Cornell Cooperative
Extension to Host NOFA OLC Training and Accreditation Course
Land care professionals
interested in meeting growing demand for toxin-free lawns and yards are invited
to attend the Northeast Organic Farming Association’s (NOFA) Accreditation
Course in Organic Land Care held at the Cornell Cooperative Extension of
Suffolk County in Riverhead on November 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2016.
This 30-hour, 4-day course provides a well-rounded curriculum covering organic land
care principles, practices, design and maintenance based on NOFA’s
Standards for Land Care:
Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes. First published
in 2001 and now offered in the
fifth edition, these Standards extend the
vision and practices
of organic agriculture
to the care of landscapes where
we live our daily lives.
CT NOFA is pleased to partner with the Cornell Cooperative
Extension of Suffolk County and Perfect Earth Project (PRFCT), a three-year
old, East Hampton, Long Island-based non-profit educational organization
promoting toxin-free landscape management for the benefit of human and
environmental health. Demand for organic land care is increasing rapidly on
Long Island due in great part to PRFCT’s community education and outreach
underscoring the dangers of synthetic lawn and landscape chemicals. Professional
landscapers and designers, along with homeowners, learn about non-toxic
practices in PRFCT’s low-cost seminars. “We’re here to help people, to provide
resources for them to create their own awareness and share it with others” said
PRFCT founder Edwina Von Gal. “We encourage homeowners not to fire the people
they’re working with, but to convert them.”
"Landscaping professionals in New England and the Mid-Atlantic
states increasingly consider NOFA’s Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care a
savvy investment in distinguishing themselves as highly trained experts in the
growing market for non-toxic and organic landscaping services." - Jenna Messier, OLC Program Director
Since 2002, The
NOFA Accreditation Course in Organic Land Care has been the definitive
professional training course for landscapers, lawn care specialists, municipal
groundskeepers, landscape architects and environmental educators to learn and
adopt best practices for caring for the land without synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides. Attendees who pass the accreditation exam on November 15 become
Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals (AOLCPs), joining over 500 NOFA
AOLCPs in 20 states, including 45
in New York.
The roster of course instructors includes Paul Wagner, Director
of Soil FoodWeb New York, Inc., a commercial soil microbiology testing
laboratory located in Center Moriches, and the owner of Greener Pastures
Organics, a Southampton –based landscaping company on “a mission to ‘green-up’
our piece of the world one landscape at a time.” Wagner has over 20 years’ experience
in the green industry and 15 years’ experience in science-based organic tree,
shrub and lawn care. His work with soil microbiology provides the scientific
basis for successful organic soil management practices and applications.
CT NOFA enjoys support from
partner and co-sponsors Perfect Earth Project and Cornell Cooperative Extension
of Suffolk County along with event sponsors PJC Organics of Massachusetts, Tech
Terra Environmental of New Jersey, and Soil FoodWeb NY of Southampton.
The
$695 course fee includes course materials, lunches, exam, and supporter level
accreditation until January 1, 2018. Early bird registration of $650 ends October 10, 2016.
Group discounts of $600 per person for 3 or more employees are available along
with payment plans. For more details including a course curriculum, and to
register, contact the Northeast Organic Farming Association (CT NOFA) office at
203-308-2584 or visit www.organiclandcare.net.
