Plant Myth Busting

Scholaship Fund Partners with Oroville High School to Promote Horticulture

Oroville High School students, led by a social media intern, have created Plant Myth Busting videos to promote horticulture amongst their peers. They include, clockwise from above:

1) Do strawberries grow from slices?

2) Do rose cuttings grow in potatoes & honey?

3) Can you grow saskatoon cuttings in honey?

4) Does Lettuce regrow in one day?

5) Do serviceberries only --- after digestion?

WSNLA Scholarship & Research Charitable Fund is partnering with Oroville High School students in promoting horticulture. The objective is to create high quality, engaging peer-to-peer content on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. The partnership highlights student creativity and technology skill sets to support cultivating interest in the field of horticulture amongst their peers.

Students, led by a social media intern, are creating short Plant Myth Busting videos illustrating identified horticulture concepts, using the scientific method. Students are collecting video clips showing the actual processes over time,

2023 WSNLA Scholarship Award Recipients Continued

Guide to Growing Your Own Groceries by Maggie Stuckey; Compost Science for Gardeners by Robert Pavlis; A Gardener’s Guide to Botany by Scott Zona; The Herb Book: The Stores, Science and History of Herbs by Darling Kindersley Publishing; The Pacific Northwest Native Plant Primer by Kirsten Currin and Andrew Merritt; Tiny and Wild: Build a SmallScale Meadow Anywhere b Graham

Laird Gardner; Firescaping Your Home: A Manual for Readiness in Wildfire Country by Adrienne Edwards and Rachel Schleiger; Grasses for Gardens and Landscape by Neil Lucas; Ranunculus: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden by Naomi Slade; Medlars: Growing and Cooking by Jane Steward; and Piet Oodolf at Work by Noel Kingsbury.

WSU Endowed Plant Pathology

Research Chair. $100,000

The Scholarship Board revised last year’s gift to pay $50,000 in 2023 and $50,000 in $2024.

These funds will join the $150,000 contribution made by the WSDA Nursery Research Fund that will launch a capital campaign bringing together aligning industries, individual businesses and stakeholders to pledge monetary gifts and the social media intern is editing the clips into final short videos. over a 5-year period, with the goal of reaching $1.5M to create the Gary Chastagner Endowed Chair that will focus on plant pathology research serving the Washington ornamental horticulture and Christmas tree industries.

All OSD horticulture students will view the videos in class and participate in discussions and learning around the concepts, and the audience will extend to unlimited viewers once posted online.

Plant Myth Busting videos are expected to run through June 2023 and begin again when school returns in September 2023.

You can view all six videos on the WSNLA facebook page at Facebook.com/WSNLA or on the WSNLA YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/WSNLA.

WSNLA, for Industry Development. Jeanne E. McNeil Scholarship, $1750

This funding is in partnership with WSNLA to ensure accessible education to the industry providing an opportunity for industry professionals from all across Washington to advance their skills and knowledge.

On average, the WSNLA Scholarship & Charitable Fund awards $20,000 annually.

The mission of the WSNLA Scholarship Fund is to support the future of horticulture through scholarships, education and research. This year, our annual fundraising goal is $10,000. We count on generous donors - like you - to help continue this important work. Please consider giving to the future of horticulture.

Your tax-deductible donation goes directly to scholarships for students studying for a career in horticulture and to support research that works to advance nursery and landscape businesses. Donations of all sizes help to make an impact. Plan to give in 2023. Give

Nursery Advisory Committee Members

Roger Canfield, CPH - Puget Sound Plants

Nursery Grower Representative

Dan Meier, Briggs Nursery

Large Scale Wholesale Nursery Representatve

Rick Longnecker, Buds & Blades

Landscape Representative

Richard Roozen, WA Bulb Company

Bulbs Representative

Jeff Van Lierop, Country Green Turf

Turfgrass Representative

Theresa Knutsen, Raintree Nursery

Online Nursery Representative

Breanne Chavez

WSNLA Executive Director - ex officio

WA State Department of Agriculture Committee Adminstrators:

Scott Brooks, Plant Inspection Supervisor

Lara Massey, Program Specialist

Open Position

Floricuture/Greenhouse Representative

Garden Center Representative

Fruit Tree Grower

Grape Grower

If you are interested in serving on the WSDA Nursery Advisory Committee, please contact WSNLA at (253) 661-6055 or email

Breanne at breanne@wsnla.org to learn more.