GGV hires Charlie Nardozzi
Good Gardening Videos, the campaign to find and promote videos that are accurate and watchable, has hired Charlie Nardozzi to be the“ Vetter of Veg Videos,” said Susan Harris, the project’ s volunteer editor. Harris, who founded and launched Good Gardening Videos in 2016, has more than 500 good gardening videos to share, with the help of experts on special subjects. But the topic of growing vegetables was out of her league, her experience and her ability to round up experts to do the job for no pay. It’ s a large and important topic for people learning to garden, yet job postings for an expert proved unsuccessful.
Fortunately, the GWA Symposium in Atlanta had brought Harris together under a soggy tent with Nardozzi, a well-known, veg-growing expert, experienced garden communicator and teacher from way back. That meeting, plus enthusiastic recommendations from mutual friends, led to the happy announcement that Nardozzi has been named GGV’ s Edibles Editor.
Nardozzi’ s assignment will be to review the many veg-growing videos now showing on YouTube and select accurate ones for each vegetable as well as for topics such as raised beds and composting. He’ ll subscribe to the very best YouTube channels and review new videos as they’ re uploaded. Chosen videos will then be shared at the pro-environment, ad-free Good Gardening Video website and on related social media channels for learners to find by browsing or searching.
“ To help guide gardeners, especially beginners, to the videos they need to watch when they need to watch them, Nardozzi will select good how-to videos for the vegetable gardener in spring, summer and fall, three much-needed additions to the expanding collection of seasonal guides on the website,” Harris said.
Nardozzi brings more than a horticulture degree and experience growing vegetables.“ As a long-time communicator, he’ ll also be helping to spread the word about Good Gardening Videos and its mission to teach people to succeed at gardening and to promote science-based sources of gardening information,” she said.
PRESIDENT’ S MESSAGE
KIRK R. BROWN
Spring holds stories to be discovered
Me: I’ ve got too many gigs in March. What was I thinking? Sara: Are you bragging or complaining? Me: Not fair. I just wasn’ t thinking about how much work they’ d be. Sara: Why make these programs all different? Standardize. Me: It’ s no fun if they’ re all the same. Sara: So you admit you do this for fun. And you won’ t change the programs to make them easier or more standardized … Or take fewer than are offered … Or retire and give them up all together. Me: Did you iron Olmsted’ s pants or wash John’ s necklace? Sara: No. Did you? Me: Let’ s go out to dinner. Sara: I thought you’ d never ask.
If you are“ from,”“ of” and / or“ in” the horticultural industry, Spring is the eye of a storm of imagination, crafts-personship, planting plans, new plant forays to nurseries and garden centers as well as getting out of the office to be alternately cold, wet, hot, dry, up, down or dirty. Sometimes, events carry you to these extremes in the space of breathing in to exhalation.
Right now, are you bragging or complaining? If not, why not? This is the industry’ s great and glorious season of our discontent. It’ s our season of honest-to-God-Flora garden content images and stories just waiting to be discovered, covered, crowed up and fawned over.
Recently, Sara and I were celebratory at the presentation of the Scott Medal to Bill Thomas, executive director of Chanticleer, during the annual ceremonies at Swarthmore College. There were so many people that I recognized and respect. It was a horticultural Facebook of luminaries and personalities— some to be found in the same individual. It was a moment in time during which I felt the pulse of spring and enthusiasm for gardening all quickening in concert. The crowd surged into the reception hall and dove into the sparkling punch like lemmings qualifying for spring trials.
MOTIVATING THE CLEAN-NAIL CROWD
When it’ s so much fun, it’ s easy to like these jobs we add to our calendars. As we think about the art and practice of garden communicating, it’ s fun to plan new ways to get our clean-nailed audiences out into the dirt. If we could only have back-to-back days of 30 hours when we could get it all done, then we could say our grasp of the plants finally caught up with our reach. And then we’ d take the photographs to illustrate our success.
Here’ s hoping that you’ re busy and that you don’ t have time to read this letter. It’ s a test. I think that GWA is finally doing almost everything that I had on my list to send us spinning into our future. There are a few surprises still coming toward an unsuspecting membership. But in my remaining four months of office, I want to watch what of the new growth turns toward the light.
Am I bragging or complaining? Neither. I’ m exhilarated. I’ m ecstatic. I’ m incredibly hopeful. You have made me all of the above. Plan to meet me at a regional meeting, national Expo, CareerNext, a garden center or garden club / master gardener meeting close to you. Call me. Text me. FB me. Let me know how many new members you’ ve attracted to this up-and-coming newly branded non-profit association— GWA: The Association of Garden Communicators!
And then, let’ s all go out to dinner!
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