Georgian Lakelands this week: Feb. 8, 2012

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

Landscape Ontario Snow Day, Feb. 10
Georgian Lakelands Chapter is proud to host Snow Day 2012. Remember the fun you have when you spend a day skiing or boarding? This winter, discover it all over again with a great day at Craigleith Ski Club in Collingwood. Fresh snow, good friends, and a great day at skiing and boarding. Prices are $95 for adults, $75 for students and $50 for children under 8. Price includes breakfast, lunch, lift ticket, fun race, apres ski snack and prizes. Download registration form here. To purchase tickets online click here For more information, contact Jeff Lee.


Annual MTO meeting, Mar. 13

Join the Georgian Lakelands Chapter at Innisbrook Golf Club, 211
Lockhart Road, Barrie, for the popular MTO meeting, starting at 12:30
p.m. This meeting is extremely popular, attracting over 100 attendees last
year. Space is limited, so register today. The meeting will include a
light lunch, but you must rsvp. This event is free for LO members and
$25 for non-members. For more
information, contact 
Michael LaPorte at michael.paul.laporte@gmail.com.

Great landscape contractors, great businesses

This seminar turns great
landscape contractors into great landscape business owners. It is presented by Landscape Management Network at Battlefield Equipment Rental, 430 Huronia Rd., Barrie,
on Feb. 16 and 17. Get out of
your truck and into the boardroom, for the best two days you’ve ever
spent on your business. Actual landscape contractors from some of
Ontario’s best landscape companies lead this hands-on workshop to help
your company build the systems it needs to create a more predictable,
profitable future. Companies who have previously taken LMN’s Plan for
Profit are welcome back to create a 2012 budget, but note that this
course will cover the same topics as last year’s Plan for Profit
session.
Note: Please see LMN to
prepare for this course.
The seminar runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, and participants will need to bring their laptops. To find out more about
this program, go to seminars.

Supervising the Safety of Workers, Feb. 22

Georgian Lakelands Chapter is offering a great seminar for supervisors
or crew leads at Solty’s Garden Centre, Cookstown, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What is your role and how do you effectively carry it out to ensure the
health and safety of each and every one of your workers? Attend and
learn your legal responsibilities under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act. To review the course outline and register at Supervising the
Safety of Workers.

Seminars offered in Georgian Lakelands
Check out all the upcoming seminars offered within Georgian Lakelands
Chapter, such as Skid-steer Certification Training; Chainsaw Training;
and Standard Aid with Level A CPR.

Check out Georgian Lakelands’ Facebook Page.

LO this week

Landscape Ontario magazine online

The February issue of Landscape Ontario magazine is
now published online. This month, your association magazine covers Congress 2012, including the awards show, trade show, conferences, and more. There are also articles on Canada Blooms, the Ottawa Chapter AGM, urban-tolerant trees, as well as all the regular
monthly columns. Remember, your staff members are invited to sign up for a free subscription here!

In memoriam: John Bakker Sr.
It is with great sorrow that J.C. Bakker and Sons Nursery informs friends and associates in the nursery and landscape industry
of the passing away of Mr. John Bakker Sr. on Tues., Feb. 7. Bakker was a
second-generation owner who loved the nursery industry. This has been
passed on to his two sons (John III and Ken), who still work at the
nursery today. Funeral visitation will be held at Trinity Christian
Reformed Church, 1230 Old Martindale Road, St. Catharines on Fri., Feb.
10, from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Funeral service will be on
Sat., Feb. 11 at 11:00 a.m. at the same location.

Horticulture pre-apprenticeship student job fair, Mar. 1
Landscape Ontario, in partnership with Humber College and MicroSkills,
presents a job fair featuring over 20 pre-apprenticeship horticulture
technician students. The Mar. 1 event will take place from 4 to 7 p.m.
at Landscape Ontario home office, Hemlock Room, 7856 Fifth Line in
Milton. There is room for only 25 employers at each job fair event, so
register now 
to ensure a place at the fair. For more information on the events, go
to job fair.

HR Toolkit for green industry companies now online
Landscape Ontario is offering a new human resources tool for green industry employers, available free at HRtoolkit.
The online resource includes over 100 pages of information, including a
policy and procedures manual, along with recruitment and retention
tools, to help employers hire staff effectively and keep them engaged.
The HR tool kit can be downloaded in its entirety or in sections, for
customization based on your needs.

Lighting Conference early bird pricing ends tomorrow
The Feb. 16 landscape lighting conference features keynote speaker Doug Alderman from Palm Harbour, Fla., in an interactive session ‘better illumination for outdoor living.’ See what’s new and meet with lighting suppliers and learn about the latest techniques and technologies. The conference has moved to Pipers Heath Golf Club on Trafalgar Rd., in Milton. $90 per member until Feb. 9, when pricing goes up to $110.  For more information or to register, visit Lighting Conference.

Building Your Prosperity, Feb. 16
Get started on to the road of success. This program is intended to help
green industry members clarify what they excel at and what components of
their business needs attention and improvement. The seminar will take
place at the LO home office in Milton, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost
to LO members is $115, and non-members is $192. Check out the online
survey to
measure your strengths and weaknesses in the five Prosperity Pillars. To
find more information, or to register go to Building Your Prosperity.

