Friends of the Arboretum Lecture

"Green Infrastructure: Why Horticulture Is the Key to Cities of the Future and Where You Fit In"
Debbie Hamrick, Director Specialty Crops, North Carolina Farm Bureau

  • Thursday, September 14, 2017 – 7:30 pm–9:00 pm

Research in fields like remote sensing imaging, urban ecology, environmental engineering and public health is setting the stage for a horticultural renaissance the likes of which are unprecedented. Plants bring prosperity, health and wellness, cost savings, livable temperatures, clean air, water quality and supply, wildlife and more to the human experience. The term green infrastructure has recently gained momentum as a way to capture these benefits. Where does horticulture fit into green infrastructure? What are the emerging parameters for the horticulture of functional landscapes that deliver benefits at the site, community and national levels? What can you do now to ensure a better world tomorrow?

cityscape with plantings

About Debbie Hamrick

Debbie works in public policy as the director of specialty crops for North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation where she advocates on behalf of North Carolina 's specialty crops farmers. That includes nursery/greenhouse, fruit/vegetable, aquaculture/fisheries, apiculture/beekeeping, small-scale livestock, and small farm communities. She is well known in the North Carolina agricultural community as an advocate, public speaker, and communicator. Among the issues she covers are produce safety, pollinator health, invasive plant species, rural economic development, urban agriculture, small farm profitability, and others as assigned.

Debbie is a natural aggregator of information, people, and ideas. In her free time, she founded newterrain.us, a Web site and bimonthly business to business newsletter about green infrastructure, functional plants, and functional landscapes. She has organized four green infrastructure events with national level speakers for the North Carolina Green Industry Council in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. She written articles about green infrastructure for GrowerTalks, American Nurseryman and, NCNLA Nursery Notes. She 's also been featured on the green infrastructure horticultural opportunity in Greenhouse Grower, Nursery Manager, and in newsletters and press releases from nonprofits active in the field.

Debbie was a student of J. C. Raulston at NC State University and has served on the JCRA Board of Advisors and was chair in 2010. She is an avid gardener in the Hayes Barton/Bloomsbury Hills neighborhood of Raleigh where she nurtures neighborhood pollinators, birds, lizards, and chipmunks among five towering white oaks that regularly challenge her plant selection skills. A self-proclaimed gardenista and plant dweeb, she knows her way around dozens of garden centers, retail nurseries, and greenhouses sales across the state.

She is passionate about how important the horticulture discipline is to the future of cities and people and the role the industry and gardeners will play in the environment today and tomorrow.

Cost
Free for Friends of the JC Raulston Arboretum members, NC State University students (with ID), and Department of Horticultural Science faculty and staff, all others $5.00.
Registration
Advance registration is not available.
Location
Ruby C. McSwain Education Center, JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Directions
Need directions? Click here.
Parking
Free parking is available at the JC Raulston Arboretum and along Beryl Road.
Questions
Please call (919) 513-7005 for more information about this lecture.