Upper Canada this week: Oct. 26, 2011

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

Get your employee registered now as an apprentice!
Only a few seats still available for the Level 1 Horticulture Technician
Apprenticeship program that starts Nov. 14 at The University of
Guelph Kemptville Campus. For more information go to www.kemptvillec.uoguelph.ca or contact Claude Smith, coordinator, 613-258-8336, ext. 61358, fax 613-258-8438, or email.

Upper Canada Chapter meeting, Nov. 2

Join the Upper Canada Chapter for the first
general meeting of the season. The meeting will cover two very important
topics. Nancy Lewis of Meta
Pre-Vocational Services, an expert on the new Accessibility Customer
Services Act, will talk about the new law coming into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. The other topic is the
Kingston Home and Garden Show with its new venue this spring. It all begins at 7 p.m. at the Strathcona Paper Centre, Napanee. For more information,
contact Helen Hassard at
hhassard@landscapeontario.com.

LO this week

Please take short survey on landscape executive program
Liz Klose, landscape priorities manager with CNLA, reports the number of registrants for the Landscape Industry Executive Program (LIEP) did not warrant running the program in 2011.The green industry will have one more opportunity to take advantage of this program in 2012, and she is inviting input from members. The survey will take less than two minutes to complete. Your feedback is very important and will provide future direction for the program.
Click on this link
for a brief synopsis on the LIEP program and four short questions.
Please complete the survey before Thurs., Nov. 3, with thanks.
Should the survey results indicate there is interest to proceed with the program, then new dates, commencing in the fall 2012, will be announced soon. Your input is critical to the next steps.

Concrete paver installation course, Dec. 5-6
The Interlocking Concrete Paving Institute (ICPI) is holding its Concrete Paver Installation course at the LO home office in Milton. Participants will learn about job planning, estimating, contracts, correct selection and techniques for base preparation and edge restraints and about specialty products. For more information about the two-day seminar, click here, or call the ICPI at 703-657-6900. Download the registration form here. To take advantage of the LO member price, members are asked to contact Kathy McLean.

Fall seminar series

Your financial health is only a few clicks away! With LO’s new Introduction to Sage Simply Accounting course, you will learn to maximize your organization’s productivity with an overview of Simply Accounting’s features, designed specifically to fit the unique requirements within the landscaping industry. Topics covered will include: how to setup a Company Data file, how to record expenses and pay suppliers, how to invoice customers and receive payments, as well as HST compliance. Learn the basic routines to effectively record your business transactions and produce meaningful financial statements. Learn to use the tools included in this software to quickly see profit/loss, review cost of sales, and track who owes you money. At a glance, see who your best customer is, where you are spending the most money, and potentially what needs to be better managed. Maintaining accurate financial records will give you the information you need to make good business decisions.
Laptops are not required to attend; free trial software may be required upon request.

Sales vs. Marketing: What is the Difference? Nov. 7
Chainsaw Training, Nov. 7 and 8

Building Your Prosperity, Nov. 9
CLD Equipped to Design, Nov. 10
Rain Gardens, Nov. 17
NEW! Intro Sage Simply Accounting, Nov. 21
NEW! WSIB Claims Management Tips, Nov. 22
NEW! Rapport and Relationship Building, Nov. 23
Risk Management & the Law in Construction: Avoiding Problems and Getting Paid, Nov. 25
Dry Stone Walling 101, Nov. 28 and 29
NEW! Envirobond Certified Installer, Nov. 29
NEW! Close the Sale! Dec.5
Building Your Prosperity, Dec. 7
Great Landscape Contractors, Great Landscape Businesses,Dec. 12 and 13

Introduction to synthetic turf and maintenance, Nov. 10
Following up on last year’s highly successful professional development opportunity, this repeat session is offered under the leadership and co-ordination of the Parks and Open Space Alliance, and brings together leading industry speakers on the topic of synthetic turf and also provides practical hands-on turf maintenance opportunities. Visit the website for more information.

Time to join a Safety Group

The 2012 Safety Groups Program helps industry firms develop a Ministry
of Labour compliant safety program for their workplaces. Firms will
select five WSIB safety elements at the start of the year, and then
initiate or improve upon them by attending at least three compulsory
meetings. Working with other members, the initiatives are put in place
by the end of the year. Along with an improved safety record, there are
financial benefits in the form of rebates from WSIB. For more details
and to participate in the 2012 program, go to Safety Groups.

New accessibility standards coming in January

As of Jan. 1, 2012, all employers in Ontario who provide goods and
services must be compliant with Accessibility Standards for Customer
Service issued under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities
Act. Employers will have a legislated obligation accommodate customers
with disabilities. The province has a
website explaining the new rules, while a number of companies are
providing seminars on the issue. Go to seminars to see dates and prices.

Increase traffic to your website, Nov. 17
A free seminar for landscapers, garden care or garden supply companies will discuss how to capture more qualified sales leads through an enhanced website. Participants learn how to dominate page one of Google, Bing and Yahoo! and how to turn website visitors into qualified leads. They will take home a social media toolkit and access to a simple step by step process to set up free brand reputation monitoring. The seminar will be held from 10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at WSI Halton, 810 Nippising Rd., Suite 201, Milton. Click here for more information, or to register. The first 10 companies to register before Nov. 4 receive a free Webscan.

TBG hosts urban trees event

Two days of inspiring speakers, plus an optional one-day tour of parts
of Toronto’s urban forest are highlights in a program entitled,
Spreading Roots: Working Together to Protect our Urban Trees. In
parrtnership, with Ontario Urban Forest Council, Toronto Botanical
Gardens will host the event on Nov. 3 and 4. To find more information on
the event, or to register go to Spreading Roots.

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 tickets, go to
Argonauts.

Students asked to create landscape design from tires

Ontario Tire Stewardship registrations for the 2011 OTS
Student Design Challenge have been extended to Oct. 31. The event is a chance to dream
up creative uses for recycled tire products to meet real world design
challenges that could earn a scholarship and chance to implement a
winning landscape design at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works. Deadline
for project submission is Nov. 21. It is open to students of landscape
architecture and related disciplines currently attending a
post-secondary institution in Ontario. Visit OTS Student Design Challenge to learn more.