Contractors lecture series returns to TBG, Feb. 22

The annual Landscape Contractor Lecture series, presented by Landscape
Ontario, returns to the Toronto Botanical Garden. Featured speakers are Haig
Seferian and Terry McGlade.
Registration begins at 6 p.m. McGlade will present a retrospective of
memorable projects, while Seferian will present projects from a
landscape architect’s point of view. There is no cost to register for
this event, but an rsvp to Kathleen Pugliese is appreciated,
1-800-265-5656, ext. 209, kpugliese@landscapeontario.com.


Special-price Canada Blooms tickets: Great gift for staff and clients

LO members may purchase special bar-coded Canada Blooms tickets for $12 each; the regular ticket price is $20. Blooms tickets are a thoughtful gift for clients, staff, business associates
and family. The tickets come in packages of 20, and LO members will be
invoiced after the show, only for the tickets that were presented at  the event. Ticket packages are available by downloading an order form, or from Kathleen
Pugliese at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 309, or kpugliese@landscapeontario.com.

Landscape Industry Certified dates announced
Are you Landscape Industry Certified? The 2012 Ontario Certification dates are now available by visiting Landscape Industry Certified.

Winter seminar series

Compact Excavator Safe Operator Training, Feb. 15 This seminar covers the fundamentals of daily maintenance, machine
controls, safe operating practices, operating techniques and legal
considerations for compact excavators found on many job-sites. In
addition to class time, participants will have the opportunity to
operate and demonstrate proficiency on a compact excavator in a
simulated job-site environment. Please note: It is the responsibility of
the operator, even after completing the seminar, to review the specific
device he/she will operate, providing that it is the first time
he/she has operated that specific make or model of excavator. This
review may come in the form of reviewing documentation provided with the
excavator, and/or instruction from a competent person. LUNCH NOT
INCLUDED. For other professional development opportunities, go to seminars for more details.

Enforcement blitz and seminars on MSDs
According to the Ministry of Labour (MOL), musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
are still the number-one cause of lost-time injuries in Ontario. To help
end the problem, MOL is conducting an enforcement blitz on MSDs in
February. The Infrastructure Health and Safety Association is hosting
five half-day seminars across the province to help people take practical
steps to reduce MSDs in their workplaces and prepare for the upcoming
MOL blitz. To learn more about the seminars, or to register for one in
your area, go to MSD.

Stormwater management and erosion control focus of new conference
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the Great Lakes Chapter of
the International Erosion Control Association Conference are co-hosting
the first annual TRIECA Conference on Mar. 27 and 28, at the
International Centre in Mississauga. Organizers anticipate it will be a
great event for networking and educating industry professionals. Any LO members interested in
participating as a sponsor or an exhibitor at the conference can find
more information, or register at TRIECA, or
contact Patricia Lewis, project manager, at 289-268-3903.

Permacon Innovation Tour 2012

Permacon has announced the dates for its Innovation Tour 2012 seminars:
Feb. 28 at the Hamilton Convention Centre, 1 Summer’s Lane, Hamilton,
and Mar. 1 at Le Parc, 8432 Leslie Street, Thornhill. The events include
educational seminars on Landscaping Challenges by Rob Vogel, and Social
Media by Frank Ferragine. The seminars are free of charge and also
include product workshops, lunch, gifts, a mini-trade show and even a
chance at a door prize. For more info go to Innovation Tour 2012.

Garden Centre training, Feb. 18-19

The Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington is offering a mixture of
hands-on practical and classroom theory-based knowledge to give novice
employees the training to provide excellent customer service, while
properly caring for living merchandise. The goal is to increase the
level of knowledge and customer service in your retail garden centre to
maximize your sales and profits. The two-day program, each day from 9:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., is designed for garden centre and nursery employees.
Experienced professional horticulturalists Jim Lounsbery and Rodger
Tschanz instruct the program, covering topics such as plant basics,
nomenclature, annuals and perennials, soils, insects and diseases,
pruning and much more. For more info, or to register, go to Garden
Centre training.

Airblast 101 Workshop Series

Starting Feb. 27, four airblast workshops conducted by Jason Deveau of
OMAFRA will begin at the first of four Ontario locations. Growers are
invited to take part in one of the interactive
classroom workshops that will include hands-on demonstrations and
dialogue with an experienced airblast technician who will provide tips
on airblast sprayer calibration, maintenance and how to adjust your
sprayer to match your specific crops. Space is limited. To register call
Nancy at 416-622-9771. The $20 workshop fee is paid at door. To see
which
workshop is closest to you, go to airblast workshops.

OPA 56th forum available on video
Ontario Parks Association’s 56th Annual Parks Educational Forum was held
on Jan. 9, at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, during Congress 2012, was a
great success. Some of the day was captured on video.

MOL releases blitz data
The Ministry of Labour has released data on its blitz that took place
from Aug. 1 to 31, 2011 of hazards involving all types of access
equipment at Ontario construction sites. Ministry of Labour inspectors
checked on compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
and its regulations. The blitz focused on the appropriate selection of
access equipment and its safe and proper use.

Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition looking for members

The Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition is looking to increase its
membership numbers. The Coalition, of which Landscape Ontario is a
member of the steering committee, is completing a report on the
opportunities and challenges facing green infrastructure in Ontario. The
coalition presently has close to 60 members, all acknowledged on the
website. Becoming a member is extremely easy and requires nothing other
than the support of the Coalition’s vision. Members will receive an
advanced peek at the report, set for public release in March. Click on
Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition link to become a member, and see other LO members already in the group.

Free e-news or Landscape Ontario magazine online for your
employees
New member
applications
Bookmark the new LandscapeTrades.com
Minutes of LO meetings