Environmental Communicator of the Year Award
Eric Watkins receives Environmental Communicator of the Year Award
Project EverGreen Sponsors the national Environmental Communicator Award with the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association
The Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) and Project EverGreen announced that Eric Watkins from the University of Minnesota received the 2023 TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year Award. The award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding communications efforts regarding publicly managed green space and environmental issues, was presented during this year’s TOCA Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine. Watkins is the 24th recipient of this award.
Eric Watkins, 2023 TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year
Watkins is a faculty member with the department of horticultural science and teaches a variety of classes, including The Sustainable Lawn, The American Lawn, Problem Solving in Horticulture and Plant Genetics and Breeding.
“It’s a great honor to receive this award,” said Watkins. “When I first started my career in turfgrass breeding and genetics, I knew outreach was important but did not know how important it would be. Good genetics and good turf varieties will keep lawns functional and sustainable. We need to get the word out.”
One example is a Watkins team that worked to digitize the records at the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP), which has provided free cultivar and species performance data to the public for decades. However, resources were not available to efficiently access the data. Now, they are more accessible to anyone looking to plant a species or cultivar that is better adapted to their site.
Watkins was nominated by Jon Trappe, assistant professor of extension at the University of Minnesota.
“It’s obvious that Dr. Watkins appreciates that simply having a strong research program that responds to the needs of the turfgrass industry is not enough,” said Trappe. “He has gone out of his way to create outreach components within each of his major research grants to communicate what he and his colleagues have learned.”
These communications components include online training modules for professionals and homeowners to help with the successful establishment and maintenance of turf.
“Dr. Watkins is an intelligent communicator focused on getting information into the hands of professionals and homeowners to plant the right grass in the right location,” said Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. “He goes beyond the research and motivates his team to creatively deliver best practices and educational information to lawn care professionals and enthusiasts.”
Previous Environmental Communicator Award recipients
1999 – Mark Welterlen, former publisher Grounds Maintenance magazine
2000 – Bill Love, W.R. Love Golf Architecture
2001 – Tim Doppel, Atwood Lawn Care
2002 – Doug Fender, former executive director, Turfgrass Producers International
2003 – Allen James, former CEO, RISE
2004 – Rod Dodson, Audubon International
2005 – Jeff Gullickson, Spokane Country Club
2006 – Kevin Trotta, grounds manager/IPM specialist, Cornwall, N.Y.
2007 – Helen Stone, Southwest Trees & Turf magazine
2008 – Allied Golf Associations of Colorado
2009 – Larry Stowell/Wendy Gelernter, PACE Turf
2010 – Christopher Gray, formerly Marvel Golf Club
2011 – Anthony Williams, formerly Marriott Golf and golf course consultant
2012 – Frank Rossi, Cornell University
2013 – Phil Fogarty, Weed Man and Crowley’s Vegetation Management
2014 – Brandon Horvath, University of Tennessee
2015 – Brian Horgan, University of Minnesota
2016 – Dave Shetlar, The Ohio State University
2017 – Frank Wong, Bayer Environmental Science
2018 – Mayor Mike Duggan, Detroit, Mich.
2019 – Norman Goldenberg, Namron Business Associates, Miami, Fla.
2020 – Karen Reardon, RISE, Washington, D.C.
2022 – Darren Gruner, Turf’s Up Radio, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
To nominate a deserving environmental communicator, click here. Nominations are due March 1.