It seems everyone wants to know more about pollinators. America In Bloom is helping out with a webinar on Intentionally Attracting Pollinators.

 

 

Members of the Ohio-based Logan In Bloom committee will be talking about planning and planting to attract pollinators in areas large and small. This team of professionals helped develop the Hocking Hills Butterfly Trail. Great for school gardens, public land projects, backyard gardens or anything in between. 

 

When: Tuesday, March 21 at Noon ET

FREE! But you must register to participate. 

 

Pöppelmann Teku just announced the introduction of a new line of plant pots called Baseline, meant to be an alternative to your standard black pot. They’re made of 100% post-consumer recyclate (PCR) and can be completely recycled after use. Available in gray, they say the lighter color will help during sorting at recycling. 

 

 

Baseline joins the Pöppelmann Group’s Circular360 category, which has pursued resource conservation and a circular economy philosophy. The company has a goal to have all in-house made packaging to be 100% recyclable by 2025. 

 

The concept isn’t new: we know that consumers connect to and support businesses that have an authenticity about them. In the age of sustainability and greenwashing though, transparency and questions arise. A new Ipsos study is out, and it’s pretty interesting. Ipsos notes, “Successful brands need to blend elements of localness, naturalness, heritage, trust, empathy, consistency and purpose at the same time as offering good products at the right prices. … Expectations are high and tolerance for missteps is low.” 

 

Some interesting numbers from their latest Global Trends Report:

 

The Organic Produce Network (OPN) just released its full-length annual State of Organic Produce. This 72-page report is free and available for download, with a deep dive into 2022 U.S. organic sales. Berries and packaged salads led all organic produce in sales value in 2022, while bananas and carrots took the top spots by volume.

 

 

Interestingly, the South saw the most growth in sales last year (by dollars), but when it comes to volume, every region saw a decline. By volume, organic lettuce posted a 12.7% decline—a number that OPN attributes to pest/disease and weather-related issues in California. 

 

You can take a look at the full report, which includes breakouts by crop, HERE. 

The fine folks at University of Connecticut’s Plant Science Department are offering up some free online training webinars in Spanish—and only in Spanish! There will be eight sessions, running daily from March 20 to March 29, each just 30 minutes long, on popular and important greenhouse and nursery topics. Your instructors will be Carla Bacellero, Mayra Toro and Rosa Raudales.
 

Here is the syllabus:

- March 20: Sanitation of hard surfaces between crops in greenhouse producing ornamental plants

- March 21: Weed control as part of sanitation practices in greenhouse producing ornamental plants

- March 22: Sanitation practices during growing season

- March 23: Inspecting Yellow Sticky Cards

- March 24: Steps to Get Started in Biological Control

- March 27: Plant disease or disorder?

- March 28: How to irrigate containers

- March 29: Feeding plants

Time for each webinar is 11:20 to 11:50 a.m. Eastern—right before lunch! (Hey, why not bring in an early lunch, then do a discussion afterwards?)

 

Registration is free HERE.

Questions? Email Carla Caballero at carla.caballero@uconn.edu. 

 

You can also share the Spanish announcement below. 

 

Seminarios Web para Trabajadores de la Industria de Invernaderos y Viveros Ornamentales–2023

Le invitamos a atender a estos seminarios web (webinars) en español diseñados para trabajadores en invernaderos y viveros de producción de plantas ornamentales.

El programa incluye ocho presentaciones/videos de 30 minutos cada una.

- Marzo 20: Saneamiento de superficies duras entre ciclos de cultivos en invernaderos que producen plantas ornamentales

- Marzo 21: Control de malezas como parte de las prácticas de saneamiento en invernaderos que producen plantas ornamentales

- Marzo 22: Prácticas de saneamiento durante la temporada de crecimiento

- Marzo 23: Monitoreo de tarjetas adhesivas amarillas en invernaderos

- Marzo 24: Pasos de como iniciar un programa de control biológico para plagas de insectos y ácaros

- Marzo 27: Enfermedad o desorden abiótico?

- Marzo 28: Como regar cultivos de contenedor

- Marzo 29: Alimentando plantas

 

Hora: 11: 20 – 11:50 am EST.

La inscripción es gratis AQUI.

Si tiene preguntas sobre este programa, contacte a Carla Caballero.

 

When I’m not writing GreenTalks, I do the marketing and communications for a ski foundation that serves a large youth population. We talk a lot about the importance of kids having outdoors time. (The suicide rate in Montana is consistently in the top 5 in the nation. In addition to skiing, we now find ourselves providing mental health education.) 
 

 

Here’s an interesting number that the Children & Nature Network recently shared: 
 

Growing up near residential green space is associated with up to a 55% lower risk of mental health disorders in adulthood. 

 

That number comes from this Denmark study. (But in contradiction, we also know that mountain towns and other rural areas often see unusually high rates of mental health problems.)  
 

Whether you’re advocating for a schoolyard garden, an after-school ski program, or a neighborhood park, there’s mounting evidence that these things have a huge impact on the lives of kids (and adults). If you ever need to cite that evidence, I suggest trying out the Children & Nature Research Library.