Waterloo this week: Nov. 2, 2011

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

Tree Hunt finds a winner

Waterloo Chapter announced the winners of the 2011 Champion Tree Hunt on
Oct. 29, at the Huron Natural Area on Trillium Drive in Kitchener. An
Eastern Cottonwood tree, entered by Judy Weber, was the winner. The tree
is located several kilometres west of Bamberg. There were 333 entries
in the contest. To see all the entries and photos of both the winning
tree and closing ceremony, visit Tree Hunt.

Fanshawe College hosts written certification evaluation
There
will be a written evaluation opportunity for all Landscape Industry
Certified designations at Fanshawe College on Nov. 5. Technicians, this
was created to complement your out-of-town practical exams that took place in July, or last week in Milton. Click here for more information or to register, or contact Rachel Cerellli.

Chainsaw seminar in Elmira
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 on Nov. 7 and 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., both days, at Allgreen Tree Service, 155
Union St., Elmira. For more details and to register, go to chainsaw.

Fall Freeze-up, Nov. 18
Come out and enjoy a season-ending event at the 32nd Annual Waterloo
Chapter’s Fall Freeze-up dinner and dance, at the Viennese Ballroom,
Waterloo Inn Conference Hotel, 475 King Street North, Waterloo.
Cocktails start at 6 p.m., with buffet dinner at 7:15. The event will
include D.J., door prizes and large draw prizes. Tickets cost $130 per
couple. Order tickets early to be entered into a draw to win a free
night at the Waterloo Inn. Draw to be held at the November general meeting. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets online.

LO this week

Congress 2012: Conference and show registration now open!

An exciting educational lineup has been announced at one of North America’s largest
horticultural, lawn and garden trade shows and conferences. See the speakers and sector events in the new 40-page conference guide at Congress 2012. Now in its 39th year, Landscape Ontario’s premier show
attracts close to 12,000 buyers.
To register for the conference or show go to register.

Landscape Ontario magazine; new name for an old friend

Horticulture Review has become Landscape
Ontario magazine. The November issue of your association magazine features the
exciting London Chapter highway project, photos and articles on Expo 2011, a profile on a member in the green roof business and much more, as well as all the
regular monthly columns. Remember, free subscriptions to
the electronic version of Landscape Ontario are available by request, just write skbarrett@landscapeontario.com.

Last day to 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.

Video
asks, ‘Why visit Expo?’

Videographer Mark Disero compiled a short video on the great reasons to
take part in Landscape Ontario’s Expo. The annual event saw some real
positive response come from visitors and exhibitors this year. To see
the video, go to Expo.

Integrated Water Management for Buildings
Developed jointly by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and American Society
of Irrigation Consultants, the Integrated Water Management for
Buildings and Sites course from provides technical and economic
information on the design and performance, based on the “Net Zero Water”
concept. This approach promises to significantly reduce the consumption
of potable water in buildings. Tuition is $199, plus HST, and includes a
100-page course manual. For more information, and to register, go to
Integrated Water Management.

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

Need some design motivation or empowerment? The CLD
Equipped to Design seminar is geared for
all landscape designers — spend a day and be filled with design
information. Discussion topics include design fee structures, design
contracts, design inspiration, design principles, CLD preparation and
drawing components, including Dynascape and Sketchup. Note: Laptops not
needed. This seminar is offered in other Chapters; see
seminars for more details

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

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.

Irrigation
survey on until Nov. 11

The Irrigation Association is asking members to take part in a survey
seeking input on environmental issues and emerging best practices for
landscape management. Survey findings will help to shape educational
resources to help guide green industry professionals to meet
sustainability needs of urban landscapes. The survey is open until Nov.
11. To complete the online survey, go to environmental issues.

Time to join a Safety Group

The 2012 WSIB/Landscape Ontario 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.

Health
and safety show in Burlington

Partners in Prevention 2011 Health and Safety Conference and Trade Show
is taking place on Nov. 9, at Holiday Inn, Burlington. For more details,
or to register for the conference, go to
Partners in Prevention.

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.