Award winning consultant Bernadette Giblin will be at our Mid Atlantic Accreditation Course!

 

We are delighted to announce that Bernadette Giblin will be presenting at Mid Atlantic Accreditation course on December 2, 2013!

Bernadette Giblin is the two time recipient of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute's (TURI) Toxics Reduction Champion Award.  She is an organic land care consultant who has worked on the organic transition of several public parks, schools and health care campuses throughout Massachusetts. She is currently launching her blog project Finding Safeground. Additionally, she's collaborating with the NOFA Organic Land Care Program to train landscapers throughout the Long Island Sound region in more effective social marketing campaign strategies. Bernadette's mission is to drive the demand for organic land care to protect the environment & promote a green economy in local communities where we all live, work and play. 

Karen Bussolini Shares her Voyage of Discovery And Brings Joy Back into People’s Gardens

Growing up in Canton Center, Conn., Karen Bussolini remembers racing with her father to be the first to grab Organic Gardening magazine from the mailbox. Her father, the son of Italian immigrants, was amused that there was a name for the kind of gardening his family had done for generations.

“To him, that was just good gardening,” she said.

Understanding the interconnectedness of the web of life came naturally to both father and daughter, who planted gardens everywhere she lived as a young adult - even tucking beet plants between the foundation shrubs in her apartment complex while studying art at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.

Bussolini, accredited since 2010, is a renowned author, photographer, educator and eco-garden coach who considers her lifelong love-turned-career of nature and gardening a “voyage of discovery.”

The Accreditation Course in Pennsylvania

Julie Snell (PHS) teaches about design of a large greenroof
in Philadelphia

The week of January 14-17 was the Accreditation Course in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).  The course is now in it's 12th year, and what better way to celebrate than heading to a new city and a new region! The classroom was pretty full as land care professionals from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to Alabama to Massachusetts came together to learn about Organic Land Care Practices.  On the first day of the course the staff from Pennsylvania Horticultural Society brought us to a green roof PHS established on the roof of the Pennsylvania Energy Company (PECO) Building.

The class visits the PECO Green Roof - Notice how we are
"Changing The Game"!

A number of NOFA's long time instructors traveled to Pennsylvania to teach about the Standards and provide insight on the history of the Program.  Mike Nadeau of Plantscapes Inc. taught about Site Design, Mulches and Lawn Alternatives. AOLCP and Annual Gathering Speaker, Bernadette Giblin provided the overview of Organic Principles and Practices.  Chip Osborne, founder and owner of Osborne Organics taught the introduction to turf, turf pest management and a new four-hour track about turf care.  Frank Crandall of Frank Crandall's Horticultural Solutions and our Education Committee Chair taught about Planting and Plant Care and how to operate an organic business.

Julie Snell (PHS) introduces Altje Hoekstra to teach about
hydrology

We were delighted to be joined by Dr. Elaine Ingham, Chief Scientist and renowned soil microbiologist at the Rodale Institute to share her expertise on soil fundamentals, soil biology, fertility, compost and compost tea.  We were lucky to be joined by a number of experts from the Philadelphia area including Altje Hoekstra and Michele Adams of Meliora Design, LLC who taught about hydrology and storm water management, Glen Abrams from the Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds,  Scott Guiser from the Penn State Extension to teach about plant disease, Sarah Low from the USDA Forest Service to teach about invasive species and Suzanne Wainright-Evans, owner of Buglady Consulting. 

The class visits Logan Square, designed and maintained by

the  Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

On the last day of the course the group split into two for two separate 4 hour tracks. The first, taught by Chip Osborne was focused on turf care and maintenance and provided a detailed overview of establishing organic turf, fertilizers and amendments  maintenance, and how to create an organic turf management program for a property.  The second track was titled "Planting Considerations and Green Infrstructure in the Urban Environment" focused on planting considerations and green infrastructure.  Chris Woods, the Director of PHS’ Meadowbrook Farm taught about planting and placement of plants in urban areas.  Linda Walczak, a Program Manager at PHS and Michele Adams, Principal Engineer at Meliora Design taught about stormwater management case studies and examples of projects.  Nancy O’Donnell, a Director of Design at PHS led a site visit to Logan Square where PHS staff brought small groups around Logan Square to teach about the sustainable design of this beautiful public space.

A big thanks to all of our instructors, and to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Staff who were wonderful hosts, coordinators and instructors for the course! If all of this material looks interesting to you, you can sign up for the Accreditation Course in Connecticut! Even if you have to travel a ways we have a reduced block room rate to hopefully make it more affordable for you, visit www.organiclandcare.net/education/accreditation-course for more information!

Registration is Open for the 2013 Accreditation Course

Registration is open for the Accreditation Course in Connecticut and in Pennsylvania!  This year we are having only one course in New England, in Norwich, CT.  Our second course will be in Philadelphia  PA bringing our program to the Mid-Atlantic States!

This year the course is four days long, but jam-packed with information!  We have adjusted the course based on the feedback from the first decade of accredited professionals.  The course is more condensed to save time for our attendees, the course content is focused on practical elements of organic land care, and the last day there will be two tracks of workshops allowing attendees to choose a horticulture or lawn-and-turf concentration.

The course is targeted at municipal, land care, farming, non-profit and environmental professionals who can benefit from a holistic education about the organic principles according to the thirteen year-old NOFA Standards in Organic Land Care incorporated as part of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement's International Family of Standards in 2011.

After taking the course, attendees can take the accreditation exam, which usually takes about an hour to complete.  A score of 70% or higher qualifies one for accreditation.  To learn more about the benefits of accreditation visit the About Accreditation page.  You can prep-pay for the accreditation exam and your accreditation when you register for the course.  There are now two levels of accreditation, the supporter level, mostly for non-profits and educators and the business level which provides marketing materials and collective advertising through out the Northeastern US.

Register for the February 11-14 Course in Connecticut now
Register for the January 14-17 Course in Pennsylvania now