“Green Industry” Donates $100,000

Nurturing the Connection: UMass Amherst Chancellor John Lombardi
and Vice Provost for Outreach Sharon Fross were on hand in Boston
as MNLA President Jeff Willman (left) announced a $100,000 gift to the university.
Photo: Ian Churchill

AMHERST – Extension research and education in sustainable and environmentally sound nursery and landscape management is getting a big boost at the UMass Amherst thanks to a $100,000 gift from the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA).

The gift, being made in five annual installments, will provide initial funding for an endowment to support UMass Extension’s Nursery, Landscape and Urban Forestry Program, and its work with the “green industry” in Massachusetts and the public it serves.

A formal announcement of the gift was made January 31 at the MNLA’s annual meeting and luncheon at New England Grows!, the annual green industry trade show at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

UMass Amherst Chancellor John Lombardi attended the event, along with Vice Provost for University Outreach Sharon Fross and officials from UMass Extension and the UMass Amherst College of Natural Resources and the Environment. The MNLA gift is one of the largest ever to directly benefit UMass Extension initiatives aimed at fulfilling UMass Amherst’s federal land-grant mandate to put teaching and research to work in communities throughout the Commonwealth.

As it grows, the endowment will fund staffing and operations of UMass Extension’s Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program, said program director Kathleen Carroll. Eventually, she said, she hopes that the endowment will fund the hiring of an Extension nursery and landscape educator.

Making the Point: Chancellor Lombardi
was taken by several of UMass
Extension’s exhibits at New England
Grows!, the annual green industry
trade show at the Boston Convention
Center. Photo: Ian Churchill

“This gift honors and documents the work we do to further the art and science of nursery and landscape management in a way that will keep both the industry and the environment healthy,” said Carroll. “It validates the very practical ways that we benefit the industry, and we are very grateful.”

The Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program teaches integrated pest management practices and environmental stewardship to municipal and private landscape professionals and nursery growers. The program’s objectives include:

• helping agricultural businesses maintain profitability while promoting practical sustainable land management strategies;
• responding to client’s horticultural problems and finding workable short and long term solutions in a collaborative manner;
• teaching and conducting research related to environmental stewardship aimed at reducing negative environmental impact; and
• maintaining efficient, accurate and confidential plant diagnostic and soil testing services.

MNLA will continue to help build and guide the endowment through the efforts of its ongoing Endowment Committee.

MNLA President Jeffrey Willman, of Bigelow Nurseries in Northboro, said that the gift will ultimately benefit MNLA members, and will continue to nurture the long and productive relationship between his organization and UMass Amherst."We’re extremely pleased,” said Willman.“It is an honor to be able to give back to a program that has provided invaluable professional support to the industry for decades. Our goal is to secure the public benefits of this program in perpetuity and we hope that this endowment will be only one step in this ongoing process as we challenge other allied associations and industries to do the same".