The NOFA Organic Land Care Program
The NOFA OLC program, formed nine years ago by the Connecticut and Massachusetts chapters of NOFA, is guided by a volunteer multi-state committee of 12 professional landscapers, scientists and activists dedicated to promoting organic lawns, gardens, trees, shrubs, parks and athletic fields. We are the national leader in organic land care, having developed the first written standards and the first courses in organic land care, both based on organic agricultural standards. Our 5-day comprehensive course and one-day intensive on lawns and turf all run smoothly, are well attended, and consistently receive high scores in our follow-up surveys. Once established, our course costs have been consistently and fully recovered by registration fees. We have trained over 800 people in organic land care since the inception of our program. Our accreditation program offers referrals, networking, newsletters, publicity, media interviews, and business listings on our website and in the OLC Guide published annually. It is open to anyone who passes the exam, maintains continuing organic education credits, and pays the accreditation fee. We now have over 400 accredited professionals, in 17 states, whose dues are used to support the OLC program.
Educational Courses
The NOFA Organic Land Care Program offers education for professionals in the form of the unique NOFA 5-day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care, held each winter in three states (MA, CT and RI) and the NOFA 1-day Organic Lawn & Turf Course, held each August in three states (MA, CT and NJ).
The 9th annual NOFA 5-day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care will be held in January 2010 in Massachusetts. Watch this page and the info at www.organiclandcare.net for dates and location information as soon as it becomes available (September 2009).
The 5th annual NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course will be held Friday, August 9, 2009 at UMass Amherst. This course is running concurrently with the NOFA Summer Conference. It covers all aspects of organic turfgrass and lawn management from soil health and amendments to cultural practice and client relations. An hour for Q&A with NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals is included. The cost is $150 for the first person from a firm/town and $125 for each additional person. Stay for the whole weekend by registering for the Summer Conference and receive a $15 discount on the combined registrations! Register online at www.organiclandcare.net or call Kathy Litchfield, coordinator, at (413) 773-3830 for more information.
To learn about upcoming course dates and locations, please click HERE
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Ann McGovern, of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, teaches Composting during the 6th Annual NOFA 5-Day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster, MA. Photo by Kathy Litchfield.
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The NOFA Accreditation Program
NOFA's Accreditation Program offers networking, marketing and speaking opportunities for professionals who pass the accreditation exam on the last day of the 5-day course. NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals are listed on the program's website, www.organiclandcare.net, and in the annual NOFA Guide to Organic Land Care, published each Spring.
These professionals, that currently number over 400 in 17 states, pledge to practice organic land care according to the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes, written in 2001 and revised bi-annually.
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Students enrolled in the 6th Annual NOFA 5-Day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care work in small groups on a soil health case study at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster, MA. Photo by Kathy Litchfield.
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 Finbarr Phelan and Derek Fowler, two 5-day accreditation course students from 2008, study for the accreditation exam during a break. Photo by Kathy Litchfield.
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Newly accredited students from outside New England are often among the first offering organic land care services in their regions. They often report that the Northeast is way ahead of the rest of the country in organic interest and knowledge.
Course students include landscape designers, landscapers, state and municipal employees, school groundskeepers, garden and nursery center owners and staff, professors, entrepreneurs and students.
The demand for organic landscaping services is increasing rapidly, driven by consumer concerns and regulatory pressures. The course curriculum -- covering all topics of organic land care -- is especially important today as more people become aware of the dangers that synthetic pesticides and fertilizers pose on biodiversity, water quality and ecosystem health.
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Benefits of NOFA Accreditation:
- Recognition as a NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional
- Use of NOFA Accredited Professional logo and marketing materials
- Listing on www.organiclandcare.net
- Listing in the annual publication NOFA Guide to Organic Land Care, with 20,000 distributed each year
- Networking with hundreds of other organic landscape professionals
- Access to NOFA staff for referrals and additional marketing opportunities
NOFA Organic Land Care Publications
- NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes (this is the manual for the 5-day course) Click Here
- NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Handbook: Beautiful Grass Naturally ($25)
- A Citizens' Guide to Organic Land Care ($1)
- NOFA Guide to Organic Land Care (free)
- Organic Land Care informational brochure for potential clients (free)
- NOFA Manuals, a comprehensive set of manuals on various organic land care topics.
To order publications, please click HERE or send a check made out to "NOFA/Mass" to:
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NOFA/Mass
c/o Kathleen Geary
411 Sheldon Road
Barre, MA 01005
(978) 355-2853
info@nofamass.org
or contact: Kathy Litchfield
NOFA/Mass OLC Program Coordinator
75-R Bascom Road
Gill, MA 01354
(413) 773-3830
kathy@nofamass.org
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 Donald Bishop of Gardens Are . . . in Marlborough, MA, leads 5-day course students on walk in search of invasive plants at the Doyle Conservation Center in Leominster, during one of the course's four interactive case studies. Photo by Kathy Litchfield.
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For More Information:
Contact Kathy Litchfield, NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program Coordinator, at (413) 773-3830 or kathy@nofamass.org.
Visit www.organiclandcare.net for more information on the NOFA Organic Land Care Program!
Additional References:
To assist those interested in organic land care, we list the following references (some may not be exclusively organic):
- Working With Nature - Shifting Paradigms - The Science and Practice of Organic Horticulture, Heide Hermary (Gaia College, Inc.)
- The Wisdom of Plant Heritage: Organic Seed Production and Saving, Bryan Connolly and C.R. Lawn
- Compost, Vermicompost, and Compost Tea, Grace Gershuny
- The Organic Lawn Care Manual, Paul Tukey (Storey Publishing)
- Handbook of Successful Ecological Lawn Care, Paul Sachs (Edapos Press)
- The Chemical Free Lawn, Warren Schultz (Rodale Press)
- Building a Healthy Lawn, Stuart Franklin (Garden Way Publishing)
- Weeds and What They Tell, Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer (Rodale Press)
- Start with the Soil, Grace Gershuny (Rodale Press)
- The Complete Book of Garden Magic, Roy E. Biles (J.G. Ferguson)
- Gardener's Guide to Common Sense Pest Control, William Olkowski, Sheila Daar, Helga Olkowski (The Taunton Press)
- The Encyclopedia of Natural Insect & Disease Control, Roger B. Yepsen, Jr. (Rodale Press)
- Rodale's Landscape Problem Solver - A Plant-By-Plant Guide, Jeff and Liz Ball (Rodale Press)
- A Guide to Gardening in Connecticut, Jeanne R. Chesanow (CT Assn. of Extension Master Gardeners)
- North Country Organics Technical Manual (North Country Organics, Depot Street, Bradford, VT 05033)
Materials, Suppliers, Equipment:
For a listing of materials, supplies and equipment helpful in organic land care, please visit: www.organiclandcare.net
This page was last modified on June 04, 2009 at 5:39:35 AM.
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