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Virginia Turfgrass Journal

A Renewed Commitment through the VTC Environmental Institute

In recent years, turfgrass and landscape managers have faced a confounding paradox: while they have worked tirelessly to improve their products and practices in pursuit of a healthy environment and budget conscious operations that produce a beautiful end product, they’ve experienced mounting pressure from environmental activists and regulatory agencies. Newly imposed (and ever-changing) regulations on products, equipment and practices have necessitated a tremendous amount of ingenuity and advocacy on the part of all segments of the turfgrass industry.

From golf course superintendents to lawn care operators, everyone has experienced the pressure to do more with less, even amid a challenging labor shortage. Organizations like VTC have fought to preserve their ability to work within the law while educating policymakers and environmental groups about the many environmental benefits of properly selected and maintained turfgrass and landscapes, and the conscientiousness of turf and landscape professionals who make up the industry.

In the last two years, VTC has created and launched the VTC Environmental Institute with the specific purpose of communicating the value of the industry in promoting and advancing a healthy and thriving environment. Two primary drivers of this effort
have been service projects and the Come to the Bay conference.

VTC Executive Director Dr. Tom Tracy says, “This year’s event was a tremendous success in establishing working relationships with well-connected environmental groups. Several representatives of those groups said they look forward to working together on projects. Remember, these are persons frequently cited by politicians, regulators, and media outlets as the go-to sources of expertise on potential environmental regulations. It is very clear that we, the industry, are taking a leadership role on environmental issues.”

All Hands on Deck

The VTC Board of Directors has very thoughtfully planned opportunities for turfgrass and landscape managers to promote our industry’s efforts to protect and improve the delicate natural resources of Virginia’s watersheds and beaches. Individuals representing VTC have been forging relationships with leaders from respected environmental groups such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Elizabeth River Project, and the James River Association to plan service projects and opportunities for our organizations to come together for this cause.

VTC-EI’s efforts will include not only hands-on service projects for turf and landscape professionals, but also a corporate sponsorship element. Many larger corporations call Virginia home, and they have proven their dedication to environmental causes through sponsorships of just these types of efforts. VTC-EI is now launching their partnership program to offer those corporations an opportunity to support this cross-industry effort to identify possible needs and projects, and then to fund and staff them. It is proven that Virginians of all stripes love to contribute to a great cause, and we know that our service projects will be no exception. VTC-EI is on the leading edge of planning and promoting these opportunities.

The essential element of success is our collaboration with environmental groups, especially those who previously felt that the turf industry’s work was at odds with their own. For those groups, it has taken years of relationship building and education to understand that we are all on the same team. VTC leadership has taken that role seriously and has fought to educate and demonstrate that turfgrass and landscape professionals are the original environmental stewards.

A Growing Impact

EI’s 1^st Year                                                                                                 2022 Goals

25,000                           Pollinator Seed Packets Distributed                       25,000

6,000                             Beach Grass Plants Planted                                     15,000

3                                      New Service Projects Initiated                               6

30                                   Legislative Relationships Forged                           50

0                                     Environmental Group Partners                              20

$16,000                        Funds Raised                                                             $30,000

35                                   Volunteers Participating                                         180

153                                 Come to the Bay Attendees                                     249

Forging Ahead

It will take an intentional and concerted effort on the part of the VTC membership to bring these efforts to fruition. When thinking about how you as an organization or an individual can contribute to this new dimension of promoting and protecting our industry, please consider ways you can build and grow not only the industry, but your own business.

The better represented we are as a group, the more influence we have in policymaking, and we all know that we need more people to understand the work that we do and the pains we take to be conscientious of protecting the environment. We must communicate that we are all on the same side.

Here are some ways you can get involved:

Sponsorship.

Sponsor / host a project or contribute to a larger initiative through EI

Volunteer.

Beach grass / pollinator seeds; other?

Advocate.

Join our group of legislative advocacy

Plan.

Know a service project? Let us know

Events.

Attend / sponsor / display at Come to the Bay (2023 date)

Promote.

Environmental groups and corporations you work with

VTC members and all turfgrass professionals have a stake in this effort. Our industry’s reputation as environmental stewards is important in numerous ways: policy, labor, environmental protection, partnerships, and so many more. We need a united front to support all the needs of our membership and we hope you’ll be on board to plant these seeds and see our industry grow!