Press Release

NICH Releases Infographic #1: The Power of Plants: Enriching Lives, Creating Jobs, Building Wealth, Saving Money

March 30, 2017 by The NICH Team Leave a Comment

Consumer horticulture contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs

Help us spread the word. #PlantsDoThat Inside is available at the NICH website consumerhort.org/plantsdothat.
For a printable copy of the “#PlantsDoThat” infographic download this PDF.
For more information contact: Susan McCoy susan@gardenmediagroup.com.

Plants benefit society in many ways

Consumer and society engagement through plants permeates all aspects of our lives.

WASHINGTON, DC (PRWEB) MARCH 30, 2017

Horticulture positively affects people’s lives where they live, work, shop and play, according to a new report from the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH).
The benefits of consumer horticulture are spotlighted in “#PlantsDoThat, Horticulture: The Art, Science, & Business of Plants.” The infographic illustrates how consumer horticulture contributes $196 billion to the U.S. economy and creates more than 2 million jobs.
“The story doesn’t just stop at direct economic impact,” said Casey Sclar, NICH Chair. “Consumer and society engagement through plants permeates all aspects of our lives, from providing the aesthetic backdrop to directly enriching our health and well-being.”
According to the NICH report, plants benefit society in many ways:

Plants in the workplace reduce employee sick time by 14%
Well-landscaped homes are more valuable; since homes represent 25% of personal wealth, outdoor plants pack a powerful personal finance punch
American’s are growing more of their own food—25% of all Americans grow berries, veggies or fruit trees
Shaded roadways save 60% of repaving costs
America’s public gardens generate $2.3 billion in tourism spending

The infographic, developed by the NICH Economic Committee, uses data gathered by Dr. Charlie Hall, the Ellison Endowed Chair in International Floriculture at Texas A&M University. It’s the first of a number of infographics to showcase the power of plants to improve life.
The infographic series is available to companies, institutions and individuals for use in outreach to horticulture industry and non-industry members.
“We envision the infographics as a tool showcasing the power of consumer horticulture for the purpose of building support for more plants in our personal and public spaces,” says Debbie Hamrick, NICH Economic Committee chair.
For instance, Hamrick says the infographic could be used by a landscaper speaking before a City Council about a new or renovated development, or by nurserymen on Capitol Hill making the case for research, or an environmental engineer arguing for using vegetated plant systems instead of or in conjunction with gray infrastructure.
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 NICH is to grow a healthy world through plants, gardens, and landscapes.

This article originally appeared on PRWEB, authored by Susan McCoy of Garden Media Group, and is available in its original format.
Additional reprinting is permitted so long as credit is given to the author and the above statement is included.

January 2017 – Message to all NICH Proponents

January 26, 2017 by The NICH Team Leave a Comment

Greetings NICH Supporters

On behalf of our Executive Committee, I’m writing to let you know about the exciting things happening with the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH), our next steps, and how you can help us achieve our goal to get 90 percent of U.S. households gardening by 2025.
Since our inception in 2015, we’ve accomplished a great deal. Our website – consumerhort.org – details all the information and is a go-to resource for everything related to our movement.

Highlights for 2016

We defined our vision, mission, goals, and objectives at an executive retreat in Denver this past July. These are outlined at the NICH website.
Our Executive Committee formed, with officers. I am proud to serve as Inaugural Chair, with Ellen Bauske and Tom Underwood as Co-Chairs, and Gail Langellotto as Secretary.
Our Strategic Goal Committees were formed to accomplish the social, economic and environmental goals. Chairs Pam Bennett, Debbie Hamrick, and Julie Weisenhorn have staffed the committees with many highly regarded and engaged stakeholders.
We formed Leadership Councils for academic and government, industry and non-profits chaired by Rich Durham/ Margaret Pooler, Clint Albin and Shannon Spurlock/Tom Underwood.
We formed a Marketing and Communications Committee headed by Susan McCoy.
NICH presented a pre-proposal to the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), through the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), for a $50,000 planning grant to focus on preparing a strategic plan to develop a proposal for future funding. We appreciate so many of you who wrote letters of support on behalf of your institutions.
We spread the word. Several publications featured NICH, such as the Oregon Nursery Association’s Digger magazine and the 2017 Garden Trends Report GROW 365.
Several NICH Presentations were made at trade shows and conferences detailing our initiative.

Next Steps 2017

We received a request to submit a full proposal for a SCRI grant for $50,000 and are submitting it to the USDA/NIFA on March 1. These funds will be used to write a strategic plan to unify our voice in advance of the 2019 Farm Bill to ensure Congress hears the message, loud and clear, that consumer horticulture is important and federal funds are needed to achieve our vision.
We are gathering current economic research and will create infographics to demonstrate our $200 billion contribution to the economy.
We are continuing to speak at industry trade shows and winter professional symposia throughout the country.
We are launching the first phase of an awareness campaign targeted to decision makers and all aspects of the horticulture industry.

How Can You Help

We need your voice more than anything. Simply sign your name to our growing list of supporters by clicking here and tell your friends and colleagues to do the same. We will always welcome a letter of support from you as well.
Please forward this email to anyone you feel might be interested in joining us.
Join a Council or Committee. Find out how to get involved in any or all committees or councils from the website or just email me csclar@publicgardens.org for more info.
If you are with a Land Grant University, join SCC-85. This organization supports the NICH mission. Contact Natalie Bumgarner (nbumgarn@utk.edu) for more information.
Encourage the next generation of horticulturists by learning more about Seed Your Future, our close allies in industry awareness.
NICH is not soliciting funds at this time. We are seeking only support and awareness for the SCRI/NIFA grants and our movement as a whole.

