Lucy Bradley: Growing Healthy Plants, People and Communities

As the NC State Extension Consumer and Community Horticulture Specialist, Professor Lucy Bradley develops partnerships and resources to promote environmental stewardship, local food security, community development, and individual mental and physical health through gardening.

She works with Extension agents, Extension Master Gardener Volunteers℠, a team of Extension professionals, and a variety of outstanding partners to inspire and support home gardeners, community gardeners, preschool gardeners, and therapeutic horticulturalists. While Bradley’s gardening and community work operates like a grassroots campaign, her programs and resources influence local to international audiences.

A Natural Leader

In 2006, Bradley joined the faculty at NC State University and has contributed in a variety of ways, including as associate department head and department Extension leader for horticultural science.

As an NC State Extension leader, Bradley builds teams to identify opportunities, create resources and offer training that inspires people to take action.

“I love working with NC State Extension in the Department of Horticultural Science,” says Bradley. “Surrounded by excellence and generous partners, I do meaningful work that makes a difference for people, plants, communities and the environment. It is lots of fun and fulfilling, and they pay me!”

A Circuitous Path

A Florida native, Bradley’s grandfather was an amateur amaryllis plant breeder and her father was an avid gardener who inspired her love for plants and nature.  Bradley’s interest in working with people and systems led her to earn a master’s degree in organizational psychology from Purdue University. She then began her career working with community groups in Arizona. It was while in Phoenix that Bradley served as an Extension Master Gardener volunteer and recognized gardening could be a catalyst for connecting people to transform communities and schools.

“Inner city gardens turned strangers into neighbors as people worked together to raise food, beautify the community and introduce children to nature,”  says Bradley. “For example, we transformed a concrete schoolyard into an urban wildlife program.”

With her passion for people and plants, Bradley returned to graduate school, earning a master’s in botany and a Ph.D. in plant biology from Arizona State University. During that time she served as an urban horticulture agent with Arizona Cooperative Extension.

Award-Winning Impacts

Bradley has won many national awards, including being selected as the 2024 Outstanding Extension Horticulture Educator by the American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS).  In addition, she and Charlotte Glen, Ed.D., the NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ program manager, were awarded the 2024 ASHS Extension Outstanding Education Materials Award for producing the “Consumer Horticulture Extension Professional Onboarding Newsletter Series.” The series delivers 11 weekly newsletters featuring helpful resources, introducing horticulture Extension specialists, tips for operating the Extension Master Gardener Volunteer℠ program, time management advice and more.

“Lucy’s innovative leadership, commitment to inspiring and empowering others to achieve excellence, and dedication to Extension’s mission are evident in every project she leads, including the award-winning newsletter for new Extension professionals,” says Glen. “Just as her support in my role as Extension Master Gardener℠ program manager has motivated and equipped me to create positive change, the practical advice and resources Lucy shares in the newsletter ensure that new Extension professionals feel supported, inspired, and empowered to reach their full potential from day one.”

A Collaborative Pedagogy

Bradley has led exceptional teams in developing powerful tools, including the award-winning NC Extension Gardener Handbook, reaching 193,000 users across the globe in 2023. 

“The Handbook is a comprehensive guide to gardening, including everything from soils to plants to pest management,” explains Bradley. “Each chapter was written by the Extension specialist on that topic and includes answers to the most frequently asked questions and a case study of an integrated pest management strategy for solving plant problems. The handbook, co-edited by Kathleen Moore, former Extension Coordinator, is available for free online, as a hardcover book, and as an interactive text with embedded videos, Q&A, a roll-over glossary, and more.”

With the vision and technical leadership of Rob Ladd, former NC State Extension Application Development Specialist,  and the management of Kathleen Moore, Bradley led the development of the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, which has reached 6.8 million users and over 14 million views in the past year alone. 

“The Toolbox is a free online plant database that assists you with selecting a plant that will thrive in your location and provide the functions important to you,” says Bradley. “For example, a shrub that attracts pollinators, is resistant to deer and has pink flowers in the summer. You identify what you have to offer the plant (amount of space, sunlight, climate, etc.) and select the desired characteristics to generate a list of plants matching your criteria. You can then get detailed information, images, and videos for each plant.” 

Coordinated by Bradley and Scott Zona, Ph.D., a botanist, and the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox manager, the NC Extension Master Gardener Volunteers℠ have added more than 5,000 plants to the database.

Additionally, in partnership with the UNC North Carolina Botanical Garden Therapeutic Horticulture program, Bradley supported the development of the Therapeutic Horticulture Certificate Program, which contains a series of four fully online, self-paced courses teaching the theory, practice and profession of therapeutic horticulture. In partnership with Longwood Gardens, she also developed online courses in plant identification and garden, lawn, and landscape management.

Wisdom for New Extension Professionals

“One of the hardest things in Extension is to keep all the good ideas from getting in the way of opportunities for excellence,” shares Bradley. “As an Extension professional, one of your most important skills is identifying several key areas to develop expertise and programs and graciously redirecting people with good ideas outside those focus areas to other sources of support. 

“If you try to address every request and implement all the good program ideas, you dilute your capacity for powerful impact and burn out quickly. Learn to say, ‘That is a great idea; let’s figure out who can support you in making it happen.’”