New England GROWS, the Northeast’s largest educational conference and green industry exposition, wrapped up on December 4 after three days of seminars and hands-on learning, combined with an exhibition showcasing the latest innovations from hundreds of leading industry exhibitors.

Opening day saw record-breaking attendance and overall the event attracted nearly 9000 green industry professionals to Boston. Renowned authors, respected educators, influential environmentalists and successful entrepreneurs were among the many experts at the conference who addressed nearly every aspect of the green industry including sustainable landscape design, pest management, safe chain saw handling, hardscaping techniques, worker safety, diverse workforce management, giant tree propagation, proper plant selection, organic turf care, nursery management, successful marketing and more.

Previously scheduled in mid-February, this is the first New England GROWS conference held the week following Thanksgiving. For attendees it was an opportunity to absorb new ideas and prepare to implement them well in advance of spring operations.

UConn was well-represented at the conference. John Campanellli, Ana LeGrand, Steve Rackliffe, and Donna Ellis all gave Sprint Session presentations during the 3-day event, Vickie Wallace delivered a presentation for the main educational program, and several from UConn worked at the Extension “Ask the Experts” kiosk. Greg Tormey and others staffed a UConn booth to recruit potential students.