The American Society for Horticultural Sciences Outstanding Extension Educator Award, established in 1985, recognizes an educator who has made an outstanding and valuable contribution to horticultural science extension education for a period of 10 or more years.

This year’s recipient was our very own NICH Chair, Ellen Bauske. Bauske serves as a program coordinator for the University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She has helped develop innovative programming in a variety of disciplines, including integrated pest management, water, consumer horticulture, Master Gardener Extension Volunteer training, community gardens, landscape and tree care worker safety.

“For the first time in consumer horticulture, we’re making an effort to lock arms with our industry partners, and that’s a game changer,” Bauske explained. “We’ve always paid attention to home gardeners, but now we have also reached out to our industry stakeholders,  retailers and the services that meet the needs of gardeners. That includes landscapers, arborists, garden centers, garden writers and the many nonprofits involved in residential food production. We are forging those relationships now to build common ground. We’ve been putting out proposals for grants and they’re getting better and better.”

Gail Langellotto, professor of urban and community horticulture Extension at Oregon State University, says the organization has been a successful endeavor under Bauske’s leadership.

“It is not hyperbole to say that she has helped to elevate the field of consumer horticulture so that those of us who work in the field are better networked, more competitive for federal funding, and better able to communicate the value of our work to stakeholders and decision makers,” she said.

Needless to say we are all very proud to be a part of this organization and to thrive under Ellen’s leadership. Congratulations Ellen!

National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture
A Summary of Strategic Objectives & Tactics from the NICH 2018 National Meeting

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Build Unified Engagement across Consumer Horticulture

Priority Tactics:

• Identify call to action

o Change ‘Join Us’ portion of the webpage

– Change company to organization name/affiliation

– Add Position, State

– Menu of choices about where to get involved. Much of this is about effective recruitment strategies.

o Create an automatic reply for new stakeholder once they have joined that includes an initial survey about how to get involved

o Create the opportunity for two levels of support – (1) just show your support and (2) get stuff, serve on committees, be a more vital part of the movement

• Identify external and internal stakeholders with an initial focus on internal stakeholders

Additional Tactics:

• Develop simple message about what NICH is and isn’t

MarCom Committee will consider one message to rule them all or multiple similar messages tailored to specific audiences. If multiple communications, should be the same message with specific info about what does NICH to for you as an XYZ professional. Mission and vision stay consistent across all messages, application of mission/vision specific to the group. MarCom will develop the approach we use, the Executive committee will approve the final draft.

What can NICH do for you/your group?

Incorporate mission and vision – general enough to have broad appeal.

Key unified message.

• Enlist industry stakeholders to push key unified message

Offer tools and infographics for stakeholders that are on point with market trends. Editorial calendar? How do you use infographics? Pair infographic with a ‘what do you do with this?’ that highlights social media posts and other marketing strategies.

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Grow Consumer Horticulture

Priority Tactics:

• Actively support efforts to conduct expert-level market research at the national level.
• Identify, recruit, educate and engage existing consumer horticulture networks to join NICH and participate on committees and councils.

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Ensure Funding

Priority Tactics:

• Campaign to educate government and other decision makers & grant deciders

o NIFA Listening Sessions (presentation & written contributions)

o Industry Relevancy Reviewers.

o Consider hosting a day on the hill, possibly in collaboration with Plant Conservation Alliance

Additional Tactics:

• Expand search for funds beyond state and federal sources

Two teams of thought exist here –

o Identify an intern to look at funding opportunities such as the Bette Midler Foundation, Gloeckner Foundation, and others. Other opportunities may be KickStarter, Barnraiser, and others. Issues – would have to become another type of organization if taking in money, would need to have a purpose for funds raised.

o Not asking for funding FROM the industry, asking for funding FOR the industry. Focus on federal funding sources by securing relevancy reviewers and participating in the NIFA Listening Sessions – federal investment to support research will support the industry. With a thriving industry, there will be an investment in endowed chairs and researchers to continue to expand on research to support the industry.

• Be the clearinghouse of relevant funds and expertise
Not a huge bang for your buck here – need to influence the process by being a relevancy reviewer and letter writer as opposed to being a resource website. No staff to manage the ‘clearinghouse’ anyhow.
• Foster a collaborative network to seek funding
• Lead a direct to consumer campaign

Download this slide presentation on how to help grow the industry.

