Georgian Lakelands this week: Sept. 7, 2011

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

Golf tournament registration filling fast

With registrations setting new record levels for the Chapter golf tournament and limited space, it’s strongly recommended to register now. The last day to register for the Georgian Lakelands Golf Tournament is Sept. 16, by 4 p.m. Enjoy an afternoon of golf at
Horseshoe Resort, Valley Course, 1101 Horseshoe Valley Road, Barrie, and
support the Chapter. Golf Day fees ($130 per golfer) include greens fees
for 18 holes of golf, shared power cart, use of practice facilities
(including range balls), barbecue lunch, and dinner buffet with steaks
and golf tournament prizes. Registration and lunch start at 11:30 a.m.,
with shotgun start at 1 p.m. To register, or for more information, call
Lexi Dearborn at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 317, or lexi@landscapeontario.com.

Are you ready for new
Accessibility Act?

Find out what you need to know about accessible customer service
standards and opportunities for staff training from local providers, at a
free luncheon on Oct. 6, at the Simcoe County Museum. The luncheon
begins at 11:30 a.m. Constance Exley, president of Accessibility
Ontario, will provide information on the Accessibility Standards for
Customer Service Act, which comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Find out
how the new Act can impact and grow your business. For more information,
contact chapter coordinator Lexi Dearborn at lexi@landscapeontario.com.

Are you Landscape Industry Certified?
The Landscape Industry Certified test in July was a great success, with over 40 candidates. On Oct. 24 and 25 we will be testing again, so register now to save your spot. To find out more or register, go to Industry
Certified. Already Certified? Volunteer to judge at the event, because
you need
CEUs to remain Certified! Contact Rachel Cerelli for more
information.

Check out Georgian Lakelands’ Facebook Page.

LO this week

Horticulture
Review online

Read
the latest news of interest to Landscape Ontario members in the September edition of Horticulture
Review. This month features articles on the trial gardens open house, results from two surveys concerning the Ontario pesticide ban, discussion on the importance of the labour issues survey, a re-cap on the highway greening project and all the
regular monthly columns. Click here to read the September issue of Horticulture

Review . Anyone may sign up to receive a free subscription to the
electronic
version of HR.

Snow operations, weather and floor demos focus of fall equipment show
This year’s conference program at the Municipal and Contractor Fall Equipment Show offers many opportunities to help you make your operations more
efficient and cost effective. The equipment show features exciting new products and popular snow removal equipment and technology – held at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex on Sept. 15. Trade show admission is free, and sessions and lunch cost $40 per person – register at www.fallequipmentshow.com.

Deadline to register for Growers’ Tour is this Friday

The deadline to register for the Growers’ Summer Tour is this Fri., Sept. 9. The tour will visit four nursery operations: Dutchmaster, Uxbridge, Ground Covers Unlimited and Kobes. Catch the bus at 6:55 a.m. on Sept. 15 at the LO home office in Milton, or
meet us at Dutchmaster Nurseries, 3735 Sideline 16 North, Brougham. Cost is $50 per
person. To register, or for more information, go to tour, or contact Kathleen
Pugliese at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 309, fax 905-875-3942, or email
kpugliese@landscapeontario.com.

National Tree Day, Sept. 21

Ontario students are back in school, now it’s time to act for National
Tree Day. What better way to get youth interested in a career in
landscape horticulture, than bringing the classroom outside and showing how to plant and care for a tree along with the many environmental
benefits the tree has to offer over its lifespan. Get your Shovel Ready
Toolkit for everything you need for a tree planting ceremony at a school
on CNLA’s website.
Three Ontario school districts have expressed interest in participating in
National Tree Day. They are
York Region Board of Education, Town of Orangeville and Halton District
School Board. Any Landscape Ontario members in those regions interested
in planting a tree at a school on National Tree Day should contact Joe Salemi at the
CNLA office joseph@canadanursery.com, or 1-888-446-3499, ext. 8620.

Webinar to explain Personal
Protective Equipment

Throughout the month of October, the Ministry of Labour will conduct a
blitz on personal protective equipment. On Sept. 20, from 10 to 11:30
a.m., a webinar will be presented about the legislative requirements
regarding personal protective equipment, what MOL inspectors will look
for during a visit, as well as program development and prevention
resources available. To learn more about the webinar, or to register, go
to personal protective equipment.

SIMA bidding workshops POSTPONED

The Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) workshops being offered Sept. 12 in Ottawa and Sept. 14 in Kitchener have been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Special strategy meeting for garden centre owners, Sept. 21
A special meeting is scheduled for Sept. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for
garden centre owners. Sponsored by LO’s Garden Centre Sector Group, the
meeting on challenges and strategies for retailers will take place at the Milton home office. Renowned business
growth specialist Judith Guido will facilitate the session. There are only 30 spaces left at this free meeting.

Email your confirmation to tonydigiovanni@landscapeontario.com as soon as possible, so we can order food.

Vineland open house highlights
innovation, Sept. 22

Vineland
Innovation and Research Centre is holding an open house to show
the latest science and technology innovations for the horticulture
industry. The event will feature Glen Hodgson, Chief economist for
the Conference Board of Canada, Mark Cullen, chair of the Centre for
Horticultural Research and Innovation, and Dr. Jim Brandle, ceo of the
Vineland Centre. Organizers ask that attendees rsvp by Sept. 16, to
Kathryn Goodish at 905-562-0320, or
kathryn.goodish@vinelandresearch.com.

