An organization can’t undertake 20 years of funding community landscape grants without learning a few things along the way. Certainly the numbers provide a compelling picture—millions of dollars granted, hundreds of projects assisted, thousands of trees planted, etc. But what have we truly learned? Can we draw any conclusions to guide us as we close the book on one grant program and continue the saga through others?
What we’ve seen is that the real story lies in the individuals and communities who undertook these projects. They’re the ones who did the work, who had a vision of what their town could be and were determined to make it happen. They’re the ones we celebrate as we look back over 20 years of community landscaping projects.
Here are just a few of the things we’ve learned, through them, from the more than 800 projects implemented so far:
         An explosion of volunteers can be brought into community service and empowered to make their communities more viable.
          Empty, ugly and abandoned downtown lots can be made into shady street-side respites. O
         Towns like Wilber, Deshler and Hallam and schools like Norris can be devastated by tornados and yet see replanting begin—often before the clean-up is even over.
          A group of ladies from Comstock can call themselves the “flower floozies” and transform a fire-ravaged area of downtown into a fun and beautiful garden oasis.
          A retired gentleman in Battle Creek can rally the park committee and completely transform the appearance of the park. “Parks of Pride” becomes a very accurate description of the effort.
          An outdoor classroom or habitat garden can be a great resource for hands-on learning in any school, whether it’s elementary, secondary or college-level.
          A group of firemen in Lincoln, creatively using some of their down time, can use the area around the fire station to plant a demonstration garden.
          Two women from Scribner can take it upon themselves to restore the lost glory of a city park. Their motto: “either help us out, or get out of the way!”
          The city park superintendent in Pierce can guide the transformation of the local park into one of the premiere public gardens in the entire region (see photo).
          A mini-park can be created in Ohiowa (population 142), a town where there are still no paved streets.
          People are never too old, too young or too inexperienced to successfully apply for, coordinate, plan and implement a landscape project (as was demonstrated by a ninth grader in Ogallala).
          Many communities are willing to create new parks even when budgets are stretched agonizingly thin.
          There are true community servants out there who are willing to step in and pick up the pieces of uncompleted projects whose leaders unexpectedly or tragically left.

          We have learned about failure also. Many projects have had significant problems and a few simply failed when, for numerous reasons, the right mix of people and ideas just did not come together. Although we grieve the loss of even one tree planted incorrectly or a landscape planting that has become a weedy mess, we choose instead to celebrate the majority of projects, where plants were planted properly and cared for with passion.
          We have learned that governmental agencies can work together; a novel idea in this day and age. Consider the working relationship between the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, Nebraska Forest Service, University of Nebraska, Nebraska Department of Roads and Nebraska Environmental Trust. Since 1994 these entities have cooperated to bring grant funds, technical expertise and enthusiasm to Nebraska communities. They cut through red tape, set aside past squabbles and sought better, more efficient ways of interacting. They brought together the unique strengths of each organization and helped create something bigger and better for the Nebraskans they serve.
          We’ve come to recognize some of the ingredients that lead to successful projects. Although these factors can vary from project to project, there are some that seem to be universal.
1. Organization: Although it seems obvious, projects must be well-organized from the start. It’s quite easy to pick out the ones that were not.
2. Enthusiastic Leadership. The best projects always seem to have enthusiastic leaders who bring both vision and hard work to the effort. These are the people who don’t take no for an answer and manage to find their way around any problems that arise. They’re also the people who make sure the project is properly maintained after the fun of planting is long past.
3. Committee Involvement. Great projects result when lots of people are involved in the planning, planting and maintenance of a project. It is especially wise to invite the participation of people with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets—fundraisers, plant enthusiasts, educators, students, business representatives, maintenance staff, etc.
4. Planning Process: The urge to start planting often shortchanges the success of a project if it has not been well-conceived or -designed. Working through a planning/design process that clearly defines the goals of a project, the best plants to plant, the best design strategies and maintenance that will be required, is a must.
5. High-Quality Planting and Implementation: Although no one ever intends to do a poor job of planting or implementing a project, it happens. In recent years, we’ve seen a disturbing trend of planting trees improperly—too deep, with girdling roots, ball and burlap issues, poor mulching, etc. If the planting effort isn’t good, maintenance needs can increase dramatically and the project may never reach its full potential.
6. Outreach to Community: Projects that are well-publicized to the local community end up with broader support and eventually become a bigger source of pride throughout the community.
7. Commitment to Maintenance: Unfortunately, after the fun and glory of planting is over, enthusiasm can fade and a project can quickly deteriorate. The best projects recognize maintenance needs and capacities during the planning process and put in place mechanisms to insure high-quality, long-term care.

          We’ve learned that it isn’t enough just to provide funds to create landscapes, that communities need to understand how to care for them as well. Our recognition of the importance of maintenance led to the creation of NSA/NFS/UNL Landscape Maintenance Workshops, which are offered annually.
          We have learned that funding, plant information, best management practices, insects, disease and environmental conditions are constantly changing, so we need to change, too. We need to continue to build on our experience, follow the latest research, work in cooperation with other agencies, seek out experts and work with communities and the nursery industry to continue to improve landscape practices.
          We have come to realize that community greening does more than decrease energy costs, provide wildlife habitat, benefit the environment and strengthen real estate value and economic development. There is growing recognition that people of all ages—physically, socially, emotionally and psychologically—need contact with nature for healthful existence in an increasingly complex world.
          We’ve seen the value of our existing community forests; and we’re convinced that the community forests of the future will be even more important than those that have made our communities healthy and livable up until now.