One of the features of this year's Chicago Flower & Garden Show at Navy Pier March 6-14 is a new horticultural competition. The Chicago Botanic Garden drew up the rules, in cooperation with serious plant societies, so it conforms to the strict traditional flower show guidelines. That means the rules are very finicky, so read carefully. See the rules here.
Anybody can enter. There are categories for various kinds of houseplants--so you might already have a winner in your living room--and for planting window boxes. The competition includes a photo contest. Deadline for the photos is Feb. 17 (postmarked by Feb 16).
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Cook County meeting on Extension is in Countryside March 12
A question arose after I posted about the forthcoming budget-forced big changes at athte University of Illinois Extension: Why isn't there a public input meeting in Chicago? The answer, according to the Extension's Amy Sue Mertens: The meetings are by county and the Cook County meeting is the one in Countryside March 12. See previous post for complete schedule.
Why join a garden club?
I've got a story in Today's Chicago Tribune about garden clubs.
And I've leaving in a few minutes to drive off to an studio on the South Side to talk gardening with Mike Nowak on his radio show, 8 to 10 a.m. on WCPT-radio 820 AM in Chicago. Way too early in the morning, but I've had a good breakfast and coffee, so I can probably kick-start a few brain cells.
And I've leaving in a few minutes to drive off to an studio on the South Side to talk gardening with Mike Nowak on his radio show, 8 to 10 a.m. on WCPT-radio 820 AM in Chicago. Way too early in the morning, but I've had a good breakfast and coffee, so I can probably kick-start a few brain cells.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
University of Illinois Extension faces big budget cuts, major reorganization
I'm a Master Gardener volunteer with the University of Illinois Extension, and--full disclosure--I also do some freelance work for it (editing and whatnot). I know what a powerful force the Extension and especially the horticulture educators and Master Gardeners volunteers are in Chicago-area gardening and green projects. I am nowhere near the most active among them, but in general the Master Gardeners in Chicago are the happiest, busiest beavers I know.
So it's not nice to hear that as fallout from the smoking bomb crater that is the budget of the State of Illinois, the extension is facing big budget slashing and a major reorganization.
This is not like the scare of 2008, when big budget and staff cuts were averted, in part because of outcry from Extension supporters to members of the state legislature. This is much deeper and more fundamental. It looks like it is going to bring the biggest changes to Extension since it was founded in the 19th century. I couldn't find a Chicago-area news story on the subject, but here's one from the Champaign paper.
What's not clear is exactly what form the changes will take. The Extension administrators are trying to figure that out. It seems likely that some county Extension offices, especially Downstate, will be combined, rather than having a separate unit in each county as has been the case for more than 100 years.
It also may lead to Extension re-evaluating the emphasis of its programs. In most of the state, it's still perceived as mainly a service to agriculture, with a little 4H and Home Ec. This crisis may force Extension to think harder about what its direction should be going forward.
In the Chicago area? The populous, urbanized counties in the northeastern part of the state are very different from the Downstate corn and soybean country, and have much larger and more varied Extension programs and priorities. Gardening is big in Chicago and the suburbs. But the Extension also has programs in public health, science education and many other areas that go far beyond Ag and 4-H. There are a lot of different needs and interests to balance around here.
But the Extension is holding a series of public meetings to get input. I urge anybody who cares about gardening or greening or the horticulture industry to attend one of these meetings and to call and write to the Extension and to your state officials and let them know how important its horticulture and other programs are to your community.
It seems clear to me that major change in the Extension can't be averted at this point, but the direction of change can be influenced by people who speak up for what they value.
Here's the full text of this week's press release with the list of meetings. I'm posting it in full because I can't find it online anywhere.
U of I Extension seeks public input on its future
So it's not nice to hear that as fallout from the smoking bomb crater that is the budget of the State of Illinois, the extension is facing big budget slashing and a major reorganization.
This is not like the scare of 2008, when big budget and staff cuts were averted, in part because of outcry from Extension supporters to members of the state legislature. This is much deeper and more fundamental. It looks like it is going to bring the biggest changes to Extension since it was founded in the 19th century. I couldn't find a Chicago-area news story on the subject, but here's one from the Champaign paper.
What's not clear is exactly what form the changes will take. The Extension administrators are trying to figure that out. It seems likely that some county Extension offices, especially Downstate, will be combined, rather than having a separate unit in each county as has been the case for more than 100 years.
It also may lead to Extension re-evaluating the emphasis of its programs. In most of the state, it's still perceived as mainly a service to agriculture, with a little 4H and Home Ec. This crisis may force Extension to think harder about what its direction should be going forward.
In the Chicago area? The populous, urbanized counties in the northeastern part of the state are very different from the Downstate corn and soybean country, and have much larger and more varied Extension programs and priorities. Gardening is big in Chicago and the suburbs. But the Extension also has programs in public health, science education and many other areas that go far beyond Ag and 4-H. There are a lot of different needs and interests to balance around here.
