If you miss your basketball bracket, bet on your favorite flowers instead

Posted March 19th, 2020 in Featured, News, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure
Mulch Madness logo with bracket and leaf graphic

Hold on to your gardening hats, sports fans! The NCAA basketball tournament may have been canceled, but the Red Oak Rain Garden team has a surprise for you. We proudly announce our version: MULCH MADNESS. This competition involves 28 flowering native plants battling it out to find out who will make it to the Final Forb. (Yes, that’s a gardening joke!) What flower will be the champion? Your votes will decide.

While we know this isn’t the same as March Madness, we hope all you bracketologists out there will play along and learn about some of our garden’s plants.

HOW TO ENTER

  1. Download the bracket
  2. Fill it out with your picks
  3. Send your completed bracket to kgardin2@illinois.edu by Monday, March 23 at midnight

HOW IT WORKS

Final Forb logo - Urbana 2020 - with leaf and flower graphicsStarting Tuesday, March 24, games will be “played” twice per day: once at noon and another at 4:30 p.m. Vote for your favorite Illinois native plant on either Facebook or Twitter. Polls will be open for 12 hours. You can vote even if you don’t complete a bracket.

Votes from both platforms will be compiled to determine the winner of each game. Winners will be announced at 10 a.m. the following morning.

PRIZE

The person with the winning bracket will receive a $20 gift certificate to the local business of their choosing. (So, no matter where you are, you can help out your community in this uncertain time of the COVID-19 outbreak and business closings. The business does need to be able to offer online gift certificates.)

RULES

  1. One bracket entry per person
  2. Brackets must be submitted by Monday, March 23 at 11:59 p.m. Games start Tuesday, March 24
  3. The winning bracket is chosen based on the ESPN Fantasy scoring system
  4. A correct pick in each round is shown below:
    • Round 1: 10 points per pick
    • Round 2: 20 points per pick
    • Round 3: 40 points per pick
    • Round 4: 80 points per pick
    • Round 5: 160 points per pick
    • Championship: 320 points per pick

Reportedly, in the history of the (real) NCAA tournament, no one has ever filled out a perfect bracket. Will YOU be the first with a perfect bracket in MULCH MADNESS?

#MulchMadness2020

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

 

Writers: Red Oak Rain Garden team, led by Eliana Brown

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Add your name to our sign-on letter urging Congress to support continuation of programs benefiting the Great Lakes, supporting local economies, and connecting communities with science-backed solutions.


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Congress is finalizing the FY26 budget, and federal funding for Sea Grant programs across the country—including Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant—is uncertain. Sea Grant programs have consistently had broad community and political support, and now such support is more important than ever.Add your name to our sign-on letter urging Congress to support continuation of programs benefiting the Great Lakes, supporting local economies, and connecting communities with science-backed solutions.Scan the QR code or visit the link in bio to take action.

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Stay updated with the latest environmental education happenings in the Great Lakes region. The Center for Great Lakes Literacy’s latest newsletter features upcoming events, professional learning opportunities, and valuable educational resources. Don’t miss out on these exciting updates—click the link in bio to read more and get involved!

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The deadline to propose a session is June 16, 2025.

Learn more at the link in bio.

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