Horticulture Outreach-Social Media & Personal Columns
Search for Excellence in Consumer or Commercial Horticulture
James Shannon
Forestry Specialist
Mississippi State University
Verona
Team Members:
Shannon, J*1
-
Agent, , Pontotoc, Mississippi, 38863
Abstract
Understanding that the shutdowns surrounding Covid-19 were going to go well past the intial idea of two weeks, I quickly began trying to think of new ways to serve the public. I knew that horticulture would be a hot topic now that people were spending more time out of doors gardening, doing yardwork, and hiking. In addition, it was reported to the Extension Agents in a regional meeting that the majority of the calls that the regional research extension center were receiving were horticulture related. I decided to utilize the talents of my personal 4H children to assist me in developing (they assisted with filming and editing) short videos on horticulture to send out via social media. Over the course of three months, I posted eleven horticulture related videos with several of them receiving more than 400 views. I was also intentional in making sure that the majority of my personal columns in the local newspaper were horticulture related. Over a nine month period, 23 of my personal columns focused on horticulture topics.
Years of CES Service: 0
Entry