National Initiative For Consumer Horticulture shares a new way of connecting

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture highlights the importance of landscape plants in conserving and protecting the environment. They aim to grow the world through art, science, plants, gardens and landscapes. Amid the coronavirus and social distancing, NICH has found a new way to connect and have shared it in a release here:

We had just finished creating our April memes that celebrate both Earth Day and Arbor Day when COVID-19 modified our plans (just as it changed yours). Maintaining social distance is pretty easy for a group like NICH. We meet electronically and are scattered across the country.

Many of us are faced with new challenges of suddenly finding ourselves unemployed, working from home, kids out of school, and uncertainty and worry. Many of you are essential workers on the front lines of this pandemic. We understand that these lifestyle changes can be difficult for both you and your customers. We will do our part by providing content that is engaging and involves consumers with plants and nature every day.

This is a good time to inspire new consumers of horticulture. After all, we can enjoy our house plants and garden in the yard. We can even take advantage of horticulture service industries, such as lawn and tree care, and landscape designers, while maintaining a safe social distance.

With that in mind, our Social Media Committee and the Health and Community Committee have created a series of engaging memes to get this message out. Don’t hesitate to use and share these resources. Please tag @consumerhort on Instagram and use the hashtag #PlantsDoThat in all of your posts, so we can track how far they have gone and how many people they reach.
 
We are also creating a virtual ‘Horticulture Hunt.’ These provide suggestions for consumers, including parents working at home with children, to get everyone outside and immersed in the world of horticulture. There will be easy activities involving plants that can be done in homes, backyards, or on a walk around the neighborhood or park. We will produce one challenge activity per day during April. Look for these on our Facebook and in our Instagram accounts, and please share. The more people we can encourage to enjoy horticulture, the better.

If you haven’t done so yet, follow our pages, like them, repost, and take what you can and use it. These memes are posted on our website. Let’s get the word out there on how plants improve our lives.

To view the memes NICH has created, click here. To learn more about NICH as an organization, click here.