Thank you for your interest in NICH, the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture. We are a grassroots movement for everyone in the field of horticulture –university researchers and government extension agents, nonprofits, and all aspects of the industry from retail garden centers through landscape, tree care, and beyond.
NICH has a big vision – to grow the practice of gardening, both indoors and out, by 20% by 2025.

“So what’s in it for me?” you ask.

The Answer: There is a tremendous amount we all can gain by focusing one unified voice on growing our industry.
First of all, the more that people garden and respect the value of horticulture, the more plants, products and services will be sought and bought. Business revenue will increase. More people will support garden centers, university research, extension outreach, public gardens and the horticultural services industries. This directly translates into job growth and increased job security.
There is much more. When we collectively communicate the importance of consumer horticulture for healthy communities and a thriving economy, we positively impact decision makers and stakeholders alike. Our collaboration pays back across all sectors of the industry with more knowledgeable and engaged customers who put a higher value on plants and the services we provide.
The more people appreciate gardening and the benefits of plants, the healthier we will be as individuals, communities and the whole country.
This is why we are asking you to support NICH.

What Can I Do to Help?

• Join our unified effort and strength to our numbers when we reach out to stakeholders
• Sign up for our emails to stay informed and give us your advice, feedback and input
• Spread the message and tell 10 friends
• Get Involved with a committee
• Recommend NICH to someone who should be involved

Join us today!

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture Inaugural Leadership Team

• Chair: D. Casey Sclar, Executive Director, American Public Gardens Association
• Vice chairs: Ellen Bauske, Program Coordinator, Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture; Tom Underwood, Executive Director, Birmingham Botanical Garden
• Secretary/Treasurer: Gail Langellotto, Associate Professor/Statewide Master Gardener Coordinator, Oregon State University
• Marketing: Susan McCoy, Garden Media Group

Thursday, August 24, 2017
Media contact: Mary Kay Woodworth mkw@georgiauac.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.  August 24, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) today announced 12 new grants totaling $35 million for science-based solutions and new technology for the specialty crop industry. Funding is made through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.
Of those 12 new grants, the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) received a planning grant for $47,470 to help develop strategies, tactics and priorities to stimulate consumer horticulture in the U.S.
The industry-wide grassroots movement plans to grow the practice of gardening, both indoors and out, by 20% by 2025.
The grant was co-authored by Dr. Ellen Bauske, senior public service associate, Department of Plant Pathology/Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, and Dr. Gail Langellotto, associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University.
“By creating one, cohesive voice, NICH will raise awareness of consumer horticulture and help those in all segments of horticulture be more successful in leveraging public funding to help stimulate the entire industry,” says Dr. Bauske.
Currently there are five legislatively mandated SCRI programs, including pollinator protection, focused on production of ornamental, nursery and food crops. However, there are no legislatively mandated programs that specifically support end-use consumer horticulture.
NICH wants to change that.
According to Dr. Langellotto, NICH plans to echo and capitalize on the success of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance. The alliance is a national coalition of more than 120 organizations representing growers of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products.
“The Farm Bill Alliance was organized in advance of the 2007 Farm Bill to ensure that Congress heard the message, loud and clear, that specialty crops were important and that federal funds were needed for research and extension in specialty crops,” says Dr. Langellotto. “NICH aims to do the same.”
NICH’s vision is to increase consumer horticulture by 20% in 2015 by cultivating a passion and deeper appreciation for plants in our daily lives and increase a universal demand for gardening from research and extension grants at universities to attendance at public gardens and foot traffic in garden centers.
“This is a major step to move NICH closer to its goal of increasing all aspects of horticulture and get 90 percent of U.S. households gardening by 2025,” says Dr. Casey Sclar, Inaugural Chair of NICH and executive director of the American Public Gardens Association.
SCRI grants address critical needs of the specialty crop industry, providing support that propels research and extension work addressing key challenges of national, regional and multi-state importance. Dr. Sclar said the challenge for the horticulture industry is to change perceptions about the value of consumer horticulture. “We are working now to educate consumers and decision makers on the social, economic and environmental benefits of consumer horticulture.
“As a matter of fact, preliminary research estimates our sector contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs annually,” Dr. Sclar explained. “We plan to further define this contribution in terms of wellness and environmental benefits.” This infographic shows how plants contribute to the economy.
NICH is a consortium of industry leaders who are creating a unified voice to promote the benefits and value of horticulture. NICH brings together academia, government, industry and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out.
For more information and to join the cause, visit NICH at consumerhort.org.