Durham this week: June 29, 2011

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

Are you Landscape Industry Certified?

On
July 21 and 22, Landscape Ontario home office (Milton) will be
transformed into a written and practical test site for the National
Certification Test – Landscape Industry Certified, Manager, Designer,
Technician and Interior designations. To find out more, or register, go to Industry
Certified. Already Certified? Volunteer to judge at the event, because
you need
CEU’s to remain Certified! Contact Rachel Cerelli for more
information at rachelc@landscapeontario.com.

Annual barbecue, Aug. 25
The
Durham Chapter has started planning its annual summer barbecue. This
year’s event will take place at T. Arnts Loam Supply, from 3-7 p.m. The
barbecue will feature a supplier showcase, dinner provided by the
Chapter, and much more. If you are a supplier looking to participate,
contact Helen Hassard at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 354, or helen@landscapeontario.com for more information.

LO this week

LO wage survey needs your input
How do your pay rates compare to other Ontario green industry companies? Take LO’s wage survey to enter your pay rates, and see the 2011 averages for a range of horticultural specialties. Information may
be used for benchmarking, and also
helps in promoting the industry as a career choice. The surveys are
completely confidential; only aggregate numbers are reported. Click here to take part in the survey, and view the results here.

Donate your product for auction

Your donations are needed for the Industry Auction
being held Thurs., July 14. We are happy to receive skids of plant
material, garden giftware, growing supplies and hardgoods — single
items, too. Our silent auction table will take donations of gift cards,
bottles of wine, artwork — whatever we can auction to raise funds for
industry research and scholarships. All industry members are welcome to
attend the Industry Auction to bid on top quality plant material at below
wholesale prices. There is no fee to attend, and lunch is provided. The
event will take place at Blue Sky Nursery in Beamsville. You may access
the donation form online.

Garden centres collecting plastics until July 4

Twenty-six participating garden centres across Ontario are working with
gardeners and landscape contractors to collect and recycle plastic plant
pots, cell packs and trays during the 2011 National Plastic Recycling
Event, June 25 to July 4. Contractors may consult the list at
www.horttrades.com/plastic-recyclers to find out which garden centres
will accept their used plastics pots/trays.

LO Member Handbook: LAST CALL FOR ADVERTISING SPACE

Use the LO Member Handbook to promote your product to a prime buying
audience. This handy spiral-bound reference
prints on 60 lb. matte paper with heavy covers, and mails to all members
in August. Info and rates here, or call Steve Moyer today,
1-800-265-5656, ext. 316, or 905-299-5366, stevemoyer@landscapeontario.com.

Green for Life Community Award: Enter your project

If you were part of a project to green your community, then showcase
your efforts in the Landscape Ontario Green for Life Community Award.
The winner of the award will be announced at Expo 2011 in conjunction
with the Communities in Blooms – Ontario ceremony on Thurs., Oct. 20.
For more information, or to register go
Green for Life Award.

European contact opportunity
Johan Van Herreweghe, of JVH Nurseries in Belgium, is visiting Canadian customers and looking to make new contacts. Nurseries
interested in making a new European connection can get in touch with Van Herreweghe now at JVH@jvh-nurseries.com, or in August, at 514-826-3272.

Support Foundation and win cash
Try your
luck in the Ontario Horticultural Trades 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 the 2011 Industry Auction at Blue Sky Nursery in Niagara wine country on July
14. You may donate in increments of $20 to get raffle tickets. All proceeds to go to scholarships and research projects. Contact Kathleen Pugliese to purchase tickets.

Advanced Green Roof Maintenance seminar, July 26
Created
to assist designers, contractorsand facility managers with an important, but
often overlooked aspect of green roofs: maintenance. The seminar examines
design phase considerations; best practices for planning, budgeting, and
implementing maintenance procedures; and approaches for rehabilitating green
roofs that have been subject to maintenance neglect. The seminar will take
place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LO home office in Milton. Participants will
receive a 100-page manual with detailed case studies. Lunch is not included. Price
for LO members is $249, and for non-members it is $299. To find out more about
the seminar go to green roofs.

Revised heat stress bulletin released by
MOL
The Ministry of Labour has a revised heat stress guideline to assist employers,
workers and others in understanding the dangers, and to develop and implement
policies to prevent heat stress-related illness in the workplace. When hot,
humid conditions and physical activity overcome the body’s natural cooling
system, you may suffer cramps and fainting, or even serious heat exhaustion and
heat stroke. The bulletin is for all employees to initiate the issue as a topic
of discussion for the next safety tailgate. A chart is available on the heat stress
web page.

Seminar explains urns and marketing, July 27
A comprehensive program for retail garden centres, designers and interior landscapers
that will demonstrate how to decipher the customer’s needs, track trends and
design magnificent urns that will keep you busy for the season. Instructors
will explore planting combinations, maintenance, decor and the strategy of
sequential sales to develop a recipe for success. Participants will learn
proper pruning practices, develop marketing programs and learn to up sell with
every design. The seminar will take place at the LO home office in Milton, from
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $115 for members, and $192 for non-members. For
more information, or to register, go to LO seminars.

Educational short course in Vineland, July 10

Landscape Ontario is sponsoring a short course on practical applications
in the garden by using horticultural science and innovation. The short
course will take place at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, with
assistance from the Master Gardeners of Ontario. A starting time has not
been determined. To see a brochure on the event, go to Short Course.

New Interior Technician Training Manual

A new manual for interior technicians has been written and will be a
recommended study guide for the Landscape Industry Certified Interior
Technician (formerly CLT-I) exam. In order to secure the additional
funding to complete production of this new manual, PLANET’s Interior
Specialty Group and Landscape Ontario are seeking a show of support for
this definitive training manual for the Interior Plantscape industry. We
need your help. Please indicate your support for the production of a
new training manual for interior technicians by signing this
letter.

Translation tool

A new enhancement tool has been added to the Health and Safety Ontario
website. A translation of everything on the website in the language of
choice is now available. The translation tool may be found on the right
side of the web page. Simply go to the resources area, find the
information you want and then change to the language needed. The web
page address is www.healthandsafetyontario.ca.