Submit your bracket for Mulch Madness 2023

Posted March 7th, 2023 in Featured, News, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure
collage of native plants in background with text "The Red Oak Rain Garden Team Presents: MULCH MADNESS"

It’s that exciting time of the year again, but we’re not talking about basketball. Hold on to your gardening hats, sports fans — it’s time for the Red Oak Rain Garden’s FOURTH ANNUAL Mulch Madness contest! 🎉 Our tournament takes an educational spin, teaching people about native plants in a spirited, engaging, and competitive way.

HOW IT WORKS

Twenty-eight native plants from the Red Oak Rain Garden are battling it out for the title as this year’s Champion. Your votes will determine which plant is the winner! All of the “games” are held through polls on RORG’s social media. Follow @RainGardenUIUC to play along!

Matches take place on weekdays from Tuesday, March 14 to Thursday, March 30 at 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM. This is your chance to vote! You do not need to submit a bracket to participate in the games, but it is more fun that way! The winner with the most accurate bracket submission will receive a $20 gift certificate to their favorite local business (because buying local is better for the environment!). 

HOW TO SUBMIT A BRACKET

  1. Click on the bracket below.
  2. In the tab that pops up, click the “download” icon
  3. Fill it out with your picks and save the document. Please include your name! Note that you can learn more about the plants by clicking their names in the bracket.
  4. Submit it to uie-redoakraingarden@illinois.edu by Tuesday, March 14 at 10:00 AM.
 

To enter, click on this bracket, download it, fill it out, and send to UIE-RedOakRainGarden@illinois.edu

RULES

  1. One bracket entry per person. Brackets must be submitted by Tuesday, March 14 at 10:00 AM Central Time. Games start at 11:00 AM the same day.
  2. The winning bracket is chosen based on the ESPN Fantasy scoring system.
    A correct pick in each round is shown below:     

    1. Round 1: 10 points per pick
    2. Round 2: 20 points per pick
    3. Round 3: 40 points per pick
    4. Round 4: 80 points per pick
    5. Championship: 160 points per pick

PRIZE

Your points are totaled according to correct guesses, so the person with the most accurate bracket receives a special reward from us: A $20 gift certificate to a local business of your choice! The business must have a gift certificate option available.

Good luck, gardeners. We look forward to another year of Mulch Madness… May the best plant win!

Previous Winners

2022- Wild Hyacinth

2021- Virginia Bluebells

2020- Butterflyweed

 

#MulchMadness2023

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

 

Contact: Eliana Brown, Layne Knoche

IISG Instagram

The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations!

Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back.

Our goal isn`t to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.

Nomination categories are:
-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year
-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year
-Great Lakes News Event of the Year
-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year
-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025
-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)
-Great Lakes Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year
-Great Lakes Donut of the Year

The Details:
-Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.
Process: It`s easy (just enter the name/title and a link).
-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don`t be shy.

We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17913992691239654
The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations! Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back. Our goal isn't to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.Nomination categories are:-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year-Great Lakes News Event of the Year-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)-Great Lakes Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year-Great Lakes Donut of the YearThe Details: -Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.Process: It's easy (just enter the name/title and a link).-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don't be shy.We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25

Making Sense of Social Media: Presented by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant & Purdue Extension
‌
When: December 6, 2025, from 1 - 4:00 PM EST
Where: RDM Shrimp, RDM Shrimp, 101 N 850 E, Fowler, IN 47944
Registration Link in bio.
‌
Social media can be a great way to market your small business and products, but sometimes it might feel like you are casting a net again and again to find that your net is empty. After all, the point of using social media marketing is to connect with customers. By attending this workshop, you will:
-Hear Research Findings
-Participate in an Interactive Workshop Session
-Learn Real World Application
-Tour a Shrimp Farm
-Network at the “After Hour Social”
‌
This program is supported by the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center and put on in partnership with the Indiana Aquaculture Association Inc, RDM Shrimp, and Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University.
‌
For questions contact Amy Shambach by email (ashambac@purdue.edu) or phone (317-238-0511)

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18100693840687186
Making Sense of Social Media: Presented by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant & Purdue Extension‌When: December 6, 2025, from 1 - 4:00 PM ESTWhere: RDM Shrimp, RDM Shrimp, 101 N 850 E, Fowler, IN 47944Registration Link in bio.‌Social media can be a great way to market your small business and products, but sometimes it might feel like you are casting a net again and again to find that your net is empty. After all, the point of using social media marketing is to connect with customers. By attending this workshop, you will:-Hear Research Findings-Participate in an Interactive Workshop Session-Learn Real World Application-Tour a Shrimp Farm-Network at the “After Hour Social”‌This program is supported by the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center and put on in partnership with the Indiana Aquaculture Association Inc, RDM Shrimp, and Ohio Sea Grant, The Ohio State University.‌For questions contact Amy Shambach by email (ashambac@purdue.edu) or phone (317-238-0511)
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