1-800-378-3198

Author: Kyla Hardon

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Internship and youth job creation programs for your business
The Government of Canada is investing an additional $14M to support green youth internships through its Science Horizons Youth Internship Program. Under this program, employers can receive up to $15k in wage subsidies to hire an intern. But this program is only one of more than 125 funds that can provide your business with financial support to hire an intern. More >

Do you have your copy yet?

Why is it so important for industry and government to use the Canadian Landscape Standard?
  • The Canadian Landscape Standard is a single authoritative resource that is applicable to all regions in Canada.
  • The Canadian Landscape Standard documents acceptable practices for landscape goods and services and applies to the areas of administration, planning, design and review.
  • These Standards set guidelines and makes recommendations for all major aspects of the landscape industry.
  • The Canadian Landscape Standard streamlines the landscape specification writing process by referencing one nationally recognized industry standard.
  • Referencing the Canadian Landscape Standard in project specifications can result in better qualified bids.
  • The Canadian Landscape Standard is a centralized and comprehensive mechanism from which to effect public procurement policy, legislation, by-laws and regulations.
  • The newly revised Canadian Nursery Stock Standard Ninth Edition 2017 is now included as Appendix G of the Canadian Landscape Standard.
The Canadian Landscape Standard references product and services across our landscape horticulture value chain. It is a must-have industry resource, playing a key industry role in climate change adaptation and resiliency by setting the standards for well designed, built and maintained landscapes and green infrastructure. Order your copy >

The 2017 GISC is only a couple months away…

The Green Industry Show and Conference (GISC) is back in Calgary for 2017! Our amazing team have put together a conference programme aimed to inform and inspire everyone from designers to arborists, owners to students, growers to contractors. Our conference sessions are timely and responsive to industry issue – with a format that focuses on variety and 32 one-hour sessions over the two days.                                 

Conference Highlights
This year we have three full-day pre-show workshops designed to fill the need of more in-depth technical level professional development: one for greenhouse growers, one for landscape designers and one for those interested in winter container design.

Conference session highlights include landscape pest show and tell sessions with Dr. Ken Fry and landscape design sessions with Joe Salemi. Bob Reeves is speaking on the power of soil, Barbara Crowhurst has two sessions for garden centre professionals which include driving traffic to stores and increasing retail sales, as well as many more informative and engaging sessions on growing your business, managing work-life balance, improving performance and the latest and greatest in horticultural and business technologies. Everyone will find something to stoke their fire and those looking for continuing education credits will also find sessions to fulfill those needs.

Register before October 26 and save on your conference registration fees. Visit www.greenindustryshow.com to register!

Tradeshow Schedule
Landscape Alberta, AGGA, AALA, ISA and ARPA members who pre-register, receive free admission into the tradeshow (onsite tradeshow registration for everyone is $20.00) and preferred pricing on conference registration. In addition to the educational opportunities, all conference attendees have access to the Green Industry Show. With over 240 booths, it is the largest green industry show in Western Canada and is an annual must-see event.

Thursday, November 16 – The trade show doors open at 10:30 am and close at 4:30 pm. Join us in the lobby outside of trade show hall C from 4:30 – 5:30 pm for the Eagle Lake Landscape Supply Happy Hour – snacks and a cash bar. Food, drinks and great company!

Friday, November 17 – The trade show doors open at 10:30 am and close at 3:30 pm

Other Events
The Landscape Alberta Nursery Producers Annual Live & Silent Auction will take place Wednesday, November 15 at the Sheraton Suites Eau Claire (255 Barclay Parade SW, Calgary). Join in the fun at this year’s auction – hot hors d’ouevres and cash bar. Proceeds go toward horticultural research programs and services. Thank you to our refreshment sponsor, Nektar. Doors open at 6:00 pm.

On November 16, members and friends of the AGGA are invited to the AGGA Garden Party. Catch up with colleagues at this relaxed social event and celebrate the recipients of their annual industry awards. Doors open at 5:30 pm. The cost is $15.00 per person. Register at www.greenindustryshow.com.

Enter to Win a Dashcam with the Trade Show Passport
Pick up a trade show passport, visit all participating exhibitors and enter the draw. Passports are available at the trade show registration desk or at Landscape Alberta booth 100.

