Climate and Economic Impacts on the Plant Sector: Nursery & Landscape Perspective

1. Climate and Economic Impacts on the Plant Sector:Nursery & Landscape Perspective Warren A. Quinn, Esq., CAE Vice President for Operations American Nursery & Landscape Association wquinn@anla.org March, 2012

2. Approach • Horticulture in the US: Function to Aesthetics to Infrastructure • Consensus: Value of Plants in Designed Ecosystems • Challenges and Solutions: “What’s Next?” • Provocative?

3. Evolving use of plants • Fruit trees and windbreaks/Major estates • Middle class homeownership: suburbia • Garden center retailing • Disneyland • ’70s: Highway beautification • ’80s: Commercial suburbia and office parks • ’90s: Curb appeal, status • 2000s: Staycations, outdoor rooms, etc.

4. Increased Understanding of Benefits • Greening of the cities: • Parks & greenbelts • Urban villages • Green buildings • Landscape restoration and rehabilitation • Horticultural therapy

5. Now: Green Infrastructure • Warming: Energy savings, reduced evapotranspiration • Storm severity/floods: Stormwater management • Drought: Water retention, re-use, green roofs, engineered soil profiles • CO2: Carbon sequestration • Extinction: Managed biodiversity, engineered wetlands

6. 2002 Data – Nursery & Landscape Industry* • Business and governmental units • Growing, distributing, installing, maintaining • Trees, plants, landscapes and related equipment • $148 billion ($95 billion “value added”) • 2 million jobs, $64 billion labor income *2011- New York Restoration Project, Vibrant Cities & Urban Forests

7. Consensus and Challenge • Those engaged in the conversation are convinced of the value of green infrastructure • So . . . • “We” don’t need more data . . . • “We” don’t need to spend time/effort trying to convince each other

8. Consensus and Challenge • Those not engaged are either: • Not interested • Threatened • Not reachable • So . . . • No amount of research or talking will convince them!

9. Challenges (1) • Entrenched officials and engineers (irrelevance = unemployment • Outdated building codes – Local! • Researchers need to do research (solutions = unemployment) • Every organization wants to lead and get credit – true collaboration is difficult

10. Challenges (2) Non-profit and Gov’t suspicion of for-profit sector Plants are always the LAST consideration The Green Industry will respond to the market – but will not lead it Grower: commodities versus bio-diversity Landscape: fragmented, limited influence LEED = minimum – not aspirational

11. Solutions (1) • Improve plant education for landscape architects and civil engineers • Cradle to Cradle: Change goal from “less bad” (LEED) to “sustainable sites” – even net benefits • Need POTUS dedicated to change through leadership – not regulation • Public gardens = public education = POWER

12. Solutions (2) • Project timelines and specifications • Include “green machine” concepts early • Sole source (like high-tech) • Contract grow diverse species • Government continuing education (Local!) • Sustainable = profitable (don’t rely on government funding) • No new “regulations” – Market-driven!

13. It’s a Movement • Plant more plants