gardeners Education Series topic is “Herbs for Health”. The free class is open to anyone willing to learn and will be led by Justin Duncan, a Sustainable Agricultural Specialist with the National Center for Appropriate Technology in San Antonio, Texas. The class will be on Monday, June 12 at the Harker Heights Activities Center, 400 Indian Trail from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Duncan has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Agronomy from Prairie View A&M University, an 1890 Land Grant Institution, and a Master’s of Science in Plant Breeding from Texas A&M University. He’s spent years figuring out the nuts-and-bolts of successful organic farming in the humid South, concentrating mainly on sweet potatoes, strawberries, niche market ethnic crops and drought mitigation techniques. He formerly served as the Houston region director of the Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and has strong rapport with organic farmers in Eastern Texas.

Duncan’s presentation will cover the most common chronic illnesses that U.S. citizens die from and the research that shows which herbs, or fruits and vegetables ameliorate these illnesses. He will also discuss the different medicinal herbs and the conditions that they alleviate. Finally, he takes you into the kitchen to discuss culinary herbs and their medicinal benefits. He will have handouts on the different plant families, mushrooms that fight cancer, and the dirty dozen: “fruits and vegetables you should always buy organic because they are highly sprayed with gender-bending endocrine disrupting pesticides.”

“We are happy to have Justin back to speak to us about Herbs for Health. I believe everyone has basic knowledge about herbs, but he will help us to dive deeper into this ever growing subject on how we can use herbs to heal and prevent chronic diseases that so many American’s suffer from.” said Dorian Evans, Activity Specialist. “The goal for the Gardeners Education series remains the same. We are bringing knowledgeable instructors into the community, so that anyone with an interest in gardening can become a healthy, successful gardener.”

For more information, call 254 953 5466.