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NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program

NOFA Organic Land Care Program
Twelve years ago, a group of landscape professionals, scientists, educators and concerned citizens formed the NOFA Organic Land Care Committee to extend the vision and principles of organic agriculture to the care of landscapes. The Committee drafted the first organic land care standards in the United States and offered the first organic land care accreditation course. Today, NOFA's Standards for Land Care: Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes is revised annually by NOFA's Organic Land Care Committee, and forms the basis of the curriculum for NOFA's 5-day Course in Organic Land Care.

The NOFA Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care
A new market opportunity is growing for land care professionals with knowledge of organic lawns, gardens and landscaping which is fueled by a growing awareness of the hazards of pesticides and new state legislation prohibiting pesticide use on public lands. This 5-day, 30-hour course teaches the principles of organic land care design and maintenance. If you choose to become a NOFA-accredited organic land care professional (AOLCP,) you will receive support from the OLC Program to market your business and join a community of over 500 AOLCPs.

Who Should Attend?
Landscapers - Designers - Landscape Architects - Horticulturalists-Master gardeners - Nursery and Garden Center Employees - Municipal Employees - Parks and Recreation Employees - Land Trust Staff - Property Managers - Horticulture and Landscape Professors and Teachers - Botanic Garden and Arboretum Staff - Entrepreneurs and New Business Owners - Interested Homeowners

Graduates will:
Have the knowledge to design and maintain ecological landscapes - Be among the first in the country to become accredited in Organic Land Care - Build a business based on the health of the earth.

Accommodations and Directions:
An extensive list of hotels, including pricing and directions to the course site will be provided in your confirmation packet once your registration materials are received.

Testimonial:
"With a soup-to-nuts syllabus that covers all the issues imaginable taught by a gathering of the region's most esteemed scientists, this is value-added education at its best. The course is intensive, for sure... But you come out the other end with a strong sense of camaraderie and a working knowledge that could make you want to move mountains - except now you know it's best to leave them in place. And you can't beat the food."
      -Tovah Martin, Horticulturalist and Author

Cost of Course and Accreditation:

Thank You to our 5-day course Sponsors! www.groundscapesexpress.com

$550 Course
Early bird discount: -$30 for registrations received by Dec. 17
NOFA Membership Discounts: -$15
Group Discount: 15% off total registration cost for organizations and companies registering three or more employees, staff, students or members.
(Course fee includes a delicious, locally-sourced catered lunch daily)
$150 Exam & Accreditation (optional)
Exam & Accreditation may be paid during the course

Accreditation
An optional exam will be given at the conclusion of the course. Those who pass the exam are eligible to become NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals.

NOFA Organic Land Care Annual Gathering
Trees: Landscaping for Future Generations
Keynote Tom Wessels
The Foundational Principles of Sustainability

December 6, 2011
8:00am - 4:30pm

Student Union Theater, UCONN
2110 Hillside Rd, Storrs, CT 06269

For more information, see the Course Brochure or visit the webpage for the Organic Land Care Annual Gathering

The NOFA Accreditation Program

NOFA Organic Land Care Publications NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes The NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Handbook Introduction to Organic Lawns and Yards For a complete list of NOFA Organic Land Care Books and Publications, please visit our Online Store.

Donald Bishop of Gardens Are . . . in Marlborough, MA, leads Organic Land Care Accreditation course students on a 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.

For More Information:
Contact Caro Roszell, NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program Coordinator, at (508) 360-0874 or caro@nofamass.org.

Visit www.organiclandcare.net for more information on the NOFA Organic Land Care Program!

NOFA/ Mass Organic Land Care Program News

Thank you to everyone who helped make the first-ever
NOFA/Mass Statewide Organic Lawn Days a success!

We educated over 140 homeowners in methods of organic lawn care and maintenance on Thursday, April 7th and Saturday, April 9th, through intensive, three-hour lecture style and hands-on workshops. Workshops were held in Arlington, Ayer, Boylston, Danvers, Hyannis, Newburyport, Natick, New Bedford, Northampton, Pelham, Stoneham and Stockbridge, and each was taught by a NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional. Thanks to our AOLCP teachers: Frank Koll, John Coppinger, Curtis Dragon, Finbarr Phelan, Javier Gil, Peter DiClemente, Jessica Duphily Cook, Taylor Kane, Bernadette Giblin, Navid Hatfield, Michael Murray and Rich Lassor.

NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Bernadette Giblin talks to homeowners about organic lawn maintenance during the workshop held at Look Memorial Park on April 9th.