With your support, NICH will bring together academia, government, industry and nonprofits to cultivate the growth and development of a healthy world through landscapes, gardens and plants – indoors and out. This unified voice will increase the value of and demand for all aspects of gardening, from horticultural grants at universities to attendance at public gardens to foot traffic in garden centers.
We look forward to great accomplishments in 2017, as the wide world of end-use horticulture finds its common spot – it’s NICH!
D. Casey Sclar
Inaugural Chair, National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture
Executive Director, American Public Gardens Association

Helping Horticulture Find its Niche

December 1, 2016 by The NICH Team Leave a Comment

NICH leaders and advisors met at the Denver Botanic Gardens in June 2016 for the 2nd NICH strategic planning retreat.
From left to right, back row: Cyndi Haynes (Iowa State University), Shannon Spurlock (Denver Urban Gardens), Lucy Bradley (NC State University), Susan Mahr (University of Wisconsin), Tom Underwood (American Horticultural Society), Casey Sclar (American Public Gardens Association).
Front row: Rusty Collins (Colorado State University), Ellen Bauske (University of Georgia), Jessica Romer (Denver Urban Gardens), Dave Close (Virginia Tech), Tom Bewick (USDA-NIFA), Gail Langellotto (Oregon State University) and Suzi McCoy (Garden Media Group).

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of Digger, published by the Oregon Association of Nurseries, and is available in its original format as a PDF.
Additional reprinting is permitted so long as credit is given to all the authors and the above statement is included.

BY GAIL LANGELLOTTO, D. CASEY SCLAR, ELLEN BAUSKE, TOM UNDERWOOD, SUSAN MCCOY & TOM BEWICK

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH; pronounced “nitch”) is a movement whose intention is to provide a unified voice to promote the benefits and value of horticulture to policy makers, decision makers and the general public. NICH brings together academic sectors, government, private industry and nonprofits with an interest in consumer horticulture.
NICH’s mission is to “grow a healthy world through plants, gardens and landscapes.” In short, NICH seeks to cultivate a passion and appreciation for plants, while increasing a universal demand for gardening.
NICH aims to echo and capitalize on the success of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance. This alliance — a national coalition of more than 120 organizations representing growers of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products — 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.
Representation came from across the specialty crop sector and included United Fresh Produce Association, AmericanHort, U.S. Apple Association and many others. As a result of the alliance’s efforts, the 2007 Farm Bill allotted $230 million (later raised to $320 million) for specialty crops.
The alliance continues to have a huge impact on the production of commodities such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery crops and floriculture. While the alliance benefits horticulture production, NICH represents the end-use side of horticulture, ultimately serving the general public (consumers).
Since its inception, NICH has aligned dozens of organizations, crafted a mission and vision statement, and developed a working set of core values, goals and associated objectives. NICH’s vision is to “use stakeholder partnerships to increase the percentage of U.S. households participating in consumer horticulture to 90 percent by 2025.” Three goals were crafted to address the potential benefits consumer horticulture will have on community, economic and environmental systems. Specific objectives were also developed to guide work on each goal (Table 1).

Our organizational structure (Table 2) allows us to recruit nationally known leaders including researchers, extension agents, master gardeners, nonprofit directors, growers, retailers and industry providers. Three goal committees (Community, Economic and Environmental) interact with three advisory councils representing different consumer horticulture sectors. The goal committees prioritize and plan work to fulfill the initiative’s mission.

The councils (Land Grant, Commercial and Non-Profit) each provide industry- and sector-specific input and guidance. The Executive Committee manages the general business of the organization and ensures equality and open communication to all stakeholders, sup- ported by marketing expertise.
Tom Bewick from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture serves as an external advisor.

How will NICH benefit the retail garden and nursery industry?

NICH aims to grow a culture where plants are considered a necessity rather than a luxury. Envision a society where people of all ages garden or engage with plants for their well-being every day of the year. More gardeners and consumers of garden-related goods and services will mean an increased demand and sales for plants and related products.
By developing a cohesive voice, NICH will position consumer horticulture to be more successful in leveraging public fund- ing from USDA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative and other sources, thereby grow- ing the entire industry. NICH will conduct comprehensive industry-wide research; implement prioritized research objectives; document economic impacts; and articulate the social and environmental benefits of consumer horticulture.
NICH seeks to build a strong case for continued support that will benefit university research and extension personnel, as well as school gardens and community green spaces.
Ultimately, NICH aims to raise the profile of consumer horticulture and esteem for those who work in the trade including landscapers, growers and suppliers to the industry.

Involvement

There are many ways, big and small, that members of the nursery industry can become involved with NICH.
First and foremost is to join the organization. If you are unable to commit to more active efforts, you could be involved by monitoring future growth and successes via the listerv, or you could recommend someone who should be involved in an industry grant review panel.
Other opportunities include helping spread the word about NICH, offering your expert advice, or getting involved with a group of like-minded passionate leaders with a committee or council that suits your time and talent. All have major impacts on the effort.
To join NICH or learn more about the initiative, visit www.consumerhort.org for more information.

Gail Langellotto is an associate professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University. Contact her at gail.langellotto@oregonstate.edu.
D. Casey Sclar is executive director of the American Public Gardens Association. Contact him at csclar@publicgardens.org.
Ellen Bauske is a public service senior at the Center for Urban Agriculture, University of Georgia. Contact her at ebauske@uga.edu.
Tom Underwood is executive director of the American Horticultural Society. Contact him at tunderwood@ahs.org.
Susan McCoy is the owner of Garden Media Group. Contact her at susan@gardenmediagroup.com.
Tom Bewick is national program leader in the Division of Plant Systems-Production at the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Contact him at tbewick@nifa.usda.gov.