The New York Botanical Garden Hosts 'Hortie Hoopla' Premiere for Green Industry Interns

It’s A “Hortie Hoopla!”

NYBG Hosts 1^st Annual Field Day for NYC-area Green Industry Interns

100 Anticipated Interns Show Horticulture is a Young and Growing Field

It     It doesn't seem all that long ago that my dear friend and "Hortie Hero,"  Charles Yurgalevitch, Director, School of Professional Horticulture at The New York Botanical Garden passionately discussed with me his desire to produce an event that would showcase Horticulture as an enduring career that excites and compels enthusiasm -- especially for youth. 

Silicon Valley does not have a monopoly on young, creative, and enterprising career candidates!  

We see this generation of farmers at the Greenmarkets.  We learn from them while they work the gardens at the parks and botanic gardens.   

Charles' vision as I remember it, was to engage some Hort thought leaders to speak to the interns -- Ken Druse's name readily came up first. Ken had recently written a great article about the Next Generation of Horticulturists and it was inspiring on so many levels.   

http://www.organicgardening.com/living/the-new-generation

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S    Charles also expressed a point of view that to help nurture these budding green industry celebrities, they needed a community - an event to share their hort knowledge and passions and issues and their visions -- and so his "Hortie Hoopla" was seeded. And what better place than the New York Botanical Garden to host this premiere horticultural event? 

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      So in less time than it takes to design a seasonal garden display, Charles had his vision approved, a template for the day's agenda that came out almost fully formed: an all-star Hort expert lineup of presenters and lecturers, NYBG curator-led tours of the collections and gardens - including the Forest, Native Plant Garden, Azalea Garden, Conservatory and so on; followed by food and drinks (he was thinking BBQ or sub sandwiches in the farm setting that is the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden.  Nice homegrown comfort food. No stuffy social event here! 

      And as you can see from the final agenda below that is the media alert, it all came together as he envisioned. Even the food and drink made it to gathering, generously provided by Organic Gardening Magazine, Town and Country Gardens and Landcraft Environments.  Cheers to the sponsors.

      

      The metro area Hort network provided Charles with the metrics of approximately how many green industry interns there are working in our green spaces including The High Line, Brooklyn Bridge Park, The Battery Park Conservancy and Central Park, to name a few.   

      

      And just like that, it all came together.  Everything was finalized before Charles left on a study and research trip to the UK's Royal Botanic Garden Kew, Royal Horticultural Society  and the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh.  Here he was working to produce an exchange program for his NYBG School of Professional Horticulture students in the near future. 

     

      Surely, Charles is the next generation's green industry garden angel!  

Charles Yurgalevitch Director of SoPH, NYBG 

      

      If you, or someone you know is a green industry intern, please let them know about Wednesday's event. Details below.  

      

      Make Green History and attend the Hortie Hoopla Premiere. 

     

  
    News from the Botanical Garden:

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The New York Botanical Garden will host the first-ever New York metro area “Hortie Hoopla!”- a field day for “green industry” interns on July 24, 2013. Nearly 100 interns working at parks and gardens across the NYC-area this summer will meet up at the Garden for this day of learning, camaraderie, professional development, and a bit of fun. Professionals working at the many parks, gardens and horticultural institutions in the NYC area will also be on hand to share ideas and experiences about their summers in horticulture. The Garden’s own curators and horticultural experts will offer tours of NYBG’s magnificent 250-acre grounds and offer interns insights about careers in this important profession.

WHEN:                        Wednesday, July 24, 2013, 2–7:30 p.m.

WHO AND WHAT:      

2 pm     Opening remarks in the Ross Lecture Hall by:

·       Charles Yurgalevitch, Director, School of Professional Horticulture

·       Ken Druse, author, lecturer and radio host

·       Emma Seniuk, cut flower and vegetable gardener, Chanticleer Garden

·       Ethne Clarke, Editor-in-Chief, Organic Gardening magazine

3 pm     
Curator and Staff Tours of NYBG gardens & Plant ID contest:

·       Azalea Garden – Deanna Curtis, Curator of Woody Plants

·       Composting in the Family Garden - Jodie Colón, Compost Educator and Project Manager

·       E.A.H. Conservatory – Francisca Coelho, Vivian and Edward Merrin VP for Glasshouses &

Exhibitions

·       Native Plant Garden – Brian Sullivan, VP for Landscape, Outdoor Collections and Gardens

·       Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden Rose Garden, Kristin Schleiter, Associate V P for Outdoor Gardens

·       Thain Family Forest – Jessica Schuler, Director of the Thain Family Forest

5:30 pm - BBQ at the Edible Academy hosted by:

·       Toby Adams, Director, Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden

·       Annie Novak, Manager of the Edible Academy in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden

7 pm     Announce the winner(s) of the Plant ID contest.

WHERE:          The New York Botanical Garden

                        Bronx River Parkway (Exit 7W) at Fordham Road, Bronx, NY