Education | Breakout Sessions
Three breakout sessions will run concurrently within an hour, allowing registrants to attend 2 of the 6 sessions.
Saturday, September 7 | 8:30 - 9:30AM
Engage Your Audience Across Multiple Platforms by Kris Bordessa, Teri Page, Amy Stross & Devon Young
Although good content is king, these days, it’s not enough to simply write well. Learn how four bloggers-turned-authors communicate their message, educate their readers, and connect
with their audience via three very different platforms - blogs, books, and social media. Amy Stross, author of The Suburban Micro-Farm: Modern Solutions for Busy
People and creator of the blog TenthAcreFarm.com, Teri Page, author of Family Homesteading, and creator of
Homestead-Honey.com, Devon Young, author of The Backyard Herbal Apothecary and founder of NittyGrittyLife.com and Kris Bordessa from
attainable-sustainable.net and author of the forthcoming book, Attainable Sustainable: The Lost Art of Self-Reliant Living. have
each built incomes around multi-platform engagement and they’ll share their stories to inspire you to do the same.
Marketing to Culturally Diverse Communities by Perla Sophia Curbelo & Abra Lee
Inclusion translates to a higher bottom line. This session will help you understand how to reach a crossover audience in an authentic way without using tokenism. Abra
Lee, founder of Conquer the Soil, and Longwood Fellow class of 2020, and Perla Sofia Curbelo, founder of Agrochic, will create a safe space for all to learn and will answer questions you may
have about these culturally diverse communities. Blacks and Latinos have international influence on the cultural landscape of the world! This means plants, gardening, and green tourism too.
The spending power of these audiences in the United States alone is a combined 3 trillion dollars. Yet racial and cultural diversity is noticeably lacking in garden advertising and
communications. If you aren’t engaging these communities you’re missing out. Catering to niche demographics directly, or, through crossover partnerships, will help your brand draw
in audiences that are largely ignored by others. Abra and Perla will show you how.
Accurately Communicating Expectations of Going Native by Ed Lyon
Many garden communicators have jumped on the noble "bandwagon" of promoting the use of native plants in home landscaping. One missing piece in this advocacy is the ability to
address challenges homeowners might face in pursuing this method of gardening. Learn how to ensure the success of native gardening movements by providing a holistic and realistic perspective
to home gardeners. Ed Lyon, Director of Reiman Gardens, will teach strategies for promotion and messaging about these movements that addresses the challenges up front so audiences are
properly prepared and set up for success.
Saturday, September 7 | 9:45 - 10:45AM
Selling Sustainability by Cynthia Bee
The Intermountain West is in transition. In the past, locals have enjoyed traditional-style, lawn-based landscapes but the realities of climate, impacts of climate change and
ever-growing population are straining water resources. This challenge is not unique to this region, many parts of the United States that have not had to worry much about this issue in the
past, now find themselves on the cusp of change for many of the same reasons. Whether the issue is decreasing landscape watering, using more sustainable materials or restoring habitat,
influencing measurable change is challenging, but possible. In the session, Cynthia Bee, Outreach Coordinator for Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District, will discuss how to create and
communicate "signature solutions" that move beyond education and become the basis for a meaningful brand while creating real, measurable results.
Becoming and Being An Expert - Building Benefits and Handling Challenges by C.L. Fornari & Debra Knapke
Becoming the local expert is a way to build your garden communications career, boost your income, and provide a stepping stone to building a national brand. This panel begins
with advice for those who want to become the go-to garden expert regionally. The second half of this talk addresses the challenges that being an expert brings. After building a reputation,
professionals will get approached everywhere, whether the venue is appropriate or not, such as the constant emails asking for free advice. When garden communicators work hard to develop
personal connections with their readers and other audiences, how can we then graciously handle the public when their needs, questions, and attentions seem intrusive? This panel gives
solutions from those who’re on the front lines.
Editor's Panel by Susan Appleget Hurst, Tom Fischer, Rachel Maidl, Jessica Walliser