But the Extension is holding a series of public meetings to get input. I urge anybody who cares about gardening or greening or the horticulture industry to attend one of these meetings and to call and write to the Extension and to your state officials and let them know how important its horticulture and other programs are to your community.
It seems clear to me that major change in the Extension can't be averted at this point, but the direction of change can be influenced by people who speak up for what they value.
Here's the full text of this week's press release with the list of meetings. I'm posting it in full because I can't find it online anywhere.
U of I Extension seeks public input on its future
Urbana – State budget constraints have prompted University of Illinois Extension to explore ways to cut costs and still provide high-impact programming, and Extension leaders are now seeking public input on their options.
A series of public meetings are scheduled:
· Monday, February 22: 5:00-7:00 pm – Champaign Unit Auditorium, 801 N. Country Fair Drive, Champaign, Illinois
· Tuesday, February 23: 6:30-8:30 pm – John A. Logan College, Hancock Conference Center, 700 College Road, Carterville, Illinois
· Thursday, February 25: 2:00-4:00 pm – DeKalb Unit Office, 1350 W Prairie Drive, Sycamore, Illinois
· Friday, February 26: 2:00-4:00 pm – Effingham Unit Office, 1209 Wenthe Drive, Effingham, Illinois
· Monday, March 1: 7:00-9:00 pm – Okawville Community Club Building, 511 S. Hanover St., Okawville, Illinois
· Tuesday, March 2: 6:00-8:00 pm – Kane Unit Office, 535 S. Randall Rd., St. Charles, Illinois
· Thursday, March 4: 1:00-3:00 pm – McDonough Unit Auditorium, 3022 W. Jackson, Macomb, Illinois
· Thursday, March 4: 6:00-8:00 pm – Bureau Unit Office, 850 Thompson Street, Princeton, Illinois
· Tuesday, March 9: 6:00-8:00 pm – U of I Extension Center Illini Auditorium, Illinois State Fairgrounds, 1101 E. Sangamon Ave., Springfield, Illinois
· Friday, March 12: 10:00-Noon – Countryside Center, 6438 Joliet Rd., Countryside, Illinois
“To be fiscally responsible, U of I Extension is planning for funding cuts, but we want to make these cuts in such a way as to maintain Extension’s strong tradition of high-impact educational programming, which has had a dramatic effect on the citizens of Illinois over the years,” said Bob Hoeft, interim Extension director.
It’s projected that Extension funding will decline between $2 and $5 million next year, and a rescission of state funding is expected for the 2009-10 budget year.
While a cost-savings plan is not yet finalized, Hoeft says he’s operating on several guiding principles.
“First, we want to maintain a system that produces and delivers effective, high-impact educational programming in response to local needs,” he said.
He says we are exploring the concept of multi-county units to reduce administrative costs such as facility rental and administrators. At the same time, it’s expected that the number of educators would increase for these multi-county units.
“We also want to support youth programming and 4-H at the same high level because it has a major impact on Illinois children. “This will be a priority in the reorganization,” Hoeft said.
Hoeft also emphasizes the continued use of new and effective learning technologies to deliver educational programming.
After the public meetings, Hoeft expects to finalize reorganization plans in mid-April and start implementing the plans after that.
University of Illinois Extension’s FY09 budget totaled $65 million, supporting 800 employees of all classifications. The budget is made up mostly from federal, state and local funds.
As part of the federal land-grant university system, Extension connects Illinois citizens with the University of Illinois and has a 90-year history of providing educational programs to improve the quality of life in the state. U of I Extension offers educational programming in all of Illinois’ 102 counties in response to locally identified needs. It is the home of the popular 4-H program.
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Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension or the Plant Information Service of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe .
All contents of this post are copyright Beth Botts. Feel free to link or share a brief excerpt with a link, but please do not reproduce photos or any other part of this blog without my express permission.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Looking for some gardening newbies
Chicagoland Gardening Magazine, where I'm a consulting senior editor, is looking for some brand-new gardeners--folks who have never tried gardening but think they are ready to start this season. We want to do some interviews for stories about getting started as a gardener. if you are one, or if you know of one, please check out this link or e-mail the editor, Carolyn Ulrich, at carolyn@chicagolandgardening.com.
Garden Writers Association meeting March 6
For my friends in the Garden Writers Association, or those who might be interested, we're holding a Region V meeting March 6 (opening day) at the Chicago Flower & Garden Show at Navy Pier. Good tours, good speakers, and a chance to get out on the show floor and take photos before the crowds arrive. Here's the link for all the details. Region V is the upper Midwest, basically, although members from anywhere are of course welcome.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Are school gardens a good or a bad thing?
Ouch! Many hard-working volunteers I know will be hit hard by an article by Caitlin Flanagan in the current Atlantic magazine charging that school gardens are a patronizing fraud that wastes the precious instructional time of poor children whose real chance at a good life lies in focusing on learning to read, do arithmetic and be good citizens.
Blogger and school garden volunteer Ed Bruske has responded angrily on his blog, The Slow Cook. And there has been huge blog and Twitter action about the subject.
