By Michael Scleining, CCNP, Arbor Valley Nursery
In December, the Colorado Horticulture Research and Education Foundation (CHREF) met for its annual meeting, where we interviewed Colorado State University students for scholarships and awarded the Department of Horticulture with money for industry-related research. While the current impact that CHREF makes is on a small scale, the CHREF Board of Directors is looking at a new vision to keep horticulture relevant in Colorado.
How can CHREF generate the most influence with its resources and what can we do to make a more prosperous future for the entirety of the industry?
The CHREF Board is committed to exploring ways that the Foundation can have a broader scope of impact on the industry in terms of research and education—in high schools, colleges, and beyond. Board members have come up with some ideas. It is also imperative that CNGA members and the Colorado green industry contribute their ideas about how our vision may come to fruition, and where we can allocate our resources to create the most impact possible and ensure that we create a legacy for the future.
We welcome all ideas, thoughts, and comments. Please contact any member of the:
CHREF 2018 Board of Directors
Matt Edmundson: matte@arborvalleynursery.com
Mike Kintgen: kingtgenm@botanicgardens.org
Gary Epstein: atreeguy2@gmail.com
Jack Fetig: jack@fossilcreeknursery.com
Gene Pielin: genepielin@gmail.com
Michael Schleining: mikes@arborvalleynursery.com
Steve Echter: sechter@echters.com
The Colorado Horticulture Research & Education Foundation plays a lead role in developing new leaders and applied science for the nursery and greenhouse industry. The foundation has contributed more than $231,482 to research and more than $221,650 to scholarships since the mid ‘80s.
