Upper Canada Chapter this week
Add the Upper Canada Chapter page and the LO events calendar to your bookmarks

Chapter and trade helps students learn
The Quinte West EMC newspaper published a story on Jan. 27, highlighting
the students at Loyalist College’s first Horticultural Apprentice course
getting their thumbs greened at Connon Nurseries in Bayside.
Dan Clost, nursery manager at Connon and president of the Upper Canada
Chapter, says the students can use the facility for learning all about
the trade, from building retaining walls to identifying plants. There is
a different teacher for each specialty, all experts in their field and
well respected. Students learn communication, mathematics, health and
safety, construction, plant science, plant identification and native
plants. “It shows you how involved this trade is,” he said. To read the
complete story, go to newspaper story.

Upper Canada Chapter meeting, Feb. 9
Join
the Upper Canada chapter for a daytime meeting at Strathcona Paper Centre, Napanee, starting at 2 p.m., to
hear from Fred Young, Workplace Safety and Prevention Services. It’s a must-attend event for all members who want to learn about the latest requirements for compliance with the multitude of Acts and regulations,and are looking to set up training systems and focus on safety at the workplace. Don’t let complacency or ignorance cost your business or, more importantly, jeopardise your employees’ safety. For more information, contact Helen Hassard at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 354 or helen@landscapeontario.com.

Register now for GreenTrade Expo, Feb. 16

Only two weeks left to register for Eastern Ontario’s premiere landscape
industry networking and learning day. Free admission; learn about the
latest industry developments; network with industry colleagues; take in
the free educational seminars; limited seating to attend the profit
builder’s luncheon with Hockey Hall of Fame coach Brian Kilrea and MTO
snow contractors breakfast. Limited booth spaces and sponsorships available. For more information and to register, go to www.greentrade.ca, or contact Martha.

Registration for Landscape Industry Certified
closes tomorrow
Don’t delay, registration for written tests close
tomorrow, Feb. 3, in all categories of the Landscape Industry Certified
program at GreenTrade Expo 2011 on Feb. 16. To register, visit Certification, and email completed registration form to rachel@landscapeontario.com, or fax 905-875-3942.

Portfolio Preparation workshop, Feb. 14

A one-day workshop is being offered on Portfolio Preparations: Grading,
Drainage and Construction Details Technical drawings such as
construction details and grading and drainage plans have been stumbling
blocks for many CLD applicants. This workshop at Monterey Inn
Resort and Conference Centre, 2259 Prince of Wales Dr., Ottawa, will
help CLD candidates have a better understanding on how to prepare these
drawings and the information needed to create them. The instructor is
Beth Edney CLD, multiple award-winning designer. Lunch is not included.
Cost is $115 for LO members, and $192 for non-members. Register for the workshop, and check more info at Ottawa seminars.



LO this week

Early bird pricing for Lighting Symposium ends Feb. 3
Internationally-known designer Jan Moyer will speak on
LEDs, and George Gruel will address how to
properly shoot photographs of night lighting projects at the Feb. 24
event. Last year, the symposium was sold out, resulting in a move to the
larger Grand Chalet venue in Milton this year. Save money, register here by Feb. 3! Click here to view flyer.

NEW employee handbook for garden centres

The Garden Centre Sector Group of Landscape Ontario has created a
template that all business owners can adopt and modify for their
business. This initiative was done to help you create consistency of
behaviour, training and job safety for garden centre employees. The
template is considered a guideline only, and employers are reminded to
make sure they are in compliance with up-to-date legislation. The
handbook template can be downloaded from Landscape Ontario’s website, Employee Handbook.

Standard First Aid with Level A CPR Feb. 9-10
This two-day practical course meets WSIB requirements and
prepares participants to administer first aid for common landscape
injuries. Every landscape crew must have a member with first aid
training to assist injured workers. Level A CPR training is included.
Participants must bring a blanket. You will receive a St. John Ambulance
certificate at a later date. The course will take place the LO home office in Milton, beginning each day at 8:30 a.m., ending at 4:30 p.m. Cost to LO members is $200, and for non-members it is $340. Register here for First Aid. Lunch is not included in this program.


Free safety training opportunity
Safety
trainer LandscapeSafety.com is offering each LO member a free,
comprehensive online training program for one employee. Participants may
choose from any or all of 23 online training modules, including WHMIS.
To sign up, visit http://www.landscapesafety.com/lo.php.

Growers’ Group Short Course, Feb. 9
The annual LO Growers Group Short Course will take place at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington. The program will focus on important production
issues, including weed management, effective IPM strategies and lots of
research updates. This year’s featured speaker is Charles Gilliam from
Auburn University. Pre-registration price is $65 for LO members, $75 for
potential members and $25 for students. On-site registration is $90.
Online registration is available here.


Green Infrastructure Ontario survey
The Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition questionnaire is part of an effort to
gauge green infrastructure challenges and opportunities in communities across Ontario. Through a
survey, the group, of which Landscape Ontario
is a partner, hopes to learn what’s
working, barriers faced, and what needs to change. Results will be presented at community
workshops and incorporated into a public report, scheduled for release in fall
2011. The questionnaire takes ten minutes or less to complete, and is submitted
anonymously. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 4.

