TruGreen's Free MyBotanicPlanet.com Gets High Marks From Educators

Creative Online Educator Resource Inspires Students' Interest in Botany

TruGreen's MyBotanicPlanet.com inspires K-5 students' interest in botany. (PRNewsFoto/TruGreen)

MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TruGreen recently launched MyBotanicPlanet.com, a free online educator resource to inspire K-5 students' interest in the diverse plant world, to receptive educators attending the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) national conference in San Francisco. TruGreen, the nation's largest professional lawn, tree and shrub care provider, is receiving high marks from educators for the brand's creative resource that enables convenient access to U.S. standardized lesson plans in botany and related interactive activities.

My Botanic Planet curriculum characters Inspector Nectar and Flavor Flores stepped out of the virtual world at TruGreen's NSTA exhibit to demonstrate the creative site with hundreds of enthusiastic educators. A brief video highlighting educator feedback on MyBotanicPlanet.com is available.
TruGreen collaborated with Memphis Botanic Garden on My Botanic Planet, where participants can customize their avatar then discover colorful plant environments and related interactive games as they meet Inspector Nectar on a flower mystery or Flavor Flores on a sensational sap safari. My Botanic Planet is based on the classroom experience offered through the Memphis Botanic Garden that has impacted more than 40,000 children. Created by professional curriculum developers, the initial six lessons meet national education standards and benchmarks and focus on the plant origins of flavors, the parts of the flower, and how pollination occurs.

"TruGreen's expertise in professional lawn care is based on science and a solid commitment to responsibly caring for our plant world," said John Crossmock, director of technical training and support, TruGreen. "The opportunity to inspire the upcoming generation's appreciation for botany is truly rewarding and supports TruGreen's commitment to being effective stewards of our environment and natural resources."
According to Thomas McManus, 2010 TruGreen–NSTA Fellow and science teacher at The Melrose School in Bronx, N.Y., educators are looking for supplemental teaching resources to effectively bring science and other subjects to life for students.
"Students tend to be inspired by learning experiences where they can personally interact with subjects like botany," McManus said. "As a teacher, I appreciate accessible resources like My Botanic Planet that provide thoughtful, hands-on lesson ideas and extensions that deliver on approved educational standards."
MyBotanicPlanet.com is featured in the online NSTA Science Supply Guide, including under the curriculum solutions section.

SOURCE TruGreen