My own take: School gardens work as well as their schools do. The principal has to really be on board. The teachers need to be prepared to truly integrate the lessons of the garden into the reading, math and science curriculum. It can't just be a feel-good project where the kids spend some time in the sunshine and the teacher gets a break while the volunteers babysit for an hour a couple of times a week.
Like schools in general, school gardens tend to work best in middle-class areas where most students get a head start on reading and math at home. They work best where children have good teachers who get lots of resources and support and where there are active, involved and educated parents and neighbors to volunteer. For those kids, a school garden is unquestionably an enhancement of their education.
But in poorer and immigrant neighborhoods where most children don't get that head start at home, every educational challenge is much greater. A school garden can't cure that. For a school garden in a poor neighborhood to really pay off in educational gains is going to take a heroic teacher and a visionary principal as well as a devoted cadre of volunteers. Such situations are rare in, for example, the Chicago Public Schools.
Years of expensive program changes, magnet schools and other reforms haven't budged the test-results needle much in the Chicago schools, especially in the ones where students struggle most. It's unreasonable to expect school gardens to do what firing principals, retraining teachers, busing kids across the city and shutting failing schools down altogether has not.
Would I want a child of mine to lose math or reading instruction time to work in a garden? No, I would not. But my child would be spending time in a garden at home, as I did when I was small. I was taught to garden as I was taught to read: not by my school but by my parents. I was a privileged child.
Still, I persist in believing that it is valuable for children to garden. I believe that understanding how a plant works and how it is related to a person helps children understand their world. I still believe that getting over the fear of earthworms helps a child develop empathy. I believe that knowing where food comes from because you grew some yourself helps make you a better and more informed citizen. I believe that children learn math best if they have something real to figure out, such as how many tomato plants will fit. I believe a school garden -- if it has the right support from all the right adults -- can be a door to a larger world for a child. But that's a big if.
The best response to Caitlin Flanagan's critique should be a demand from the volunteers whose labor and enthusiasm makes school gardens happen for better research to prove their benefits and to figure out how they can really help with the core curriculum. Volunteers should insist that school administrations set expectations and provide training and support for teachers to make that connection. They should insist that their hard work have a chance to really teach children by being made part of a school's curriculum in meaningful ways.
Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension or the Plant Information Service of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe .
All contents of this post are copyright Beth Botts. Feel free to link or share a brief excerpt with a link, but please do not reproduce photos or any other part of this blog without my express permission.
Blogger and school garden volunteer Ed Bruske has responded angrily on his blog, The Slow Cook. And there has been huge blog and Twitter action about the subject.
My own take: School gardens work as well as their schools do. The principal has to really be on board. The teachers need to be prepared to truly integrate the lessons of the garden into the reading, math and science curriculum. It can't just be a feel-good project where the kids spend some time in the sunshine and the teacher gets a break while the volunteers babysit for an hour a couple of times a week.
Like schools in general, school gardens tend to work best in middle-class areas where most students get a head start on reading and math at home. They work best where children have good teachers who get lots of resources and support and where there are active, involved and educated parents and neighbors to volunteer. For those kids, a school garden is unquestionably an enhancement of their education.
But in poorer and immigrant neighborhoods where most children don't get that head start at home, every educational challenge is much greater. A school garden can't cure that. For a school garden in a poor neighborhood to really pay off in educational gains is going to take a heroic teacher and a visionary principal as well as a devoted cadre of volunteers. Such situations are rare in, for example, the Chicago Public Schools.
Years of expensive program changes, magnet schools and other reforms haven't budged the test-results needle much in the Chicago schools, especially in the ones where students struggle most. It's unreasonable to expect school gardens to do what firing principals, retraining teachers, busing kids across the city and shutting failing schools down altogether has not.
Would I want a child of mine to lose math or reading instruction time to work in a garden? No, I would not. But my child would be spending time in a garden at home, as I did when I was small. I was taught to garden as I was taught to read: not by my school but by my parents. I was a privileged child.
Still, I persist in believing that it is valuable for children to garden. I believe that understanding how a plant works and how it is related to a person helps children understand their world. I still believe that getting over the fear of earthworms helps a child develop empathy. I believe that knowing where food comes from because you grew some yourself helps make you a better and more informed citizen. I believe that children learn math best if they have something real to figure out, such as how many tomato plants will fit. I believe a school garden -- if it has the right support from all the right adults -- can be a door to a larger world for a child. But that's a big if.
The best response to Caitlin Flanagan's critique should be a demand from the volunteers whose labor and enthusiasm makes school gardens happen for better research to prove their benefits and to figure out how they can really help with the core curriculum. Volunteers should insist that school administrations set expectations and provide training and support for teachers to make that connection. They should insist that their hard work have a chance to really teach children by being made part of a school's curriculum in meaningful ways.
Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension or the Plant Information Service of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe .
All contents of this post are copyright Beth Botts. Feel free to link or share a brief excerpt with a link, but please do not reproduce photos or any other part of this blog without my express permission.
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