Professional development seminars
Times of Transition: Succession Planning, Family Dynamics and Multiple Generations at Work Feb. 7

ECO-Logic:How to Use it Naturally in the Landscape Feb. 9


Flagstone Fundamentals Feb. 10

Landscape Design – Above and Beyond Feb. 10

Estimating to Win Feb. 10


Perennials = Sustainability Feb. 11
Ready, Set, Go! Feb. 11

Growing Gretzkys: How to Find & Develop Superstars Feb. 11
Quit hoping for Profit: Plan for it Feb. 14


Chiseled in Stone – Advanced Feb. 14


Native Trees and Shrubs: Expand your Knowledge Feb. 14


CIC Prep seminar Feb. 14


Processes, Performance and Profitability Feb. 15


Advanced Grading & Drainage Feb. 16


Landscape Plants: Where, What, Why and Uses? Feb. 17


Mission Possible: Effective Hiring and Performance Management Feb. 17


Safety Seminar Feb. 18

Seal the Deal – A Design – Build Sales Process that Wins Feb. 18


To register or get more information, click seminars.

Building your Prosperity seminar, Feb. 17
The introductory Prosperity Partnership seminar will get you started on to the road of success. The next program is scheduled for Landscape Ontario home office at 7856 Fifth Line South, Milton. It is intended to help green industry members clarify what they excel at and what components of their business need attention and improvement. A seminar workbook will be provided. Take this online survey, to measure your strengths and weaknesses in the six Prosperity pillars. Click here for more information, or to register.

Garden Tourism Conference in Toronto
The
second Canadian Garden Tourism Conference, with the theme of Blossoming
Partnerships, will take place Mar. 14 and 15, at the Delta Chelsea
Hotel in Toronto. For more information on the event, and to register go
to Garden Tourism Conference.


Foundation raffle will help industry
Try
your luck in the Ontario Horticultural Trade Foundation raffle, and
help support your industry. Tickets are $20 each; first prize is
$5,000, second is $1,000 and third is $500. Only 1,000 tickets have been
printed. The draw will take place at
Industry Night at Canada Blooms on Thurs., Mar. 17. All proceeds to
go to scholarships and research projects. Contact Kathleen Pugliese to purchase tickets.

Professional organic horticulture course
An
intensive two-week course, Feb. 7 to 18, at Humber College, North Campus, Toronto, is
being offered on organic horticultural practices. Directed at educators
and landscape professionals, the course is offered
by Gaia College, in partnership with Humber College. Participants will
have the opportunity to write the SOUL organic certification exam at the
completion of the program. Registration instructions may be found here.

Ontario Turfgrass Symposium, Feb. 23-24
Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph, is the site for the 20th annual Ontario Turfgrass Symposium. Speakers from both industry and academia will provide information pertaining to the symposium’s theme, ‘On the Cutting Edge.’ Sports and recreation staff, lawn care, golf course workers and nursery sod growers will benefit from the many sessions, including pest and disease controls to safety and liability issues in turf environments. Registration for the symposium is available at Symposium, or call 519-767-5000 for more information.


WSIB’s service for clearance certificates is online

The WSIB launched its new electronic clearance certificate program, called eClearance, on Jan. 17. The WSIB says this online service will allow employers to easily check
the validity of a potential contractors’ clearance to avoid any
financial liability when hiring independent operators / contractors,
contractors will be able to obtain an electronic clearance certificate
to verify their WSIB account is in good standing, and both parties will
be able to view clearance status at any time. For more information about clearance certificates, refer to OPM
Doc. No. 14-02-04, Clearance Certificates: Employer Accounts.

Survive and thrive in today’s market, Mar. 2

Monroe
Porter, internationally-known business strategy speaker is coming to
Landscape Ontario! Learn to survive and thrive in today’s market in this
program that demonstrates how to establish goals and strategies to keep
pace with the lightning-fast changes in the green industry. Porter will
discuss how to combat shrinking margins, realistic budgeting,
profitable pricing structures, how to identify winning jobs and more.
This seminar takes place on Mar. 2, 1 to 4 p.m., at the LO home office.
Cost is $60 for LO members, and $96 for non-members. For more information, see the flyer. Space is limited to 15: register today at the LO seminar page.

Green Roof Boot Camp

A Green Roof Boot Camp is scheduled in Toronto the end of March.
The event is an opportunity to become an Accredited Green Roof
Professional. Location varies by day: Mar. 24, and Mar. 27 at Ted Rogers
School of Management – Ryerson University, 55 Dundas Street West, and
March 25 and Mar. 26 at Oakham House Room A/B, 55 and 63 Gould Street.
Find out more information on the
Boot Camp, or contact training@greenroofs.org

Landscape Industry Certified tests at Canada Blooms

Written tests in all categories of Landscape Industry Certified will
take place at Canada Blooms 2011 on Mar. 17. To register, visit Certification, and email completed registration form to rachel@landscapeontario.com, or fax 905-875-3942. Registration to take the tests closes Mar. 3.

Great Ontario Garden Guide

The Master Gardeners of Ontario, with the help of sponsorship from
Landscape Ontario, have created a brochure on gardening in Ontario. The
Great Ontario Garden Guide is available for the low cost of only $20
per 100 copies. Act now and order some before they are in short
supply. It is expected that this informative brochure will be popular
with your customers. Use it as a sales promotion, goodwill tool, or just
to say, “Thank You.” Contact John Craw at jonbon@bell.net for further details.

Irrigation conference, Mar. 1 – 3

The three-day Ontario Agricultural Irrigation Conference, at Elm Hurst
Inn, Ingersoll, will feature a drip irrigation course, presentations by
irrigation experts and assistance with the Permit to Take Water program,
as well as a trade show. New technologies and the latest research
developments in the field of agricultural irrigation will be the focus
of the conference. To access the poster and registration form, go to Irrigation Conference.

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