Kateen Fitzgerald will present a model for creating a naturally sustainable gardening environment at noon Thursday, Aug. 10, in the county commissioners meeting room at the Clallam County Courthouse in Port Angeles.

Fitzgerald will describe how a permaculture ecosystem mimics nature and increases productivity. She will explain what she has branded as the 80/20 rule of weeding and how weeds can be used in the garden system to build fertility and save energy. She also will discuss creative ways to mix perennial and annual plants to create healthier gardens and the benefits of ingratiating small animals into the gardens.

Director of Dirt at the Dirt Rich School, a nonprofit education center in Discovery Bay, Fitzgerald has been gardening for 28 years.

In 2007, she purchased 40 acres of land and built Compass Rose Farms, a biointensive family farm and homestead on the Olympic Peninsula. Two years later, in 2009, she began an internship program, effectually converting the farm into a Permaculture demonstration site. In 2014, she founded The Dirt Rich School, a nonprofit education program dedicated to teaching the next generation to live sustainably. Fitzgerald now manages the internship program, presents local lectures and workshops, and volunteers at the Dirt Rich School.

She is a Colorado state Master Gardener and a Permaculture designer and educator. The Discovery Bay Dirt Rich Farm teaches Permaculture design, animal wifery and sustainable food systems.

This free presentation is part of the Green Thumb Garden Tip education series sponsored by the Clallam County Master Gardeners. For questions, call 565-2679.