The NICH Team

“When plants are around, students are just smarter and pay more attention,”
             -Dr. Charles Hall, Ellison Chair, Texas A&M University.

The shareable infographic, #PlantsDoThat Inside: Where We Learn, developed by the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH), that highlights the importance of indoor plants in schools (and home schools!).  

Classrooms with plants have many positive effects for both students and educators, and are an  important component of creating a healthy classroom environment.  Plants are good for minds and bodies. Indoor plants remove air pollutants and stabilize CO2, while creating a happier and calmer space for creative and focused learning.

Classrooms filled with plants and school gardens are important for our kids’ mental and physical well-being! Research shows that test scores increase by 10%; children are 7% healthier; and symptoms of ADD are reduced in classrooms that contain plants.  Teachers report more positive feelings, greater satisfaction, and less misbehavior in classrooms with live plants.

As children return to school in the midst of a pandemic or begin online classrooms, these findings are particularly timely and relevant. 

Two additional NICH Infographics, #PlantsDoThat: At Home and #PlantsDoThat: Where We Heal may provide additional insight into the role of plants in promoting health and healing in indoor environments. 

Spread the word. These infographics and other shareable social media graphics developed as part of the #PlantsDoThat campaign use data gathered from research publications, extension publications, government organization outputs, and resource websites. They are available for download and redistribution using the tag #PlantsDoThat at consumerhort.org/plantsdothat.

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) is a consortium of industry leaders who are promoting 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. The Mission of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture is to grow a healthy world through the art, science and business of plants, gardens and landscapes.

Wildfires are often caused by humans or lightning. They can destroy homes and buildings and cause injuries or death to people and animals. A wildfire can happen anywhere, anytime, and risk increases during periods of little rainfall and high winds.

While no one wants to lose a home to wildfire, many residents wonder exactly what they have to do to create a fire safe landscape. Creating defensible space does not mean razing every living thing within 100 feet of your home and it doesn’t have to be expensive.

Research on home destruction and survival in wildfires indicates that embers and small flames are the main ways buildings ignite from wildfires. The conditions of the home and the area around it that embers and small flame must cross (the ignition zone) help determine its fate.

Landscape plants and well maintained, healthy lawns help prevent the spread of fire and play an important role in creating a defensible space to help protect homes and buildings.

Fire-wise landscape design can help reduce wildfire vulnerability.  This includes smart plant selection, placement, and maintenance immediately surrounding your home. While all plants can burn under the right circumstances, plants that have a higher moisture content in their leaves are more fire-resistant. Prune and water regularly. Remove non-native, invasive plants from the ignition zone.   Invasive plants can impact native ecosystems and increase fire intensity or frequency.  Tree selection and placement is also important!

Share our infographic #PlantsDoThat to reduce wildfire risk  and spread the word.  The plants in our lives should never be an afterthought, not when they can help save our homes. 

Looking for your local extension service? https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/extension-search

A water-wise landscape is one that is functional, attractive, and easily maintained in its natural surroundings. A water-wise landscape also helps to conserve water, improves water quality by slowing rain as it falls to the Earth, and helping it soak into the soil.  Plants prevent soil from eroding into our waterways, reduce storm water runoff, and lessen flood damage and serves as a natural filter to protect our streams, rivers and lakes.

Water-wise landscaping is designed using regionally appropriate plants with growing conditions that match the site conditions and grouping them based on soil and water requirements.  Follow these strategies to save water, save money and see better results:

• Plant the right plant in the right place
• Invest in a well-designed, efficient irrigation system
• Water wisely
• Maintain and upgrade your system
• Work with an irrigation professional.

Plant selection is a fun part of the design process for most people and selecting the right plant for the right place is essential for creating a water-efficient landscape. Your local cooperative extension service can guide you to appropriate plant selections for your location.

Lawns have many benefits including cooling effects, erosion control, water filtration and water infiltration.. There are many low-water turf types available.  With careful selection and efficient watering, lawns can be an important part of a water-wise landscape.

Mulch provides many benefits in water-wise landscapes. Mulch covers the soil and prevents compaction, water evaporation and weed control, while also providing an important visual design aspect.  Choosing the right mulch for the situation is dependent on plant selection, watering regime and site use.

Scheduling irrigation according to landscape plant water needs can reduce excess water use.  In addition to conserving water, proper irrigation can encourage deeper root growth and healthier, more drought tolerant landscapes.

A benefit of established water-wise landscapes is they require less time and money to maintain than a traditional landscape. Spend less time trying to manipulate plants to fit your conditions, and more time enjoying their beauty!

Gardens and nursery plants play an important role in pollinator conservation

Happy National Pollinator Month! June is the time to celebrate our very important garden helpers. Pollination is the important process of moving pollen from one flower to another to fertilize the plant. Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, small mammals, and most importantly, bees, are pollinators. They may be small, but their impact is tremendous!

Thirteen years ago, the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations.  June 22-28, 2020 has been designated National Pollinator Week, and we urge you to spend the entire month of June planting pollinator gardens!

National Pollinator Month in June encourages the planting of pollinator-friendly gardens that use native, non-invasive pollen and nectar-producing plants. Gardens provide pollinators with a diversity of nesting opportunities.  In one study, 213 bee species were collected from a garden! 

Also, gardens often contain more abundant and diverse bee communities, compared to nearby natural or agricultural areas.  Gardens planted with diverse flowering plants attract more species of bees and butterflies, and don’t forget the trees! Many common street trees are important sources of nectar and pollen for pollinators.

Join NICH in celebrating National Pollinator Month and use the social media memes and “Plants Do That for Pollinators” infographic as you communicate with your colleagues.