Thank you also to our generous site hosts, who donated use of their space for our workshops, and to our friendly and efficient registration volunteers: Jason Gresci, Joy Onasch, Peter Hinrichs, Pam Newcombe, Karen Baker, Andi Ross and Karen Angelo. Special thanks to the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) of UMass Lowell, who funded this project with a generous $15,000 grant awarded in 2010. Watch the NOFA/Mass Newsletter in May for more information!

The Pines Theater at Look Memorial Park in Florence is the site of an Organic Lawn Demonstration Project, in collaboration with NOFA/Mass and the Toxics Use Reduction Institute of UMass Lowell.

Blizzard Didn't Deter Landscapers from NOFA 5-day Accreditation Course The 10th annual NOFA 5-day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care was held Jan. 13, 14, 18, 19 and 20, 2011 at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport. A total of 45 professional landscapers and students interested in organic landscaping methods and maintenance attended the course, sponsored by Groundscapes Express Inc. Congratulations to our new NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals, who passed the exam at the end of the course! Special thanks to Karen Masterson of Nourish Restaurant in Lexington, to Kathy Rand of The Natural Grocer in Newburyport, to Shaw’s of Newburyport, Pierce Bros. Coffee Roasters of Greenfield and to Equal Exchange of West Bridgewater. Thanks also to our stellar course volunteers: NOFA AOLCPs Andi Ross, Ann Uppington, Pam Newcombe, Fred Newcombe, Javier Gil, and to the staff of Parker River, who went above and beyond to plow parking lots early in the morning so that we could start the course on time.

Photos from 2011
NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Fred Newcombe, of Rowley, helps students with the Pest Management Case Study, part of the NOFA 5-day accreditation course held in January.	NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Javier Gil of Newburyport, demonstrates compost tea making during an impromptu presentation on Day Three of the course.
Caterer Karen Masteron of Nourish Restaurant in Lexington served locally-sourced, organic lunches during the NOFA 5-day Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care in January, driving through blizzards to nourish students and staff.	NOFA AOLCPs Curtis Dragon, left, Ann Uppington, Javier Gil, Andi Ross and Frank Crandall answer questions from students about Client Relations during the last session of the NOFA 5-day course, held in January at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in Newburyport.

ORGANIC LAWN DEMO PROJECT KICK-OFF EVENTS
TEACH HOMEOWNERS ABOUT ORGANIC LAWN MAINTENANCE METHODS

June 2010 By Kathy Litchfield, NOFA/Mass OLC Program Coordinator Homeowners asked questions about crabgrass, grubs and thatch during the 90-minute Organic Lawn Demonstration Project Kick-Off Events, first held May 20th on the Stoneham Town Common's Center Circle and then on June 5th at Sandy Pond in Ayer, MA. These events marked the successful first years of three-year grant funded projects where Stoneham and Ayer converted, and will now maintain, about 10,000 sq. ft. of publicly used lawns, organically. Funded by the Toxics Use Reduction Institute (TURI) of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, the project is coordinated by the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. and partners NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Michael Murray of Organic Soil Solutions, Inc. in Woburn, with Town of Stoneham groundskeeper Rick Arzillo and deputy DPW director Larry Brophy; and NOFA AOLCP John Coppinger of The Coppinger Company Inc. of No. Chelmsford, with Ayer Parks Supervisor Jeff Thomas.

NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Michael Murray talks with homeowners during the May 20 Organic Lawn Demonstration Kick-Off event, held on the Stoneham Town Common's center circle. The center circle is being maintained organically through at least June of 2013. Photo by Kathy Litchfield.

The Towns of Stoneham and Ayer have committed to maintaining these lawns organically through at least June of 2013. Now that the first year of the grant is complete, Murray and Coppinger will provide volunteer assistance.

The TURI Community Program strives to help organizations raise awareness of the hazards of toxic chemical use and introduce safer alternatives within their neighborhoods. The NOFA Organic Land Care Program offers education to professionals and homeowners, with the mission of reducing and eliminating the use of toxic and synthetic chemicals in landscaping.

The Organic Lawn Demonstration Project kick-off events were successes, featuring speeches by all parties involved in each town, and presentations by Murray and Coppinger about organic lawns geared to homeowners attending the events. Free organic refreshments, seed planting into organic soil, colorful displays and posters made by local Girl Scouts highlighted the events. A special homeowner-geared brochure was distributed and TURI and NOFA/Mass offered informative literature. Special thanks to everyone involved who helped make these events successful and fun!

For more information on these projects, contact Caro Roszell , NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program Coordinator, at 508-360-0874 or caro@nofamass.org.

Town Common demo taught homeowners about organic lawns article in the Stoneham Independent
"Grass roots action" taking on new meaning at Sandy Pond Green Ayer News

Homeowners' Brochure for Stoneham Here
Homeowners' Brochure for Ayer Here

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)

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