Partnering Keeps Western Colorado Green

To a lot of residents in western Colorado, Curtis Swift is a man of many talents. During a typical day on the job, he might be a gardening columnist for the local newspaper, an advisor to area gardeners, or a teacher of apprentice Master Gardeners. However, for Swift, a Colorado State University Extension horticulture agent, meeting the many needs of his multiple audiences is all in a day's work.

Based in Grand Junction, Swift has been educating the residents of Colorado's Tri River Area (Delta, Mesa, Ouray and part of Montrose counties) on horticulture issues since 1980. With more than 25 years of Extension experience, his advice on gardening and plants has helped countless people from rural and urban communities in Colorado to small villages overseas. Swift's work has taken him from El Paso County, where he was an Extension horticulture agent, to the Republic of Armenia where he assisted the U.S. Department of Agriculture in training local vegetable producers and Extension staff.

Like many regions in Colorado, the Tri River Area is growing and changing. Steady newcomers and expanding communities have put Extension in high demand. Part of that demand includes up-to-date research-based information Swift supplies to homeowners, "green industry" professionals, local governments, and agricultural businesses. These groups turn to Extension for information that will help them make educated decisions about horticulture issues facing their business, clients or property.

Swift explained that Extension's horticulture and plant pathology information is in-sync with the practices used by the area's green industry, a group of professionals, businesses and government departments that specialize in gardening and horticulture work. He frequently provides on-site information about plant disease and insect problems to sod farms, golf courses, greenhouse producers, lawn care companies, and chemical applicators.

"I've tried to blend the efforts of Extension and the local green industry together so that we learn from each other," Swift said. "By having this coordination, we've been able to keep professionals current with research-based information and build a better program. If they do better, we all do better."

In an effort to improve the dissemination of horticulture information throughout his region, Swift routinely asks both large and small growers, "How can I improve Extension's response to you?" He recognizes Extension's Master Gardener Program, a nationwide volunteer force that focuses on problems encountered by the gardening public, as one of the best ways to reach both homeowners and industry personnel. Strong involvement with local businesses and government has increased participation in the Tri River program to more than 230 apprentice and continuing volunteers, of which 27 percent are green industry professionals.

Dennis Hill, owner of Bookcliff Gardens in Grand Junction, can attest to the value of Master Gardeners. In his 20 years of working with Extension, not only have many of his employees participated in the program, but he also teaches alongside Swift. He credits the classes with raising the level of awareness of horticulture issues in western Colorado, resulting in the growth of a loyal customer base for his business.

"If someone comes in with a yellow leaf, there may not be something to sell that person, but they may need advice," he said. "If a customer plants something and it lives, it helps the industry. We engender a feeling of trust and confidence to keep customers coming back. Extension helps us do that."

Tom Ziola, a consulting arborist in Grand Junction, agrees that Extension has had an impact on the community. Having been involved in the Master Gardener Program since 1992, Ziola attributes Extension with keeping western Colorado green and a better place to live. "It allows individuals to continue educational opportunities, increase their knowledge, and better serve the community in turn," he said.

Swift continues to find additional ways to expand the support he gives area gardeners and growers. Through a weekly gardening column he writes for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel newspaper, a website he maintains on area gardening topics--a site that is accessed more than 20,000 times a month, and an electronic list-serve (in conjunction with Extension in Eagle County) with 140 green industry subscribers, Swift maintains that Extension invariably reaches the individuals and businesses in the Tri River Area who need growing advice.

Additionally, Swift has developed relationships with local, regional and national authorities who invite him to speak on current issues regarding plants and the landscape. Some of the professional associations that have enlisted his insight include the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, the Colorado Association of Lawn Care Professionals, the Sports Turf Managers Association, the Rocky Mountain Turfgrass Conference, and the Colorado ProGreen Conference.

"Curt and all of Extension have been invaluable to the whole city," said Mike Vendega, park supervisor and forester for the City of Grand Junction. "The proactive relationship with Extension has helped me do my job. Not only do we go to Curt with problems, he also comes to us with problems. The information that Extension provides is always pertinent to what we're doing," Vendega said. --David Hachigian

For more information, contact your local Colorado State University Extension office.

Go to top of this page.

Uploaded Tuesday, September 25, 2007

© Colorado State University Extension. 1995-2004. Contact Extension Web Manager. Home Page: www.ext.colostate.edu. Issued in furtherance of Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Milan A. Rewerts, Director of Extension, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Extension programs are available to all without discrimination. No endorsement of products mentioned is intended nor is criticism implied of products not mentioned.