Jeff Abt, Chair of the Executive committee of the SFA Mast Arboretum Board of Advisors, presided over a "Strategic Action Plan" committee meeting, May 6, 1999. Committee members: Dr. Darrel McDonald, John Anderson, Jeff Abt, Dave Creech, Greg Grant, Dawn Parish, Barb Stump.

Each individual was asked to formulate a "wish list" for the future development of the SFA Mast Arboretum. Rather than attempt to consolidate all the contributions into one, I thought it might be interesting to the Board and Arboretum supporters to see all of the individual contributions, edited only slightly by yours truly. I have provided a "conclusions" section that attempts to condense the Arboretum planning committee’s main goals into one cohesive paragraph.

A formal master plan, one that embraces the short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals and direction of the Arboretum will be created within the next year.

 John Anderson Contribution:

Short-term:

Access infrastructure for both parts of the current property; hard pathways, bridge over LaNana creek, parking, and street signage.

Mid-term:

Visitor’s Center and Informational/Educational staff.

Long-term:

Move vehicle maintenance and storage to allow the current facility at Starr and University to house Grounds and Arboretum only. Develop wooded land on the east side of University with native plants and self-guiding walkpath.

Note:

The incremental growth of construction and maintenance budgets is assumed as a continuum in the above.

Dawn Parish Contribution:

2 full-time workers (garden curators)

1 full-time Greenhouse manager

2-3 Arboretum Gardeners

2-3 Azalea Garden gardeners

1 tour coordinator/guide/public relations person

1 full-time Children's Garden Educational coordinator

1 volunteer coordinator

New ¾ ton truck

Gator for the Azalea Garden

Bathroom facilities

Visitor center (maybe bathrooms in here and "rustic" ones in garden)

Bridge across LaNana Creek (big enough to get a vehicle across)

Parking – Bus access

Better mapping / garden interpretation and signage

Handicap accessible hardscape (cement or brick)

Offices that don't interfere with ag bldg (maybe in visitor center)

At least one more 30’ X 100’ green house

Security fence around Horticulture facility

tool / garage facility across creek perhaps tied in with Azalea Garden Tower

drills

weedeaters

hedgetrimmers

lawnmower

leaf blower

Policy guidelines to be set:

Memorial gardens

Sale vendors

In kind donations ? (e.g. Mulberry trees from audubon soc)

Comments:

I think it might be a good idea for these positions to be filled by interns. As the arboretum grows, we are outgrowing the real reason we are here. STUDENTS! STUDENTS! STUDENTS! We have such an excellent teaching tool right in front of us and I feel that the students aren't encouraged enough, paid enough, or enthusiastic enough to take advantage of the situation. This should be our number one priority.

Jeff Abt Contribution:

A small vehicle and pedestrian bridge across the creek with good

architectural lines- it could, itself, become something to see

ADA compliance in the garden, paths and hardscape upgrades everywhere (we could spend $500,000 easily)

Visitor's center with all the bells and whistles that might go with it

Full membership in the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (AABGA)

Initiate a program like Sand Hills Community College, a program to train professional

gardeners that has an internship/apprenticeship as its core. This program would serve two purposes: set the horticulture program at SFA apart (does anyone this side of the Mississippi train students as professional gardeners? - NO) and, secondly, it would provide labor in the garden. If we are going to be a world-class arboretum, we need world-class maintenance.

Two full-time workers for the arboretum (pure manual laborers) in addition to the Arboretum Technician and Research Associate: Ornamental Plant Evaluation. These

full-time workers should be separate from the student internship.

Public relations/tour coordinator (volunteer)

A full-time Children’s Garden coordinator

Give the Master Gardeners an office (somewhere?) and an 800 number for people in East Texas to call every Friday and have their gardening questions answered. They would answer the phone, "SFA Mast Arboretum and Nacogdoches Master Gardeners". This would have East Texans associating SFA, with horticultural expertise.

Greg Grant Contribution:

1. Volunteer Group to coordinate and lead tours.

2. Tour packet/map/signage for self guided tours.

3. Greenhouse technician.

4. Better coordination with commercial industry.

5. Enthusiastic students.

6. Film and slide development.

7. Better maintenance.

8. Better tools.

9. A push mower.

10. A fertilizer spreader

1. More bright students in the Horticulture program – improved recruiting, teaching, retention and placement.

2. We finally solidify the Arboretum Technician position with a salary in the low twenties - and the Research Associate: Ornamental Plant Evaluation position in the mid to upper twenties.

3. Summer of 1999, purchase needed equipment and tools and initiate a maintenance and inventory plan.

4. Improve the student labor budget picture – better landscape maintenance -

5. Improve the promising plants distribution program – UPS mailouts of promising plants to other plant evaluation programs and nurseries across the South - hand deliveries, etc. – better coordination and cooperation with mainstream and niche nurseries.

6. Encourage Grounds greenhouse acquisition – a cooperative development and usage with the Arboretum – color crops for Grounds and the campus - and an Arboretum "new plants" resource (for Arboretum Gala plant sales, civic projects and distributions to cooperating nurseries).

7. Acquire independent funding that allows development of the SFA Native Plant Center (39-acre Tucker Estate), a cooperative venture of the SFA Mast Arboretum and Forest Resources Institute.

