HAPPENINGS


Turfgrass Producers International on this important voice of the natural turfgrass industry. Te Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf (A-LIST) and its members have long supported NTEP and this new channel will allow the A-LIST to refine messaging and research to align more closely with NTEP’s national strategy. Currently, a component of the A-LIST’s approval protocol, NTEP data is used to establish turf quality minimums and is integral to identifying varieties that require less inputs to maintain acceptable turf quality. Te A-LIST has consistently promoted the use of NTEP as an independent testing ground and requires varieties in its own trials to concurrently be placed in NTEP trials as well. “We are very excited to be part of this influential group and look forward to playing a larger role in the national effort to promote sustainability in turfgrass,” said Jeremy Husen, Executive Director of the A-LIST. “We believe the future of turfgrass requires all entities promoting sustainability to be on the same page and it makes sense that NTEP serve as the group to bring all those voices to the table.” Te inclusion of Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA) demonstrates an awareness of the importance of value-added traits to today’s consumers and the changing role of turfgrass in how we think about landscapes and landscape design. In cooperation with NexGen Turf Research and Drs. Karcher and Richardson of the University of Arkansas, TWCA developed the technologies and methodologies that underpin all drought stress evaluation today. In addition to pioneering the work on drought stress evaluation TWCA also copyrighted the first protocol for objective evaluation of low maintenance trialing. “We’re obviously very happy to participate on this committee,” says TWCA Program Administrator Jack Karlin. “Now, more than ever it’s critical to present a unified message about the value of turf in our managed landscapes. We’re really excited that NTEP has taken this step towards unifying our industry messaging.” Kevin Morris, Executive Director of NTEP said, “We are really excited to welcome both of these important alliances to the NTEP Policy Committee. With turf removal programs becoming more and more popular, and the perception of turf being water-wasting and unstainable in some circles, the turf industry needs to unite in developing and marketing low-water using, low input and more sustainable turfgrasses.” NTEP has long been a central figure in the turfgrass industry serving a critical decision-making tool for breeders, producers, and sod farms alike. Te Policy Committee meets several times a year and serves to coordinate and facilitate messaging about turfgrass and the importance of turfgrass research.


TurfMutt Celebrates Ten Years of Unleashing Imaginations to Make the Planet Greener, Communities Healthier Te highly successful TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program celebrates its tenth anniversary of


TPI Turf News May/June 2019


teaching the value and benefits of the outdoors, specifically the contributions of our own backyards, community parks, and other managed landscapes. Tis year, the program expands its successful youth education program to middle schools around the country, adding new lessons and student activities, including a graphic story. “For the last decade, TurfMutt’s message has been simple: care for the green space around you, but equally important, get outside and enjoy it,” says Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), whose Foundation is the creative founder of TurfMutt. “Now we’re expanding to include more students and their families to further promote the health and wellness benefits of being an ‘outsider’.” TurfMutt started as a pilot youth education program to schools in Sacramento in the fall of 2009, and has grown into a national program for kids, families, and communities. Today, TurfMutt is an official USGBC® Education Partner; as part of their global LEARNING LAB, TurfMutt has appeared on morning television shows, Lucky Dog and Ready Set Pet, and has been featured in Parade magazine. TurfMutt has reached more than 68 million teachers, students, and their families through its own outreach and via the materials created in collaboration with Scholastic. New lesson plans and a graphic story, both aimed at middle school youth, will explore TurfMutt’s adventures in “saving the planet one yard at a time,” and are designed to inspire students to improve the green spaces around them. An estimated eighteen thousand teachers will receive lessons plans and 460,000 students will receive the graphic story, which was included with Science World magazine. Te program’s mascot is Lucky the TurfMutt, an animated version of a real-life rescue dog who is “pawing it forward” by inspiring students to care for the environment and appreciate its benefits. TurfMutt has also been involved in sponsoring adoption events. Learn more at www.TurfMutt.com


Te TPI Family Mourns Te TPI family mourns with the David Bradley family at the loss of David’s mother, Imogene Justus Bradley Miller. Mrs. Miller, 79, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, went to join our Lord on Wednesday, February 20, 2019 at her home. She was a graduate of Edneyville High School and had been employed as a professional secretary for many years prior to her career with the USDA as a crop insurance adjuster. Mrs. Miller is survived by her beloved husband of 27 years, Elmer Miller; two children, Leca Harris and her husband Rick, and David Bradley and his wife Linda; five grandchildren, two great grandchildren, and one brother, Kenneth Justus and his wife Glenda, and nephews. For the past 25 years, Mrs. Miller faithfully attended and sang in the choir of Hendersonville First Baptist Church. She had been a life-long member of Edneyville United Methodist Church, where her funeral was held on February 23.


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