Clippings Archive

A World Environment Day (WED) clad Improve your Plant/Life Balance (PLB) logo heralded a week of environmental messaging in the lead up to WED, June 5^th. Posts on how to attract native fauna to your backyard (utilising existing materials from Flora for Fauna) were uploaded daily and achieved over 80 000 impressions with many likes and comments from our over 16500 followers. An environmentally themed project of water bowl was also added as an achievable difference that this younger demographic could make that was neither to costly nor too fixed with many of them currently living in rental properties in inner urban areas. A similarly mutually beneficial plan is being devised to support National Tree Day on July 31^st (July 29^th in schools).....

Improve your Plant/Life Balance Update

Improve your Plant/Life Balance Facebook community continues to grow with 16 438 current ‘likes’. The draw for the major prize (Daintree Eco Lodge Holiday) will occur on May 27th with all registered plant owners who have accumulated enough points in the draw. This will not be the end of the Facebook group with smaller competitions, inspirations and education to be posted going forward to further communicate the benefits of plants to our audience of budding gardeners.

Improve your Plant/Life Balance at MIFGS
This year’s Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show featured an ‘Improve your Plant/Life Balance’ branded Garden Advice Clinic stand. This site was a onestopshop for visitors of the show to posetheir gardening questions to an array of horticultural expert’s on-hand. Volunteers came from all facets of the industry such as growers, retailers, landscapers as well as horticultural media, with around 40 people in all lending their time. This offered the public who visited a great wealth of knowledge to tap in to with thousands of questions being asked and answered over the five days of the show. Visitors to the stand would have also taken
a little bit of inspiration with informative brochures and new release plants and products on display to help get them thinking how they could improve their plant/life balance. The stand was also used for a spot giveaway of an extra 200 plants under the ‘Put a Plant on your Desk’ wing of the Improve your Plant/Life Balance campaign. The display and volunteers were assembled and co-ordinated by the NGIV and by all accounts....

NGIA Secures Funding Under the National Weeds and Productivity Research Program    

NGIA has secured $212,059 of funding through RIRDC (Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation) under the National Weeds and Productivity Research Program to undertake a research project titled “Weed Risk Assessment for Australian Nursery & Garden Industries”.

This project is a collaborative project, managed by NGIA Environmental and Technical Policy Manager Dr Anthony Kachenko. Other scientists involved with this project include Dr Roger Spencer (Scientist, Royal Botanic Gardens South Yarra, Victoria), Dr Stephen Johnson (Weed Ecologist, Industry & Investment NSW) and Mr Scott Charlton, (A/Manager Invasive Species Strategy & Planning, Industry & Investment NSW).

Get ready for put a plant on your desk day!

The first initiative of the Improve your plant life balance campaign, put a plant on your desk day is fast approaching.

March 2nd is the big day where we will launch phase one of the campaign with a massive plant giveaway targeting office workers in the major capital cities are the nation.

’Put a Plant on Your Desk’ is the call to action. Each plant has an activation code (on the specially designed plant label), encouraging people to join our custom-built Plant/Life Balance Facebook group. Once there, they learn how to take care of their plant, share its progress with Facebook friends, enter weekly competitions, and receive green life discount coupons and lots more. A raft of PR activities with TV and print media will support the launch

Social marketing...What it means for you and the new marketing campaign...

Social Marketing by definition seeks to influence social behaviours not to benefit the marketer but to benefit the target audience and the general public. The primary focus is on the customer on learning what they want and need rather than trying to persuade consumers to buy what we are producing.

Social Marketing/facebook has been chosen as the medium to deliver the ‘improve your plant life balance’ campaign as it provides us with a low-cost interactive tool to engage and inform a segment of the market that is proven to get users involved and pass on the information. The experiential plant giveaway is designed to create the hype and ‘talkability’ around plants and their role in our work place, homes and lives generally. The plants will be handed out across Australia in the morning peak hours of March 2nd 2011.

A blooming great idea to boost green life sales and get people talking about plants. Nursery & Garden Industry Australia is excited to announce a new industry initiative to boost sales of green life and plant care in Australia.