Sheridan hosts farm tour,
Sept. 23

Sheridan Nurseries is hosting a farm tour at its
Georgetown location, 12302 Tenth Line, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The tour
will highlight the expansion of Sheridan’s new varieties program, growing
techniques, pot-in-pot container trees, state of the art water recapture
and retention system, and much more. For more information, contact
b2b@sheridannurseries.com.

Garden centre survey is
important

A few weeks ago Tony DiGiovanni distributed a survey seeking information to
determine average plant losses this year, and what caused them. Since then,
only 28 responses out of 229 garden centres were received. This friendly
reminder is hoping more centres will click on the survey link and
answer a few questions. The result will be useful information from a
benchmarking perspective to see how you are doing with respect to
others.

Oakville hosts Sports Turf
Association’s Field Day, Sept. 22

The 24th Annual Sports Turf Association’s Field Day is set for
Oakville’s Glen Abbey Community Centre, 1415 Third Line. Educational
sessions will include water conservation and irrigation control, weeds
be gone, fertility and fertilizer technologies. The speaker roster
includes Rob Cook, Rain Bird Canada Services; Pam Charbonneau, OMAFRA;
Dr. Eric Lyons, University of Guelph, and Constable Carla Draper, Halton
Regional Police Service. Three of the four sessions have been
accredited by the IPM Council of Canada for Continuing Education
Credits. To find out more go to
Sports turf day.

LO fall seminars available
A list of Landscape Ontario fall seminars is now available. Courses promote Sales Success,
Financial Health, Operational Excellence, Customers for Life, Leadership
and Technical Education, the six pillars of the Prosperity Partnership. Check out this year’s seminars and see how you
can improve your pathto Prosperity.

Smart about Salt training opportunity
Take a one-day explanatory course on Smart about Salt, the innovative winter salt management program. Program covers risk management and record keeping, salt science, rates and calibration, materials and tactics, weather principles, storage and handling, and more. Wed., Sept. 28 at Waterloo Region Op’s Centre, 100 Maple Grove Rd., Cambridge.

Annual jazz party helping cancer centre
For the eighth consecutive year, LO member Pathways to Perennials is
hosting its Charity Art and Jazz Garden Party to benefit the Southlake
Regional Cancer Centre. This year’s event is set for Sept. 29, from 6 to
9 p.m. Tickets are $40 each, or $75 per couple. Click here to locate
Pathways to Perennials. Guests can enjoy 11 acres of gardens along with the musical talents
of The Trilogy Jazz Project. International sculptor, Brett Davis will
showcase his latest pieces during a presentation of his European
inspirations. For tickets or more information, call 905-939-8680, or
email angie@pathwaystoperennials.com.

Living Walls – Special Ticketed Event
Acclaimed
horticulturists
from Pennsylvania’s renowned Longwood Gardens will share their
secrets during the panel discussion Living Walls at Longwood Gardens,
the coffee and cookies conference and networking event. The discussion will take place during Landscape
Ontario’s Expo 2011, on Wed., Oct. 19, at 1 p.m.
Register at www.loexpo.ca.

New Landscape Industry Executive program launched

The George Morris Centre of Guelph, an ag industry think tank, is launching the Landscape Industry Executive Program, a professional business
management program developed specifically for executives, managers, and
owner-operators who want to reach a heightened level of excellence in
their businesses. It is designed for the landscape, nursery and retail
garden centre sectors in Canada. Module 1 will be offered Nov. 1-5 in Niagara Falls; space is limited to the first 20 qualified
registrants. For complete information on dates, cost, program
curriculum, instructor profiles and registration details go to executive program.

Greenbuild International Conference in Toronto
For the first time ever, Greenbuild International Conference and Expo
will hold its annual convention outside the U.S. The Metro
Toronto Convention Centre will house the event Oct. 4-7. The latest innovations in
green building will be showcased. To find
out more about the conference and exhibition go to Greenbuild. To view a slide presentation of green buildings go to Buildings.

Chainsaw training, Nov. 7-8

A two-day seminar on chainsaw safety meets the Ministry of Labour
requirements that all landscapers using chainsaws on the job be trained
on safe operation. Both classroom and outdoor instruction will take
place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days, at Allgreen Tree Service, 155
Union St., Elimira. For more details and to register, go to chainsaw
safety.

LO wage survey
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.

Argos offer discount to LO members
The Toronto Argonauts have created a discount offer for Landscape
Ontario members. Various price levels are available. To see more info on
the program, or to order ticks go to
Argonauts.

Attend Conversations on Design
Landscape architect Chris Clayton
will host four Wednesday evening events entitled Four Conversations on Design. Plan to attend Oct. 5, 12, 19 and 26, at Clayton’s home near the Lawrence subway stop, a five-minute drive from the 401.
The cost to participants is only $10 per evening. The event is suitable
for recent college or university graduates, as well as young garden
designers. Each evening is likely to span about three hours.
For more information, contact cjclayton@sympatico.ca.