Lincoln, Neb. — What is your background before coming to the University of Nebraska Lincoln?
Sarah worked in the horticulture and landscape industry for 13 years before joining Nebraska Extension in 1998. During that time, she worked with tropical interior plants in commercial buildings, grew hydroponic tomatoes and strawberries for winter grocery store production, and educated homeowners on how to install and maintain buffalograss lawns. One great aspect of a career in horticulture is the variety of avenues in which you can build a career.
What is your position at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln?
Sarah is a horticulture Extension Educator and is based out of the Lancaster Extension office in Lincoln, NE. She provides education and resources to both home gardeners and commercial professionals, through face-to-face and virtual programming, web resources, and social media. She is a regular panelist on Nebraska Extension's Backyard Farmer television show. Sarah writes a weekly gardening column for the Lincoln Journal Star, which is also distributed to multiple media outlets throughout eastern Nebraska. You can find all her gardening columns in her blog at https://acreagenebraska.org.
She is the state's lead food safety trainer for commercial fruit & vegetable growers, assisting growers in reducing the risk of food-borne pathogens on their products. This program is part of the required grower training, created by the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Sarah is also a certified arborist, through the International Society of Arboriculture.
What drew you to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln?
Sarah is a native Nebraskan and completed her Master of Science program through UNL and, what was in 1987, the Department of Horticulture. As a graduate student, she was part of the buffalograss breeding program funded by the United States Golf Association. Buffalograss is a wonderful native grass and it would be great to see it being used more often on appropriate sites.
Sarah loves helping people solve problems. Sharing knowledge gained during her time in the horticulture industry and Nebraska Extension is very gratifying.
What aspect of working in an educational setting do you enjoy the most?
Sarah enjoys helping people solve problems, especially when she can help people protect themselves and the environment from improper pesticide usage.
What is your life like outside of work?
Sarah loves spending time with her extended family, including many nieces and nephews.
