(Shrubscriber) ENTR 4433 Business Plan Development

Project Description: Shrubscriber brings together people who believe in partnering with nature and aspiring urban farmers to create a network of urban tree farms so that we can grow a biodiverse, food-secure, and climate-resilient future. Shrubscriber is a tree subscription service and tree-growing community in Edmonton. We run an online community at Shrubscriber.com and host in-person and online events and workshops. We have been operating for three years, but much has changed since our inception, and there is a need to revisit and update Shrubscriber's business model. Current Business Model Tree Subscription Service Paying members support tree production with an annual subscription and can choose to receive their trees or have us donate their trees on their behalf. Tree donations support community groups in parts of the city more prone to climate change impacts: community leagues, gardens, schools, and not-for-profits. Presently, members fund three, six, or twelve trees per year at $30/tree. Tree Propagation Course I have created an online tree propagation course for members interested in growing trees from seeds and cuttings. When members fund more than three trees per year, they receive seeds and step-by-step propagation instructions. My goal is to create more tree growers for the network and to increase Shrubscriber's capacity for plant production and, thus, tree subscriptions. Eventually, I would like to compensate members for growing trees, though I still need to determine the economics of this. This project will be flexible, but I suspect it makes sense for a new business plan to start by focusing on the Tree Subscription Model. Some additional consider and a few things to consider: Tree Propagation Goals Grow a distributed tree nursery network by offering online propagation courses with seeds, step-by-step instructions, and resources. In Progress. Standardize and coordinate the production of woody plants for small urban spaces: backyards, balconies, vacant lots, etc. In Progress. Develop backend tools to coordinate and, when possible, automate community plant inventory management and distribution. In Progress. Create a real-time inventory of plants available for purchase and integrate a payment gateway. Determine a strategy for compensating propagators when their plants are sold via the network. Explore ways to expand the nursery network beyond the Greater Edmonton Area. Tree Subscription Goals: Define the ideal client/member and explore avenues for reaching them. In Progress Offer a woody plant (trees and shrubs) subscription services for businesses, landscapers, homeowners, and climate-conscious citizens. In Progress. Create mechanisms for subscribers to gift their plants to schools, community groups, and others who need trees. Create a strategy to celebrate tree donations. In Progress. Streamline the ordering and distribution of plants. Create a map of Shrubscriber planted trees and find mechanisms to quantify their social and environmental benefits. Climate & Community Goals: Foster a community around the propagation, distribution and planting of trees. In Progress. Identify and propagate rare and historical local trees. In Progress. Leverage donations from the subscription model to provide free trees for community projects. In Progress. Increasing the forest canopy of the local community and creating climate resilience. Provide an optimistic view of the future and a tangible way to combat climate grief.

Community Tree Nursery Database (Phase 1)

About Shrubscriber (Shrub-scriber) Shrubscriber is an Edmonton-based tree nursery network that grows community by propagating and planting trees. Since 2021, Shrubscriber has grown to over two hundred members, propagating close to 300 tree species in backyards, community garden plots, balconies, and vacant lots. When members join Shrubscriber, they receive access to the Shrubscriber community, tree seeds, step-by-step growing instructions, and tree donations. Tree donations support community groups and members in parts of the city that are more prone to climate change impacts. Shrubscriber Airtable Database Shrubscriber community activities are supported by a database that tracks each plant being propagated (Index Seminum Table ), plant propagation information ( Genus species Table ), member activities (Shrubscribers Table), neighbourhood demographics (Neighbourhood Table), and donations and distribution (Organization Table, Orders Table , Invoice Table). The present database can be seen as having three overlapping roles: Plant and Propagation Database Inventory (Tree & Seed) Management Community/Member Resources Management Project Goals Shrubscriber aims to create vibrant, biodiverse, and climate-resilient neighbourhoods through community plant propagation and planting. Presently, the community's coordination falls on a small handful of people. The overarching goal of the Shrubscriber database is to help facilitate and automate the organization's ordering, distribution, propagation, planting, tending, and community-building capacity. A Phased Approach To achieve the final goal, the project has been divided into smaller phased projects, each taking around 60 hours to complete. This approach allows us to establish well-defined goals and tweak each phase as new work and opportunities emerge. I am very open to discussing the scope of each phase and refining/changing it as needed. A phased approach provides the potential for students to continue working with Shrubscriber as new phases are defined and published on the Riipen platform. Phase 1 - Review and Update Plant Database It is essential to ensure that all of the plant data in the database is accurate and as complete as possible to be useful. This project phase will involve reviewing each plant record, researching information about the plant, and updating/completing the plant record within the database. Goal 1 Students will familiarize themselves with Airtable and the Shrubscriber database. Students may use their knowledge of database structure to suggest structural changes to the base, tables, or fields. Goal 2: Students will review the Genus species table and review its data for completeness and accuracy. Incomplete data will be added, and any inaccuracies will be corrected. Goal 3: Explore the benefits of adding additional fields such as tree height, canopy spread, common diseases, medicinal uses, and native range. Goal 4 (Stretch Goal): Students will review a cold-hardy woody plant list document and add new plants to the Shrubscriber database.