Let’s Be Social
Do you Tweet, Facebook or Instagram? Use the hashtag #2017gisc when sharing your pictures and social media updates. Follow @landscapeab on Twitter and @landscapealberta on Facebook and Instagram to stay in the know about what is happening at the Green Industry Show and Conference.

Contact
If you have any questions about the 2017 GISC, please contact the Landscape Alberta office at 1-800-378-3198, then press 0. All event information is also available at www.greenindustryshow.com.

Upcoming changes to the Business Risk Management suite of programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership

Changes to BRM programs will come into effect for the 2018 program year. The existing program rules remain in effect for the 2016 and 2017 program years.

AgriStability and Reference Margin Limits

  • Under AgriStability the Reference Margin Limit (RML) will be capped to ensure a more equitable level of support for all producers
  • The change to the RML will ensure producers from all sectors will have improved access to support under the program, regardless of their cost-structure.
  • It will guarantee all producers at least 70% of their Reference Margin.

AgriStability and Late participation

  • A late participation mechanism has been added that provincial and territorial governments can trigger to allow producers to enter the program late in situations where there is a significant income decline and a gap in participation.
  • The mechanism will only be triggered in response to significant events and benefits will be reduced by 20% for producers who enroll late, to encourage regular annual enrollment by producers.

Reductions to AgriInvest

  • Beginning in the 2018 program year, the maximum Allowable Net Sales (ANS) eligible under AgriInvest will be reduced to $1 million, down from $1.5 million.
  • The annual government matching contributions will be limited to $10,000 per AgriInvest account, down from $15,000.
  • Currently there is approximately $2.2 billion in AgriInvest account balances, which provides producers with flexibility and quick access to funds to help manage their risks.

PMRA releases glyphosate reevaluation decision

Peter Isaacson, CNLA’s IPM and Minor Use Coordinator has provided the following summary of PMRA’s re-examination of glyphosate, based on information provided by the Agency via a recent stakeholder conference call. A summary document is also available for download from the PMRA website.

  • Glyphosate is not genotoxic and is unlikely to pose a human cancer risk.
  • Dietary (food and drinking water) exposure associated with the use of glyphosate is not expected to pose a risk of concern to human health.
  • Occupational and residential risks associated with the use of glyphosate are not of concern, provided that updated label instructions are followed.
  • The environmental assessment concluded that spray buffer zones are necessary to mitigate potential risks to non-target species (for example, vegetation near treated areas, aquatic invertebrates and fish) from spray drift.
  • When used according to revised label directions, glyphosate products are not expected to pose risks of concern to the environment.
  • All registered glyphosate uses have value for weed control in agriculture and non- agricultural land management.

PMRA is granting continued registration of products containing glyphosate with requirements of additional label updates to further protect human health and the environment.  To comply with this decision, the required label changes must be implemented on all product labels sold by registrants no later than 24 months after the publication date of this document.

News from the grand opening of the City of Calgary’s new compost facility

Hello Composters and all those involved in the organics recycling industry,
As you may know, The City of Calgary has just opened their brand new compost facility.  We’ve been provided some pictures from Day 1 of its opening as well as a number of articles about the grand opening, which you’ll find below.  Congratulations to the City of Calgary!
Don’t forget that a tour of this facility will be one of the main highlights of our national conference this September.  We hope to see all of you there September 18th to 20th!  Please visit http://www.compost.org/English/attend_events.htm for more details.  Register now!
One of many news stories about the new composting facility in Calgary.
A look inside the city’s massive $143M Shepard composting facility 
Calgary Herald
By: Shawn Logan
Date: July 18, 2017
It comes in as a sundry collection of leaves, leftover food and even pet waste, and after about 60 days it is transformed into nutrient-rich and in-demand compost.
After nearly two years of construction, the city’s new $143-million Shepard composting facility will begin accepting its first loads of organic waste from green bins Tuesday.
The massive facility in southeast Calgary, about the size of eight football fields, is the largest of its kind in Canada.
Philippa Wagner, with the city’s waste and recycling services, said it has been a long road to citywide green cart collection, but by October, all corners of the city will be part of the new recycling regime.
“The pilot that we’ve operated for the last five years has shown us that there’s great support for this program – 89 per cent support from those residents, and we’ve been able to reduce the waste to landfill by about half,” she said, noting the lifespan of the city’s landfills should be extended by as much as three decades through separate organic waste collection.
“We are now ready to launch the program across the rest of Calgary.”
The city will begin collecting green cart waste from homes in southwest Calgary on Tuesday. By the middle of next month, the program will extend to northwest Calgary, with the northeast and southeast coming on stream in September and October, respectively.
The facility, staffed by 30 employees and operated under contract by Aim Environmental, is expected to process some 85 million kilograms of food and yard waste every year, enough to fill the ice surface of the Scotiabank Saddledome to a height of 20 metres.
In addition to the capital outlay, the green cart program and the composting facility are expected to cost the city about $37 million per year to operate, with about half of that allocated to collection and about a third for plant operations.
While city council is giving taxpayers a break on the bill for its first year of operation, every single-family household will have to shell out $6.50 per month for the service come 2018.
Wagner said the city expects the vast majority of Calgarians will buy in, but the city has tweaked its bylaws to further aid in compliance.
“We’ll be working with residents to encourage them to use the program,” she said, noting those who refuse to comply may see the city ultimately stop collecting garbage from black carts for those households or even level fines.
The state-of-the-art facility also uses acid baths and bio-filters to treat any air released from the facility, a process officials claim will eliminate any odours from travelling into nearby residential communities.
After the compost has undergone the two-month treatment process from raw waste to compost, the city will then sell the by-product and use the revenue to defray the costs of the program to taxpayers.
Starting next year, five per cent of the finished compost will be made available for free to community gardens and to the public during select giveaway days.
Wagner said multi-family homes will also be required to have their own food and yard waste programs in place by November.

