Green Industry

Planning to Continue Business Following a Disaster

Virginia Morgan, Co-leader Communications

Alabama Cooperative Extension System

• A tool to help Gulf coast green industry through emergencies or disasters

• One-day workshop during the 2006 Gulf States Horticultural Expo

• Expert presentations, peer interaction, hands-on activities

What We Proposed

Work Starts

• Conducted a listening session, August 2005 SNA convention

• Hired a graduate student and a Web developer

• Interviewed producers in south AL

• Built a basic free Web site

www.greenindustryemergencyplan.com

Plan Goes Awry

• Only three people registered for the workshop

• Re-think approach

• SNA

Next Steps

• 2006

– June presentation– August SNA show– Publication production– New presentation for 2007 GSHE

Production

Facilitator’s Guide– http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/E/EX-0068-A/

Participant Workbook with Plan– http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/E/EX-0068-B/

Agency Emergency Numbers– http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/E/EX-0068-C/

2007 GSHE Education Day

• Twenty-two of twenty-six participants completed the pre-session assessment

0123456789

10

VeryImportant

Important Nice toHave

Don'tNeed

Written plan

Seven participants already had a plan in place

GSHE Education Day, cont’d

• Seven had a plan in place– Last reviewed (2 had reviewed one year ago)– Last exercised (2 had exercised one year ago)

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

Last week Past 6wks

Past 6months

Can'tremember

Last reviewed plan

Last exercised plan

GSHE Education Day, cont’d

• Size of operation (employees) and importance of a written plan

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

VeryImportant

Important Nice to Have

no empl.

1 to 10

11 to 20

21 or more

GSHE Education Day, cont’d

• Twenty-six participants completed the session evaluation– About the course:

• All participants thought the course was helpful (20 (77 percent) thought it was good or excellent)

• The majority said they would recommend the course (24 said yes, 1 said no, and 1 said maybe)

GSHE Education Day, cont’d

• Twenty-six participants completed the session evaluation

– Risk to their operations• Top hazards listed:

Fire, hurricanes, floods, power outage, ice, wind, tornado, thunderstorm, injury

GSHE Education Day, cont’d

• Twenty-six participants completed the session evaluation

– Functions most critical to their operations• Irrigation, customer service, generate $

Project Status

• Learning materials are posted to the ACES Web site (www.aces.edu) and cataloged on the EDEN site (www.eden.lsu.edu).

• The www.greenindustryemergencyplan.com site has not been used by producers yet, but SNA has expressed interest in taking it over.

• An on-line survey has been distributed to eight of the GSHE participants.

Did We Help?

Maybe.

Project Team

• Deacue Fields III, Extension Economist, ACES

• Jim Novak, Extension Economist, ACES

• Ken Tilt, Extension Horticulturist, ACES

• Virginia Morgan, Co-leader Communications, ACES, team leader

Project Collaborators

• Jackie DiPofi, Director, Small Business Development Center, Auburn University

• Jan Winter, Executive Secretary, MS Nursery and Landscape Association

• Allen Owings, Executive Secretary, LA Nursery and Landscape Association