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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA), has released the sector-specific biosecurity guides for nursery producers. The guide supports the National Voluntary Farm-Level Biosecurity Standard for the Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Sectors that was released in March 2016.

The Standard was developed by the Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Biosecurity Advisory Committee (GNFBAC), which includes members from sector associations, producers, academia, and federal and provincial specialists. After the 2016 release of the Standard, the members of the GNFBAC formed three separate sub-committees to each develop a voluntary, sector-specific biosecurity guide to assist producers in achieving the target outcomes described in the Standard.

The nursery sector Biosecurity Guide, in combination with the Standard, will assist producers by:

• Raising awareness of biosecurity risks and the measures that can help reduce the risk of pest introduction and spread.

• Providing a nationally consistent approach to develop and implement a biosecurity plan in the nursery sector.

The Standard and nursery sector Biosecurity Guides are voluntary and can be adopted in their entirety or can supplement existing on-farm biosecurity programs. Funding to develop the Standard and producer biosecurity guides was provided under the Growing Forward 2 Agricultural Policy Framework.

CNLA extends their sincere thanks to the Biosecurity Subcommittee for sharing their time and expertise on behalf of the nursery sector in the development of the Standard and Producer Guide: Anita Heuver, Jeanine West, Guillaume Gregoire, Garth Nickerson, Len Smit, Dave Woodske and Rita Weerdenburg.

The Standard and Producer Guide are available as on-line or PDF documents.

Nursery Sector Biosecurity Guide (PDF)
Nursery Sector Biosecurity Guide (online)
Greenhouse Nursery Floriculture Biosecurity Standard (PDF)
Greenhouse Nursery Floriculture Biosecurity Standard (online)

One of the most valuable resources that Landscape Alberta offers its members is the Landscape Awards program. It celebrates the remarkable work being done in the design, construction and maintenance of Alberta landscapes, and showcases projects that earn the respect and admiration of peers and clients alike. Each entry is evaluated independently by a panel of industry judges using set criteria – marks are earned for creativity, construction skills and horticultural practices. Projects that score very highly in our Alberta program are elevated to compete in the National Awards of Landscape Excellence (Canadian Nursery Landscape Association).

The early bird deadline for the 2017 Landscape Awards is October 20, 2017.

Click here to download the awards package!

Interested in becoming a Landscape Awards Sponsor? Click here.

Milton, Ont. (April 18, 2017) — While winter is barely behind us, Landscape Ontario’s Snow and Ice Sector Group andLandscape Trades magazine announced today that it will hold its Snowposium on Sept. 28, 2017. This single-day event will feature a trade show, outdoor demonstrations, speakers, educational sessions, and networking opportunities for professionals responsible to keep our roads, sidewalks and parking lots safe during the winter months.

“Given the business climate and challenges facing our industry, continuing education is increasingly important,” said Jamie Perras, Snow and Ice Sector Group Chair. “Landscape Ontario is striving towards another great event full of up-to-date information for industry professionals. We are looking forward to presenting some new programming and ideas this September, and we invite anyone involved in the industry to come out to the tradeshow.”

New for 2017 is a change in the paid sessions format; there will now be two streams of education sessions, with breaks for networking with peers and suppliers. The event will feature an outdoor trade show, open to all snow and ice management professionals regardless of whether they are registered for the paid conference sessions. Attendees may visit with experts at numerous exhibits to see new products for this upcoming winter, hear product presentations and discuss practical tactics for operational efficiency in various areas of snow and ice management.

The 2017 Snowposium will be held at the Landscape Ontario Milton office, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and will include:

• A single-day trade show featuring the latest snow and ice equipment, technology and services from over 25 exhibitors.
• Educational sessions (paid registration) with topics covering industry trends, contract language, slip-and-fall insurance, salt and liquids and more.
• Conference registrants will receive a complimentary lunch.
• Lunch tickets available for sale to all pre-registered professionals.
• Face-to-face opportunities with leading-edge vendors at the trade show.
• Outdoor demos for conference registrants.

With conference programming focused on the real-world business issues crucial to running a successful snow and ice management operation — managing risk, product innovations, insurance, cost control, slip-and-fall claims and a focused tradeshow showcasing the new equipment and technology — the 2017 Snowposium is anticipated to draw an audience of industry leaders including private, commercial and municipal snow and ice professionals, property managers, equipment and operations managers, key personnel, industry suppliers and more.

Proceeds from the event will go toward research on salt usage to ensure snow and ice management activities and equipment are up-to-date, finding the ideal balance between public safety and protection of our natural resources. The Landscape Ontario Snow and Ice Sector Group advises nine provincial chapters on the latest information and technology available to operate a safe and successful snow and ice management operations.

Registration and a schedule of events will be available at Snowposium.ca.
For more information contact Amy Buchanan, Amy@LandscapeOntario.com, (800) 265-5656 ext. 329.
For exhibit space contact Darryl Bond, Darryl@LandscapeOntario.com, (800) 265-5656 ext. 366.

Effective April 17, the Landscape Alberta office will have a new home. Please update your records accordingly.

