2026 Spring Fever

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How to Start a “Prairie” Yard: Wildflowers and Ornamental Grasses for RC

by Kayla Updike

Rewild your backyard while curating and designing a functional, beautiful space.

 

Bio:

Kayla is the assistant manager at The Plantsmyth in Rapid City, SD. She’s lived in South Dakota for most of her life from New Underwood to Oelrichs and now Rapid City. She began her career in the nursery and greenhouse industry in 2019 working for Alan Leighton at the Plantsmyth, learning everything she could on the job and beyond. She’s done everything from transplanting tomatoes, running the skid-steer, to growing perennials and managing the nursery. She has a soft spot for wildflowers and is excited to bring you the tools to design your own wild backyard.

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“Preparing your Home and Property for Wildfire”

by Lane Ostenson

The presentation will provide an overview of how wildfires threaten homes and communities, breaking down the factors that increase a property’s vulnerability. It will also guide homeowners through science‑based steps they can take to reduce their risk including creating defensible space, choosing fire‑resistant building materials, and maintaining their landscape and preparing their home for ember exposure. By the end, homeowners will understand not only why wildfire risk matters, but how they can take meaningful action to protect their home, their property, and their family.

 

Bio:

Lane Ostenson

Assistant Fire Management Officer - Fuels
Custer office

Work responsibilities of Custer team

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The Custer District Office is responsible for managing all wildland and prescribed fires on private and state property within the Black Hills Fire Protection District in Custer County, which includes the 71,000 acres within Custer State Park. The office is located in the center of Custer State Park at the end of Badger Clark Road.

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Fortunately, the fire management program is an interagency program comprising of firefighting resources from both South Dakota Wildland Fire and Custer State Park's Fireguard Members. The office strives to maintain well-trained, well-informed, physically capable, and well-prepared firefighters. Team members make every effort to promote a positive atmosphere and working relationship with all our public safety partners within and surrounding Custer County through open communication and teamwork.

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The office staffs three type 6 engines, one skid steer, and one water tender with both Wildland Fire and Custer State Park firefighters. The office staffs 3 full-time employees, 1 split position with the Department of Transportation, 1 fuels technician, and 4 summer seasonals.

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Vermicomposting with Redworms

by Cathie Draine

Learn how a container of redworms (essenia foetida) can consume most of your vegetable kitchen waste and provide clean worm castings to enrich the soil of your houseplants as well as the garden. 

The process is clean, low maintenance, odor-free, and virtually cost free.

Intro:

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Cathie Draine is a life-long gardener and a South Dakota Extension Master Gardener since 1994. She is a Rapid City native, but lived for many years in Nigeria, West Africa and on the island of Java in Indonesia as the family moved with her engineer husband, LeRoy.

It was those experiences of learning to garden in the tropics that led her to discover, practice and promote the value of kitchen and garden food and plant waste as well as the work of composting worms .

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Bio:

Cathie Draine is a life-long gardener and a South Dakota Extension Master Gardener since 1994. She is a Rapid City native, but lived for many years in Nigeria, West Africa and on the island of Java in Indonesia as the family moved with her engineer husband, LeRoy.

 

Meeting the challenges of gardening in the tropics made clear to her the importance of soil health and wise use of resources. Creating a compost pile to feed the soil and support a small family food garden in Lagos, Nigeria first terrified then dazzled the native gardener and convinced Cathie that food waste was not a waste but rather a resource to be valued.

 

In Indonesia, she first encountered the near-magical abilities of redworms to thrive in organic waste sites and turn that material into glorious worm castings to support the soil and plants.

 

Maintaining a bin or container of redworms is inexpensive, clean, low-maintenance, odor free, and educational for the family that cares for the worms and harvests the castings that once were potato peels, apple cores, melon rinds and more.

 

For many years Cathie wrote the ‘Digs’ garden column for the Rapid City Journal. She has been a speaker in a number of settings. She received the Pennington County Master Gardener of the Year award in 2011 and the Gold Star Award in 2012 and now enjoys Emeritus status.

 

When not thinking about gardening, she edited two editions of a guidebook for expatriates living in Indonesia, "Introducing Indonesia" and co-wrote "Culture Shock Indonesia" which was published by Straits Times in Singapore. She also edited her grandfather’s letters for a book," Cowboy Life, the Letters of George Philip", published by the South Dakota Historical Press.

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Integrated Pest Management

by Nick Volesky

Integrated pest and pollinator management (IPPM) balances pest control with the protection of pollinators and other beneficial organisms in response to their ongoing decline. It promotes biodiversity through pest-resistant, pollinator-attractive plants and pollinator-friendly practices. IPPM is applicable to all growers and can improve pollination while reducing pesticide use and production costs.

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Bio/Intro

Nick Volesky is SDSU Extension's new Horticulture and Specialty Crop Field Specialist based in Rapid City. He comes from Utah State University Extension where he spent several years working in the Integrated Pest Management program. He is passionate about supporting specialty crop producers in optimizing their production through sustainable, evidence-based practices.