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Read an article on the course in NOFA/Mass News. 

Click here for campus map for Sullivan 326 (this is a new room assignment)

REGISTRATION COST
By December. 15: $80 Member; $100 Non-member

By January 10: $90 Member; $113 Non-member

SEMINAR OUTLINE

7:30 am    Registration and Exhibitors Open

Coffee, tea and snacks will be available in the Student Center.

9:00-9:30 am   Opening Remarks – Goals for the day

Chip Osborne introduces the day with an elucidation of goals and objectives. NOFA/Mass is interested in supporting our Accredited Organic Landcare Professionals (AOLCPs) and in introducing the concepts of organic land care to those not yet accredited.

9:30-10:00 am   Updates on the Pesticide Reduction Mission – Industry Trends

Bernadette Giblin will give a “Pesticide 101” presentation, reinforcing the fact that organic land care reduces pesticide and synthetic fertilizer use on landscapes thus reducing stormwater runoff and pollution of our waterways.

10:00-10:15 am    Break

10:15-11:45 am  Advanced Turfgrass Nutrition – Nutrient Potential of Various Composts

Chip Osborne will present technical details on the science behind good turf grass nutrition from an organic perspective. Land care practitioners will learn about the substantial nutrient charge of most compost and how properly understanding these properties, which are often overlooked in the land care industry, can have big results. In organic low dose fertility, less is more – a lesson becoming increasingly important with increasing restrictions on the horizon for fertilizer use in the landscape. Key practical details include the genetics of the cool season turf grasses and their individual needs.

11:45-1:00 pm  Lunch

A catered organic buffet lunch will be served in the Student Center, 3rd Floor. You may pre- purchase lunch for $15 up until Jan. 5th as part of the registration process. The lunchroom is open from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

1:00-1:40   Turfgrass Alternatives                                             

Monique Allen will present an approach for considering alternatives to turfgrass, in situations where the grass is not an appropriate plant. This allows land care practitioners to put a more appropriate plant in a location or simply reduce the amount of grass being managed on a site.

1:40-2:00    Responding to a Client                                            

Britt Phillips will speak about how she approaches a client when they request organic land care.

2:00-2:20  Responding to a Municipality

David Melevsky will talk about some of his residential work as well as municipal sport’s turf.

2:20-2:30 pm      Break

2:30-3:15 pm  Marketing an Organic Business – Experience the ROI                

Bernadette Giblin will talk about marketing an organic land care business. There will be a particular emphasis on how organic programs integrate with the concepts of storm water protection and water conservation—Green Infrastructure. These are both hot button topics and are getting a lot of attention. It is extremely important that we begin to paint the picture that organic land care is not just about reducing pesticide use, but is equally about creating sustainable practices that help us protect the environment.

3:15-4:30   Realities of Organic Management

Chip Osborne wraps up the day by addressing the ups and downs and some of the challenges of organic turf management. This section introduces the concept of a "rescue treatment". Intervention with control product ideally should be using EPA 25b materials. There should never be control product (even 25b) included as part of a base program.

4:30-5:00 pm  Questions & Answers

PRESENTERS

Chip Osborne is a professional horticulturist with forty years experience in the green industry. He is a natural turf consultant, AOLCP, and a member of CT NOFA OLC Advisory Board. 

Bernadette Giblin is is an organic land care consultant. She blogs at “Finding Safeground.” With the CT NOFA-OLC Program, she trains landscapers on driving demand for organic land care in Long Island Sound communities.

Monique Allen is the President and CEO of The Garden Continuum. She is a Certified Landscape Designer, a Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional and an AOLCP. 

David Melevsky is an organic landcare specialist in Maine. Owner of Go Green Landscaping, Inc. & Organic Mosquito Control.  AOLCP.

Brittany Phillips is owner of Complete Land Organics and an AOLCP. Using soil regeneration and organic turf management, she is changing the industry from chemical to natural one lawn at a time.

 CONSULTATION OPPORTUNITY

With a donation of $50 to NOFA/Mass, you can have a 20 minute lunchtime private consultation with Chip Osborne on questions related to your land care business. Space is limited. If interested, please contact Ben Grosscup by e-mail. 

Credits

AOLCPs who complete this course will receive 4 AOLCP Credits.

For more information on this event . . .

Contact Ben Grosscup at 413-658-5374 or email ben.grosscup@nofamass.org.

Lawn & Turf Sponsors