It may be the best deal going for horticultural education and professional development. If you’ve never attended a Winter Workshop at Landscape Ontario (LO), you don’t know what you’re missing. LO’s commitment to education spawned the Winter Workshop series seven years ago, and today, the program is more popular than ever.
Kathy McLean, Seminar Administrator, Membership Services, says this year’s set of seminars was very well received. On the whole, the feedback was very positive, but recommendations from participants will weigh heavily in the planning of next year’s line up.
The response is not surprising, says Denis Flanagan, Membership Services Manager. “We took the feedback sheets from last year and combed through every comment and suggestion. We decided to make changes based on that communication.”
In preparation for the workshops, improvements were made to the classrooms at LO’s facility in Milton. Over the summer, the rooms were freshened up with a few coats of paint. New tables, chairs and presentation equipment were also brought in.
The workshops are a bargain. The average member price for a one-day workshop is $60 and includes lunch. (Even the lunches were spruced up this year, with a little variety infused into the menu.)
Official numbers aren’t in yet, but Kathy figures that attendance was up almost 20 per cent over last year. Part of that may be attributed to the addition of on-line registration. This convenient new service was well utilized and proved to be very popular with many participants.
Logistics are important, but it’s the guts of a workshop that guarantees success. One of the stellar performers, in terms of attendance, was “Integrated Pest Management – The New Approach” with Ken Pavely and Pam Charbonneau. More than 70 people took part in this introduction to the principles of Integrated Pest Management. The weight of the IPM issue will warrant an expanded seminar for next year.
Also popular this year was Tree & Shrub Pruning with Chris Deathe, Davey Tree Expert Co. A field trip to RBG was added as a practical component to the course, which brought students out in droves. With over 70 in attendance, the course got rave reviews.
The response to this winter’s computer courses was disappointing – many were cancelled due to poor numbers. While brushing up on software over the winter may not be high on the landscaper’s list of priorities, the facility and the opportunity are right here at LO. We’ll keep trying.
Congratulations to Kathy McLean for running the most successful series of workshops to date, and to Pat Hillmer, Education Coordinator for recruiting excellent instructors.
Watch for more great things next year!
