LINDA GILKESON

Linda Gilkeson is a keen organic gardener with a passion for insects and 25 years of gardening experience on the west coast. After earning a Ph.D. in entomology, she worked as the research director of a biological control company and then for the British Columbia government coordinating programs to reduce pesticide use in the province. She is the author of Year Around Harvest: Winter Gardening on the Coast and West Coast Gardening: Natural Insect, Weed and Disease Control , as well as the first edition of Backyard Bounty, which has sold over 10,000 copies. Linda is a regular instructor in Master Gardener programs and is kept busy giving courses and workshops on organic gardening and pest management for community education programs, garden clubs and other groups. She has received a Queen's Jubilee medal and an outstanding achievement award from the Professional Pest Management Association of BC. Linda currently lives on Salt Spring Island where she enjoys harvesting food from her garden all year round.