Purdue Landscape Report Selected for TEAM Award

Jan. 20, 2022
By Wendy Mayer, Communications Coordinator

The interdisciplinary faculty and staff behind the Purdue Landscape Report, which provides science-based, timely information regarding Midwest landscapes to commercial growers, garden centers, landscapers, arborists and the general public, has been named as the recipient of the Purdue Agriculture TEAM Award, which was created in 1995 to recognize interdisciplinary team achievements of faculty and staff. 

Teams must consist of three or more Purdue faculty and administrative/professional staff members. Team projects should include activities in one or more of the College mission areas of teaching, research and extension, and must have made demonstrable impact. 

Led by Kyle Daniel, nursery and landscape outreach specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, the Purdue Landscape Report is a collaborative effort between Purdue Extension specialists and diagnosticians in the departments of Botany and Plant Pathology, Entomology, Forestry and Natural Resources, and Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Articles cover everything from urban forestry and tree maintenance to pest and disease problems and management to plant selection and turf science. In addition to an email newsletter and online blog, PLR staff also provide live interactive webinars in order to highlight content and respond to questions from the audience. 

 “I believe this team embodies the spirit of this award – working together across department in the College,” said Dr. Linda Prokopy, Department Head in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. “This team has indeed achieved more and is a consistent source of reliable, science-based information for homeowners and the green industry. The PLR team is doing a phenomenal job meeting the needs of an important industry in the state and they are very deserving of being recognized for this work.” 

In the nomination for the TEAM Award, the impact of the Purdue Landscape Report team was described as:

“The quality of life and livelihood of many Hoosiers is greatly improved when cities and towns have healthy trees, shrubs, and flower beds. The task of growing and maintaining these plants is complicated by conflicting, incomplete or inaccurate media reports about the arrival of new pests and diseases; or how landscape choices, or use of certain management practices can have a negative impact on the environment and public health. Tree owners, landscapers and the professional workforce need timely science-based information to keep plants healthy in an environmentally sustainable manner.”

Since launching in February 2018, the Purdue Landscape Report has included more than 200 articles. PLR is sent out in a bi-weekly email newsletter to more than 4,000 subscribers nationwide. The online blog brought in 180,376 unique visitors in 2020.

In response to the pandemic, the Purdue Landscape Report staff also began a live, to addresses articles and hot topics. That series garnered more than 2,000 views.
In a January 2021 survey sent to PLR subscribers, 88% of respondents said they believed that the newsletter improved their ability to diagnose a problem, while 76% said that PLR has had a positive economic impact on their business. 

A local professional shared that “Sometimes when I open up the PLR, it is like you have been reading my mind. The problem I have been seeing or thinking about is there in your headlines.”

One PLR subscriber said “The Purdue Landscape Report is a great resource for myself and my team members. Within each issue is one or more topics that our team has encountered or discussed recently and the information provided by a very reputable source gives us the material needed to provide the best service to our clients and increase our knowledge base. The virtual sessions are another great resource provided that give an opportunity to have specific questions answered by experts.”

The impact extends from landowners to industry professionals and beyond. 

“Often we take for granted the information produced in the PLR and we forget the countless dollars we have saved from information in the PLR,” said Rick Haggard, Indiana Nursery and Landscape Association Executive Director. 

“The Purdue Landscape Report provides timely information to the Indiana Arborist Association members and associated parties in a format that is easily accessed and understood,” Associate Executive Director of IAA Ashley Mulis said. “The collaboration that goes into providing this product demonstrates the cohesive nature of several departments within Purdue University and the open sharing and comparison of information. The Purdue Landscape Report is an excellent addition to the many publications offered within Purdue Extension  in helping resource professionals manage the ever-changing landscape of pests, diseases and best management practices.”

In 2020, the PLR received the Extension Division Education Materials Award for Outstanding Blog presented by the American Society of Horticultural Science and received also earned the Team Award from the Purdue Cooperative Extension Specialists’ Association (PUCESA). 

The PLR team includes:
  • Todd Abrahamson – Lab clerk, Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab
  • Janna Beckerman – Professor
  • John Bonkowski – Diagnostician, Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab
  • Tom Creswell – Clinical Engagement Professor, Director of the Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory
  • Gail Ruhl – Visiting Scholar 
  • Elizabeth Barnes – Exotic Forest Pest Educator, Purdue Entomology
  • Cliff Sadof – Professor, Entomology Extension Specialist, Purdue Entomology
  • Lindsey Purcell – Purdue Extension urban forester
  • Kyle Daniel – Purdue Landscape Report Team Lead, Nursery and Landscape Outreach Specialist
  • Lori Jolly-Brown – Extension Events and Communications Coordinator
  • Kirby Kalbaugh  – Application and Systems Administrator
  • Rosie Lerner – retired Extension Consumer Horticulturist
  • Aaron Patton - Professor
Additional Resources
Tree wounds and healing, Got Nature? Blog