Birdwood Nursery Queensland - Shortlisted in the Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Awards

Birdwood Nursery, Woombye, Queensland was shortlisted as a finalist for the inaugural 2010 Australian Biosecurity Farmer of the Year Award as part of the broader Australian Farmer of the Year Awards. ABC Rural and Kondinin Group coordinated the event and the award was sponsored by Plant Health Australia.

Securing Your Nursery Made Simple

Australians interested in nursery production have good cause to be concerned about plant pests such as Sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum), Asian gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and Glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis).

In this month's clippings
Calling all retailers and growers

The Industry Supplier Award recognises outstanding industry contributions and exemplary services of allied traders/suppliers to Nursery & Garden Industry businesses. Suppliers include both product and service providers.
You can submit your vote via the voting panel in the Awards Brochures or online at http://www.ngiaevents.com.au/awards2011/awards_2011_supplier_nomination-form.pdf

In this month's Clippings ....
2011 Awards - Entries have opened!
The 2011 Nursery & Garden Industry Awards opened for entry on July 9. Make sure you are part of the industry program that recognises and rewards excellence.

In this month's Clippings..
Get ready for the new style 2011 Nursery & Garden Industry Awards!
NGIA is pleased to announce that the 2011 NGI Awards Program will run live off the Awards Website. This is an exciting step forward for our industry that will save time and money for all involved.

In this month's Clippings:
Opportunities Grasped at NGI National Conference
NGI Conference took place in the Northern Territory late April and was a rip-roaring success. Held in tropical Darwin, delegates were welcomed to the Northern Territory on Monday April 19 at Crocosaurus Cove, home to many salt water crocodiles and a number of other reptiles.

Woolworths at Conference!

NGIA is excited to announce that Woolworths will be presenting at National Conference! Melinda Smith Chief Operating Officer, Ian Roberts Senior Merchandise Manager and Ann McKeon Green-life, Gardening and Landscaping Buyer will outline their vision for “Project Oxygen” – their new concept stores set to be launched next year.

In this month's Clippings:
Grasp Your Opportunities in Darwin - Register Now!
There is not long to go until the NGI National Conference to be held in Darwin from
April 19 - 22.  Don't miss out on this exciting national industry event.

In this month's Clippings:
Grasp Your Opportunities with the Retail Doctor
NGIA is pleased to announce that Brian Walker will be presenting a plenary session at the 2010 NGI National Conference on 'The New Players - Challenges or opportunity?'

In December Clippings:

2010 Nursery & Garden Industry State Awards

NGIA would like to congratulate all the individuals and businesses who entered the 2010 Awards. All State Winners will now advance to the National Finals. The National Winners will be announced in April at the Nursery & Garden Industry Australia Awards Gala Dinner, held in conjunction with the 2010 Conference in Darwin.

Nursery & Garden Industry announces new President

Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bryan Hillier as the new President of the NGIA Board which was ratified at the Annual General Meeting held in Brisbane last month.

In October Clippings:

Grasp your opportunities at the 2010 NGI National Conference

The 2010 National Conference - Grasp Your Opportunities - will address key Industry issues such as biosecurity, marketing, staff development and Industry trends. Whether you are a grower or a retailer, you will come away with at least one idea to help your business.

In September Clippings:

Be part of the Industry's spring campaign!

Industry's spring campaign for 2009 is 'Plant a living asset'. The campaign has been developed to encourage consumers to get down to their local garden centre, get out in the garden and grow their own produce.

Aussie passion for plants continues to bloom

To launch spring for 2009 and create a platform from which to steer Industry programs, Nursery & Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) commissioned Newspoll research in July which interviewed 1,200 respondents and highlighted the changing scope of the Australian backyard.

Are you the best fisherman in the industry?

The 2010 NGI Conference is to be held in Darwin from April 19 to 22, 2010, and what better way to kick it off than with a fishing day? If you would like to take part in the fishing competition please email natalie.walker@ngia.com.au by August 14, 2009.

New Awards, Simplified Entry Process, Great Winner Beneifts

Presented by Nursery & Garden Industry Australia, the Awards recognise and reward excellence within the nursery and garden industry, and acknowledge industry leaders as they strive to achieve best business practice.