152 Festival of Color: An Extension Outreach Program
The Festival of Color is the annual plant and landscape open house sponsored by the Univ. of Nebraska's Horticulture Dept. The festival is the culmination of many water-centered activities that have preceded the festival throughout the year. Last year's September event drew over 10,000 people to the UNL Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Neb. The festival was created to increase the urban public's awareness and motivation regarding the best landscape management practices for developing environmentally compatible landscapes and reducing urban runoff of water and pesticides. The Festival of Color is an event for all ages. By including the activities for the entire family, the festival draws a large spectrum of the urban population. The festival has grown steadily from 850 visitors in 1993 to 10,000 in 1998. The festival will continue to include demonstrations and talks on selection, installation, and management of turf; irrigation equipment and management methods; pesticide selection and pest management alternatives; fertility management alternatives; low input landscaping with native and adapted species; composting; and more. At the Sixth Annual Festival of Color: 1) 42% of new attendees learned how to implement water conserving landscape techniques (66% of the previous attendees implemented water conserving landscape practices), 2) 30% of new attendees learned how to irrigate more efficiently (63% of previous attendees used water more efficiently), and 3) 29% of new attendees learned how to fertilize more efficiently (actual positive behavior change was higher than the proposed change reported by first time attendees), 4) 98% of new attendees learned how to choose plants based on site/location “Right Plant, Right Place” (86% of previous attendees have improved their plant selection skills by putting the right plant in the right place).