Alberta has a very comprehensive and complex underground infrastructure that provides essential goods and services to all Albertans. Each year, there are numerous instances where the integrity of this infrastructure is jeopardized by improperly conducted ground disturbances. Failure to Click, Tap or Call Before You Dig to have buried facilities identified and their locations marked prior to disturbing the ground, is the most frequent cause of buried facility damage.

 All ground disturbers, including contractors, homeowners and land owners, can save time and money and keep themselves and our province safe and connected by following ground disturbance and buried facility damage prevention Best Practices. These include contacting Alberta One-Call in advance of any ground disturbance project, waiting for the buried facility locates to be done, respecting the locate marks, exposing any conflicting buried facilities before using mechanical excavation equipment, and digging with care.

As April is the traditional start-up of the annual digging season, the Alberta Damage Prevention Council proclaims April as SAFE DIGGING MONTH and encourages all ground disturbers to always Click, Tap or Call Before You Dig. www.albertaonecall.com or download the mobile app or call 1-800-242-3447.

CNLA’s Garden Centre of the Year Award application package is now available. The deadline has been extended to April 30, which gives you plenty of time to enter. Winners will be sent to the National Awards of Landscape Excellence gala ceremony in Olds, Alberta this August.

Download the package at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B5esyt9R11BVakI4RDlrQlpqd2M

CNLA has contracted Equilibrium Engineering Inc., an Engineering Firm based out of Nova Scotia, to conduct a Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) for our industry. The end result of this project will be a document for Engineers and Architects to use to put a value to products (i.e. trees, shrubs, soil), which already exists for grey Infrastructure (i.e. concrete surfaces), but this information is needed for green infrastructure to help make choices in construction and planning.

The first pilot project will examine water, waste water and retention to help industry sell the benefits of a variety of onsite storm water management methods. A collection and review will be done on the typical cost of installing and maintaining the following items:

• Living green infrastructure for medians, boulevards and related onsite capture,
• Storm water ponds,
• Primary water treatment using wetland technologies,
• Normal irrigation costs, and
• Grey water infrastructure

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association are proud to announce that the newly revised, ninth edition of the Canadian Nursery Stock Standard will, from this point on, be included within the Canadian Landscape Standard. In addition, we are pleased to offer revised editions of the Canadian Landscape Standard to anyone who has purchased the document since its release in March 2016 (to be mailed out the week of April 3, 2017).

MosaiCanada 150/Gatineau 2017 in production thanks to gardeners from across Canada

MosaiCanada 150/Gatineau 2017, a Canada 150 project funded by Canadian Heritage, the Government of Quebec and the Ville de Gatineau, will be held from July 1^st to October 15, 2017 in Jacques Cartier Park, a National Capital Commission park, partner of the project.

The project, under the leadership of Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montreal, consists of creating mosaïculture artworks as a major attraction/event to celebrate Canada’s 150th Anniversary.

The mosaïculture structures will celebrate Canadian Confederation, the Founding Peoples, the First Nations and our Canadian Heritage

Wayne McCutcheon, volunteer gardener from St. Albert in preparing the Wild Rose that will represent Alberta at the Exhibit in Gatineau and will be displayed in St. Albert in 2018

Gardeners from across Canada are at work in greenhouses of Ferme d’Auteuil located at 3185 Avenue des Perron, Laval Québec, the flowers in the mosaïculture artwork representing their respective province or territory.

Mosaïculture is a most spectacular horticultural technique that combines the following different art forms:

• sculpture for the structure,
• paint for the palette of colours, and
• horticulture as the means of creating living and changing artworks with plants.

Mosaïculture structures representing the provinces and territories of Canada: these mosaïculture artworks have been designed in consultation with each province and territory.

After the exhibition, the structures will return in their province or territory to be displayed in 2018.

·        Yukon: Prospector – City of Whitehorse

·        Northwest Territories: Muskoxes – City of Yellowknife

·        Nunavut: Drum Dancer – Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association

·        British Columbia: Chief of the Undersea World (Bill Reid’s Killer Whale) – City of Coquitlam

·        Alberta: Wild Rose – City of St. Albert

·        Saskatchewan: Mosaïculture Artwork in development

·        Manitoba: Polar Bear – Assiniboine Park Conservancy

·        Ontario: Niagara Gateway – Niagara Parks Commission

·        Québec: Mosaïculture Artwork in development

·        New Brunswick: Horse in field – New-Brunswick Botanical Garden

·        Nova Scotia: Fisherman and dory – Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens

·        Prince Edward Island: Red Fox – City of Charlottetown

·        Newfoundland and Labrador: Puffins – Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden

The theme of the Gatineau exhibit will reflect 150 years of history, values, culture and arts in Canada, represented by some 40 different structures. Admission to theMOSAÏCANADA 150/Gatineau 2017 exhibit in Jacques-Cartier Park will be free.

“MosaiCanada 150/Gatineau 2017 will demonstrate Canadian savoir-faire and the creativity of the team at Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal, as well as of the representatives of the provinces, territories and our country’s indigenous peoples.  It is sure to amaze the hundreds of thousands of expected visitors.  For the 150^th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation, we want to offer a spectacular, one-of-a-kind bouquet – a bouquet like Canada itself”

–         Lise Cormier, Executive Vice-President and Chief Administrative Officer
Mosaïcultures internationales de Montreal