Summer Growers Tour in Alberta

The Landscape Alberta Nursery Producers summer tour is being held in Alberta this year in conjunction with the CNLA meetings being held at Olds College.  On August 15, the tour will depart from the Pomeroy Inn at Olds College and head south towards a multi-sector tour of Calgary area landscape and nursery focused stops.  The tour includes stops at Blue Grass Nursery and Garden Centre, a new park development along the Elbow River by Alpha Better Landscaping, a tour at Foothills Nursery and finally a barbecue dinner at the Calgary Yacht Club.

For more information and to register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/2017-growers-tour-tickets-35767385212

Changes to the Canada-Alberta Job Grant – more incentives to train employees

There are now more ways for Alberta businesses and workers to benefit from the Canada-Alberta Job Grant (CAJG) training subsidy.

1. As always, get up to two-thirds of the cost of training covered for eligible current employees, up to $10,000 per trainee.
2. Up to 100% of training costs reimbursed when hiring and training eligible unemployed Albertans, up to $15,000 per trainee.
3. Sole proprietors can now apply to CAJG to train their employees.
4. Travel assistance will allow more businesses outside Edmonton and Calgary, to train their employees.

The Canada-Alberta Job Grant can help provide your workers with the training they need to support and advance your business, whether they are new to the job or moving up in the organization. Check the applicant guidelines for eligibility criteria and apply for CAJG funding today.

Learn more about the changes to the Canada-Alberta Job Grant at an upcoming webinar. Get answers to your questions during a live Q & A session. Register for the webinar here.

Thank you to our donors and volunteers!

On July 7 and 8, 2017, Landscape Alberta and a group of local landscape companies worked to build a new park in Chestermere, AB, converting the skateboard park into a premiere park for the community to enjoy. The vision was to develop a park which would foster community engagement and be a landscaping showcase for the City.

The idea coincided with the establishment of the Reidbuilt Center for Community Leadership, which is intended to support local non-profit organizations. Recently Chestermere City Council and staff have agreed to support this project and re-allocated funding for much-needed irrigation and a more robust landscaping plan was developed. The park contains 81 trees, 415 potted plants, 354 cu yds of mulch and 40,000 sq ft of sod.

Thank you to the following companies for their generous in-kind contribution of time, talent and resources.

Alpha Better Landscaping Inc.
Foothills Nurseries Ltd.
ULS Maintenance & Landscaping Inc.
Alta West Tree Movers
Brazel Construction Ltd
Burnco Landscape Centres Ltd.
Eagle Lake Nurseries Ltd.
Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply
Foothills Landscaping (2000) Ltd.
Genuine Earthworks
Heatherglen Golf Course
Homescapes Complete Landscape Construction
Kiwi Irrigation Ltd.
Manderley Turf Products Inc.
Pollyco Group
Saunders Construction Ltd
The Grounds Guys
The Professional Gardener Co. Ltd.
Top Spray
Wheatland Trees Ltd.
Wilco Contractors SW