NNLA Summer Field Day “Kick the Dirt” & NCNLP Testing a Success

NNLA hosted two events during the first week of August.  On Thursday, August 5th, NNLA held a summer edition of the Nebraska Certified Nursery & Landscape Professional (NCNLP) exam on UNL’s East Campus.  NNLA was welcomed by UNL Agronomy and Horticulture to use a classroom in Keim Hall.  It was an excellent location for the test with the Keim Courtyard for the plant identification test review and the Maxwell Arboretum and Backyard Farmer garden for the plant identification test itself.  The test takers and proctors were able to visit the newly-renovated East Campus Union for lunch.  NNLA had three people registered to take the test.  Two of them were taking portions of the test over and one was taking the entire NCNLP test for the first time.  At the end of the day NNLA welcomed two new members to the NCNLP program.  NNLA plans to offer the exam again this winter and would like to return to East Campus for testing next summer as well. 

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The next day, on Friday, August 6th, NNLA held its annual Summer Field Day also on UNL’s East Campus.  Attendees were welcomed by NNLA’s President, Jason Kuehl.  Doctor Mamo, the head of the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, presented her vision of how industry leaders and the University can work together to advance horticulture and advance change.  She also discussed the tie between a thriving horticulture program and students who would enter the workforce as possible employees.  UNL Extension educator Terri James gave an overview of the schedule of the day and split the attendees, which totalled around 50, into two groups for the morning session of tours. 

The morning tours included a visit to the UNL turf test plots where the group learned about yellow nutsedge management methods, organic weed control, and the ongoing buffalograss trials.  One key takeaway was that most turf species will thrive and have fewer weeds with proper management which includes not overwatering or mowing too short or too often.  An interesting finding regarding the yellow nutsedge is that spraying or mechanical removal should be done in mid-May which is much earlier than the previously recommended date of the summer solstice in mid-June. The other morning tour took attendees through the Backyard Farmer (BYF) gardens, the “rain-chain” rain garden and wet meadow, and the collection of edible landscape plants used for teaching plant identification and best management practices.  Kim Todd, UNL horticulture professor and extension educator, shared that this particular area is used to teach pruning by letting students do it on living plant material where the stakes are low if they make a mistake.  All aspects of these garden areas can be used for teaching as well as enjoyment.  Terri James elaborated that the BYF gardens are meant to be an example of “what urban gardening can be '' and that they “emphasize the soil” to ensure that the plantings thrive from year to year. 

During lunch the attendees were able to visit the Gooding Learning Center, the updated Dinsdale Family Learning Commons (formerly the CY Thompson Library) , the Dairy Store for dessert, and the newly-renovated Student Union.  Many classrooms in Keim and Plant Science Halls were opened to have lunch and to explore.  Some chose to have lunch in the Keim Courtyard with the four well-cared-for turtles that live in a small pond near the walking path surrounded by a small arboretum of plantings.  The lunch break allowed for some networking as well as a rare opportunity to catch up with colleagues and peers in this time of COVID-19. 

The afternoon tour began at the Dinsdale Family Learning Commons where Mark Canney shared some insights into the planning of the outdoor spaces and landscaping around the renovated building.  He noted the movement toward a “classroom effect” within landscapes on campuses and that we are beginning to “celebrate what is the prairie” in landscape spaces. Mark elaborated on the challenges of tying together the many stakeholders in a project of this scope such as the architects, donors, students, educators, and the landscape services team that will be in charge of managing the space when the project is complete.  Then the large group threaded its way around the Learning Commons building through the edge of the Maxwell Arboretum and made its way past the College of Dentistry.  The group was joined by Jeff Culbertson, the director of UNL’s Landscape Services.  He described some of the stormwater management systems on campus and a trend toward planting smaller trees when possible.  It was also shared that they have a practice of putting name tags on trees so students who plant them as part of a class can have that memory and a meaningful tie to campus.

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Next the tour visited the hops field where breeding trials for regionally adapted Nebraska hops are taking place.  Keenan Amundsen, UNL professor, explained that hops take on the terroir of a region much like wine.  Terroir is “the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.”  He shared with the group that they are using an Arable mini weather station to better understand the unique weather conditions including temperature, rainfall, solar radiation that the hops trial is experiencing on a daily basis.  The intent of these trials is to develop hops that will thrive in Nebraska while also providing the characteristic flavors that breweries are looking to use in their beer recipes. 

At this point in the tour Bob Henrickson, the Horticulture Program Coordinator with the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA), led the group on a tour of the old nut orchard.  They took a quick pit stop at the grape high tunnel where attendees were able to sample some ripe grapes that are part of the viticulture program’s research.  It was explanted that no herbicides are used and all weeds are removed mechanically.  After arriving in the nut orchard attendees were asked to identify some of the established trees that are not often seen in our urban landscapes.  Bob challenged the attendees, asking, “What are the trees of the future? Our native trees because they aren’t in our landscapes.”  It was easy to see that although these trees were planted close together, sometimes closer than ten feet apart, they were thriving and reaching maturity.  An attendee shared a joke with the group: Q: You want to know what’s so great about a shellbark hickory?  A: Shell bark but she won’t bite!  The group then made the long trek back to their vehicles and were treated to a goodwill donation sweetcorn from the Agronomy and Horticulture Graduate Student Association to take home at the end of the day. 

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Overall the NNLA Summer Field Day was a great opportunity to see what was new on UNL’s East Campus, to catch up with peers and colleagues, to learn about new research, and to see examples of how landscapes can be educational, enjoyable and provide environmental benefits.  A big thanks again to the event sponsors and to the people and organizations that made this event possible: UNL Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Backyard Farmer, UNL Extension.

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