Schwartz was awarded under the “primarily visual” category for the article he co-authored in Nursery Management magazine this past May, found here:

https://www.nurserymag.com/article/reliable-roses-arts-trials/.

In the award-winning article, Schwartz writes: “The American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S.) is here to help the industry and consumers identify the strongest performing roses for their region through our independent scientific trials held at botanical gardens, parks systems and universities. The A.R.T.S. team is made up of scientists, public horticulturists, nursery growers and extension professionals.”

The partnerships between ARTS and the regional trial sites form the cornerstone that supports local research to ultimately answer the question “Can we grow that here?”  According to the ARTS website, “A key asset of the A.R.T.S.® program is our amazing partnership with regional trial sites that host our test gardens each year.   All of these sites have a strong commitment to scientific plant research and have become regional leaders in environmental stewardship.  The diverse organizations who have partnered with A.R.T.S.® include colleges, universities, arboreta, botanic gardens, and municipalities.  Although each of these sites is unique and brings a different set of strengths to the A.R.T.S.® team they are united in their purpose of sharing the most accurate and up to date horticultural information with the gardening public and industry professionals of their region and are committed to ecologically sound landscape principles.  We encourage you to visit your regional trial site this summer to see firsthand scientific plant research as well as the latest rose genetics currently being developed before these roses are introduced to market.”   

Schwartz received a second award in the “website” category for his work designing the website for the American Rose Trials for Sustainability. www.trustedroses.com

The ASHS award announcement may be found here: https://ashs.org/general/custom.asp?page=ExtensionDivNews

Schwartz noted. “NVCC was one of the flagship trial sites for the American Rose Trials for Sustainability program and our participation over the last seven years allows our college to be a trusted voice in the community for recommendations on sustainable plant choices.  There is a great group of scientists, educators and nurserymen involved in the program from all over the country and we are honored to represent Connecticut and the surrounding climate region.”

Christopher J. Tuccio, Interim Division Director, STEM; Program Coordinator, Horticulture and Professor of Horticulture & Landscape Design, commented on the award. "We are all very proud of the hard work and dedication Mike has put into this project. He greatly deserves this recognition. The rose trials have tremendous benefits to our program and its students."