UF Environmental Horticulture Graduate Student Association

🌿 Horticulture in Action! 🌿

Environmental Horticulture graduate student Adam Herdman traveled to the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show as part of an international collaboration focused on orchid conservation and public outreach.

Through an incredible amount of teamwork and dedication, the exhibits received multiple recognitions from the Royal Horticultural Society, including an RHS Gold Medal for the conservation display. The event also included a visit from the King and Queen, highlighting the global importance of conservation, horticulture, and education.

Adam was able to attend this year through the support of the EHGSA Travel Grant program, which helps provide professional development opportunities for graduate students.

We are proud to see our organization represented on the world stage alongside so many outstanding institutions and conservation initiatives. 🌱

🌟 Student Spotlight 🌟

Meet Uche Ilodibe, a graduate student in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at University of Florida’s GCREC! 🌿✨

Uche’s research combines agriculture and technology to create smarter pest management systems for strawberry production. His project focuses on developing robotic systems that can detect chilli thrips in strawberry plants and precisely dispense biological predators for targeted pest control.

Part of his work also involves designing a virtual farm environment using 3D software, allowing for rapid prototyping and equipment testing when real field conditions are unavailable. This innovative approach helps accelerate the development of new tools while reducing time and costs associated with field trials.

Through this research, Uche aims to support growers with efficient, sustainable solutions that reduce pest damage, improve crop health, and advance the future of precision agriculture. 🍓

It’s time to announce our next speaker for EHGSA’s seminar series: Where Life Meets Science!

With this series, we hope to connect rigorous technical work with life experiences to help graduate students better understand what building a scientific career looks like.

Join us on Zoom, April 23rd at 4PM to hear from our next speaker, Dr. Raelene Crandall.

Stay up to date with our seminar schedule by following us on social media! 🔥🌿🌳

On behalf of the members of EHGSA, thank you to everyone who made our plant sale such a success!!

Funds raised from this event go directly toward supporting our graduate students through travel grants and professional development opportunities.

A special thank you to our donors, UF IFAS, greenhouse staff (Cody Banner, Brian Owens, and River Roberge), and all of our wonderful customers—we couldn’t do this without you ✨

- 2026 EHGSA Executive Board
Ashley Jackson (President) | Taylor Sherer (VP) | Trishna Tiwari (Treasurer) | Mase Merkel (Secretary) | Adam Herdman (Lead Grower) | Uche Ilodibe (GSC Rep) | Hani Hassan (Web Developer)

‼️ WE ARE SOLD OUT ‼️

Thank you to everyone who came out to support us!

We can’t wait to see you next year ✨🪴

‼️🚨 LAST BENCH SALE 🚨‼️

ALL COLEUS ONLY 3$!!!

WE STILL HAVE SOME GREAT VARIETIES LEFT LIKE “ChargedUp Inferno,” “Volcanica Wasabi,” “Sedona Sunset” and more!!

We’re here until 5PM today - don’t miss out on this deal!!

🚨 COLEUS FLASH SALE 🚨

Starting at 12:00 ALL coleus will be 30% off!!

View the comments under this post to see what varieties we have left!

Online preorders for the EHGSA coleus sale are officially closed!! If you missed the preorder window - no worries! Come see us in person this Saturday and Sunday 9AM - 5PM at the UF Fifield Greenhouse Complex. ✨🌿

We can’t wait to see you all at our plant sale this weekend ! Swipe for prices and some sneak peeks at our coleus and other mostly native offerings 🌿🐞