Mayor Lovely A. Warren Brings Agriculture Training Center to Rochester With Support of GRO1000 Garden and Green Space Program

ROCHESTER, N.Y., May 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Rochester Urban Agriculture Garden and Training Center received a GRO1000 grant from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and The U.S. Conference of Mayors to turn vacant property into a hands-on, educational center for community garden leaders, urban gardeners and area youth. Funding for the project is part of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company's national GRO1000 gardens and green spaces program.

GRO1000 is ScottsMiracle-Gro's commitment to support the creation of more than 1,000 community gardens and green spaces in the U.S., Canada and Europe by 2018, in conjunction with its 150th anniversary. To date, hundreds of community projects have received GRO1000 funding.

A partnership between the City of Rochester and the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, the Rochester Urban Agriculture Training Center will create a demonstration garden to teach area residents gardening best practices and sustainability techniques. The garden will also provide fresh fruits and vegetables to the surrounding community, which has limited access to healthy, affordable food options. With the help of GRO1000, the completed educational center will have ongoing horticultural training programs, classes and workshops.

"By adding a new community garden, and giving our residents access to fresh, healthy foods, GRO1000 is helping us revitalize neighborhoods across our city," Mayor Lovely Warren said. "Efforts like these put us in a better position to attract jobs to our city and improve access to a quality education for our children."

The GRO1000 Rochester event at the Rochester Urban Agriculture Garden and Training Center kicks off at 2 p.m. on May 21 at 500 Norton Street, Rochester, New York 14621. Prior to this, area residents and youth will join volunteers, including ScottsMiracle-Gro associates, city officials, and GRO1000 national and local partners, in garden-related educational activities. In addition, two youth from Rochester will be presented with the ScottsMiracle-Gro Give Back To Gro Youth Gardener Award.

"We're honored to work with the City of Rochester on this transformational project," said Mike Carbonara, President, North American Regions, ScottsMiracle-Gro. "Our hope is that the lives of Rochester residents would be greatly improved through the development of this urban green space and educational center."

GRO1000 Rochester was made possible through the combined efforts of local partners, including the City of Rochester and the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, and national partners including The U.S. Conference of Mayors, ScottsMiracle-Gro, Plant A Row for the Hungry, the National Gardening Association, the Garden Writers Association, and Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The Rochester GRO1000 event is one of several public installation events being held in the U.S., Canada and Europe in 2015. For more information, visit www.GRO1000.com and follow ScottsMiracle-Gro on Twitter at twitter.com/Scotts_MGro.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro

With more than $2.8 billion in worldwide sales, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro® and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. In the U.S., we operate Scotts LawnService®, the second largest residential lawn care service business. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®, Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligène® and Substral®. For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.

About the U.S. Conference of Mayors

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,210 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Find us at usmayors.org, on facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

CONTACT: Jessica Alaimo
         City of Rochester
         585-428-6426
         [email protected]

         Su Lok
         ScottsMiracle-Gro
         937-578-5169 (office)
         937-309-5616 (mobile)
         [email protected]

Source: The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

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