Buffalo!
Time for a debrief after attending the Garden Writers annual shindig held in Buffalo this year – to the delight of anyone who’s been there in the last decade or so and the apprehension of anyone who hasn’t. Yeah, Buffalo had lots of doubters, but boy did that city shut them up!
As a Buffalo booster myself, I’m was not surprised but so pleased to hear the raves for the city’s beauty, architecture, liveliness, private gardens and wild enthusiasm for gardening. For pure garden-viewing, everyone’s favorite seemed to be Buffalo’s famous Cottage District. Attendees are now flooding the Internet with images like these from one of my earlier visits.
Another attraction for us and something new since my last visit to Buffalo in 2010 is the lively Canalside development, where I played hooky one morning to stroll the boardwalk and be awed by the confluence of so many bodies of water in one spot. (Lake Erie, the Buffalo and Niagara Rivers and the canal itself.)
Awards Night!
The highlight of the symposium for me was the awards banquet, for which we all dressed up – somewhat, given that gardeners are a decidedly wardrobe-challenged cohort.
I got to see my Seattle pal Linda Chalker-Scott receive GWA’s first award for science-writing, an award suggested by Carol Michel, who’s shown here with Linda. (Go, science!!) Another first-ever award was for sustainability, which went to Paul Tukey. Both are great additions to the awards roster because they promote important values for us as a profession.
And that’s me in hot pink with out-going GWA president Kirk Brown and the head of a buffalo. I was included in the photo line-up because my video-curating campaign won an award and boy, did that make the evening fun for me! I’d never felt so included or so enthusiastic about GWA. (Go, awards!)
How to Survive a Conference
After years of gardening conferences I think I’ve finally figured out how to get the most out of one while being me – an introvert with short bursts of sociability.
- The just-right duration for me is four days/three nights.
- It’s okay to go rogue and wander off alone to see the city.
- It’s also okay to sit alone on a bus, which frees you up to talk to everyone around you or, as the day wears on, no one.
- Having no dinner plans one night, I cruised the hotel lobby for dinner companions and the result was seven new acquaintances, at least. It just took getting over the social awkwardness of saying “Can I join you?” to strangers.
- And carefully studying the agenda paid off for me. I heard the smartest people on topics of most interest to me and learned a lot. (Shout-out to Debra Prinzing and Nan Sterman, proven geniuses at creating communities online.)
Kudos!
The reviews are in and confirm my own impression that GWA/Buffalo was fabulous! Credit goes to too many people to name but at the top of the list are these folks.
Sally Cunningham, Buffalo’s gardening maven and simply wonderful person, headed up the local organizing team. Kirk Brown’s stewardship of GWA this past year has been outstanding. And the pink ladies now managing GWA are great at their jobs. Indeed, GWA’s new management team has more than lived up to my hopes for them when I wrote “Why I Rejoined Garden Writers” back in January of 2016.
GWA’s on a roll, folks, and with leadership like this for the coming year, I have no doubt the roll will continue. We got a hint of it when incoming president Becky Heath spoke, sang, and energized the crowd at the end of the awards banquet.
And next year, Chicago! I’ll be there.
GWA/Buffalo Take-Aways originally appeared on Garden Rant on August 18, 2017.
from Garden Rant http://ift.tt/2vPuc6y
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