July Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series to feature gardens and gardeners making a difference

Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens will host Dr. Tina Marie (Waliczek) Cade, professor of horticulture at Texas State University, as guest speaker for the July Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series speaker.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. July 11 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Dr. Tina Marie (Waliczek) Cade, professor of horticulture in the Department of Agriculture at Texas State University, will present "Plants and People - Gardens and Gardeners Making a Difference."

Cade currently teaches 12 different courses in horticulture and advises multiple graduate students on research projects. Her research interests are diverse and focus on the area of people/plant interactions, including studies on active interactions of people with plants in community, home or school gardens, as well as passive interactions of people with plants in green spaces. Cade has been studying the benefits of these interactions for more than 20 years and has looked at variables such as crime and community gardens, self-esteem in children, overall quality of life of gardeners, and workplace job satisfaction in interior-scaped offices. She is also a registered horticultural therapist and a certified arborist.

Cade is the faculty manager of the award-winning Bobcat Blend university composting program, which processes all of the cafeteria food waste on campus. She also manages the on-campus floral shop and floral event sales program, Bobcat Bloom.

She recently finished editing the textbook, "Urban Horticulture," which focuses on the benefits of people/plant interactions.

Cade earned a Bachelor of Science in horticultural therapy and Master of Science in horticulture from Kansas State University and her doctorate in horticulture from Texas A&M University.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The Lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet St.

For more information, email [email protected].

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers' college in Texas' oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges - business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor's degrees, more than 40 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at the SFA website.