8. Azalea garden parking issue resolved.

9. Make some real moves toward an ADA-compliant garden.

10. Encourage SFA Grounds to acquire a tractor large enough and dedicated to the tree spade in the Grounds inventory.

11. Work with City in support of a recently proposed LaNana creek flood control project.

12. Continued development of the SFA Mast Arboretum website.

13. Improved signage/interpretation – self-guiding tour brochures.

14. Continued cooperation with Master Gardeners – enhanced profile of the Arboretum Volunteer Corps.

Mid-term (3-10 years):

1. Bridge over LaNana Creek.

2. An ADA-compliant Arboretum with hard surface trails – concrete, asphalt or brick.

3. Bobcat with tree spade to be used in cooperation with Grounds and campus beautification projects.

4. One greenhouse technician.

5. Two additional gardeners.

6. One full-time Children’s Garden project coordinator.

7. Volunteer coordinator of tours and group events.

8. ¾ ton truck

9. Plans for a Visitor/Information Center

Long-Term (10 years and above)

1. Conversion of Grounds/Bus Barn/Heavy Equipment Yard into a Grounds/SFA Mast Arboretum facility

2. Master Plan for the LaNana Creek trail complex

3. Completion and dedication of the SFA Mast Arboretum Educational Center.

4. Endowed chair in Horticulture

5. Additional faculty members dependent on student enrollment and funding base.

Dr. Darrel McDonald Contribution:

Completed GIS mapping project for arboretum

Establishment of herbarium collection (native plants and horticulturally significant plants)

One more faculty member in Horticulture

AABGA recognition as a exemplary garden

Significantly larger support for graduate students

Visitor center, teaching/training and research facility drawings on the table - based on the RRR theme with a plant mapping center sub-component

Expanded herbarium collection

Facility built and dedicated

Visiting professorship in horticulture

5 million dollar endowment

Strengthen Arboretum Board membership to function as a working board

		Recruit from legal, banking, engineering, public school, medical, and civic groups in town.
		Specify at least one member from Chamber of Commerce and one from City of Nacogdoches staff.
		Invite Director of Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors' Bureau to serve on board.
		Develop working committees for at least public relations, fund-raising, long-range planning, and Arboretum operations (management).
		Recruit a volunteer grant-writer to assist with grant writing as needed.

Clarify and disseminate Arboretum governing policies

		Formalize all policies by May 2000, involving input from Arboretum Director, Technician, and Arboretum Board
		Develop policies for at least plant acquisition, collection, and donation; memorial policies; signage and interpretation basic requirements
		Estimate proportion of budget to come from on-site propagation by Arboretum Technician as part of policy on plant dissemination.
		Collect and record, or develop, a policy on academic research projects that use the SFA Mast Arboretum as an evaluation site.
		Develop responsibilities for accessions database and a mean for public access.

Unify and strengthen public relations

		Develop a basic publicity kit for general information for potential donors, that can act as a publicity kit when soliciting articles for placement in media.
		Revise current Arboretum brochure to include large format-fold-out map of entire Arboretum (include Children's Garden and Azalea Garden trails)

Retain and train operations staff for public information and plant propagation

Recruit and train a corps of Arboretum Docents to perform 95-percent of tours. These docents would report to the Arboretum Technician.

Upgrade facilities, both for public convenience and plant propagation and research

		Develop reasonable estimates for bridge linking Arboretum to SFA Azalea Garden to City and Corps of Engineers' codes.
		Develop reasonable estimates for basic unisex restroom facilities on east side of La Nana creek, to city codes.
		Work with SFA Engineering to complete plans for ADA-accessibility in Children's Garden entrance, entrance to Shade Garden, and West entrance by Phase I Mixed Borders.
		Solicit funds for some of these facilities through fund-raising efforts or through appropriate grant-writing. (Establish a goal for a percentage to be reached.)

Set up long-term management structure

		Develop, gain approval for, and hire an assistant Arboretum Director.
		Develop, gain approval for, and hire a full-time Arboretum Program Director.
This person would be responsible for planning for, and accommodating, the 50,000-100,000 visitors annually projected for 2004. This person should also plan coordinated educational activities for school age and adult visitors.

Plan a communications program that address all four elements of the mission statement.

		Promote Arboretum through integrated publications, programming, and plant development research
		Report all research and design projects in appropriate print media as well as regular website updates

Complete sufficient on-site facilities to meet projected tenfold increase in demand

		Develop ancillary growing facilities to reduce impact on main Arboretum site
		Bridge and restrooms in place and functional.
		Hard-surfaced trails in place throughout (may be crushed granite in Arboretum, crushed iron-rock in Azalea Garden).
		Achieve 70-percent handicapped accessibility over entire 11 acres.
		Consider options for expansion either east of the Azalea Garden or via LaNana Creek Trail north of existing facilities.
		Consider expansion to off-site areas such as along Banita Creek south of downtown. (Will involve coordination with City staff and planning proposals.)

Develop ancillary growing facilities to reduce impact on main Arboretum site

		Develop, staffed through academic research program, an off-site propagation nursery to serve as an outlet for most successful of Arboretum evaluations.
		Build an additional polyhouse and shadehouse on-site for graduate student projects and additional growing for regular plant sales.
		Hire an assistant Arboretum Technician, or staff through an established graduate student assistantship.

1. Ensure long-term growth and maintenance through integrated gift-giving plan
2. Evaluate existing design and services; plan for expansion
3. Complete Visitor’s Center

CONCLUSIONS

General results indicate an emphasis on full-time labor – more on-the-ground maintenance personnel, a technician dedicated solely to the greenhouse/hort facility complex (2 greenhouses, one 50’ X 100’ glass and one 30’ X 100’ poly quonset house), two shade houses and two container yards. Attention was also given to designing for traffic, ADA compliance, and handling larger tourist numbers. An enhanced Volunteer action was noted by many with a full-time coordinator for Educational events/guided tours/programs.

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