Spent last Friday in a departmental faculty retreat – you know, the “vision thing” – S.W.O.T. analysis, where are we going to be in five years, etc. But we actually got some things accomplished. One of the more interesting aspects was discussing trends in horticulture, both popular and practical, and how we could respond. One of the reoccurring themes throughout the day, especially related to urban agricultural/horticulture, was ecosystems services. I’ve heard the term mostly from environmental science and urban forestry folks. … Continue reading this article “Ecosystem services: Am I going to get a bill?”
Tag: horticulture
A Garden Professor is most severely vexed
I’ve been thinking a lot about Jeff’s recent post on “What happens to the horticulturist.” It’s true – universities rely more and more on faculty-generated grants for funding, so new hires tend to be in “hot” areas of research. Fewer horticultural generalists are hired in teaching/research positions, and the same is true for Extension – the educational outreach arm of land-grant universities.
Many of you might not even know what Extension really is. In my opinion, that’s because Extension as a whole has done a pretty poor job of evolving with the times. … Continue reading this article “A Garden Professor is most severely vexed”
A Nice Museum
I’ve been to Chicago before, but mostly on business. It always seemed nice though, so, last week I went with my family and, for the first time, I had the chance to look at some of the sights. Navy Pier – overrated. Shedd aquarium – met expectations. Chicago style pizza from Giordanos – so much better than I expected. Chicago hotdogs – damn good, but not equal to Chicago pizza. The Field Museum – TERRIBLY UNDERRATED. … Continue reading this article “A Nice Museum”
What Happens to the Horticulturist?
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk with a professor in the agronomy department who’s going to be retiring very soon. We talked about education and field trials, corn and trees, and then we started talking about the future of our departments. Both of us are concerned that this generation of horticulturists (and agronomists—but I’m just going to deal with horticulture here) will be the last.
Over the last 10 or so years we have been losing horticulture departments. … Continue reading this article “What Happens to the Horticulturist?”