WINTER 2022 VOL. 10, NO. 1
A LANDSCAPE ALBERTA MEMBER PUBLICATION
Conventional Wisdom: the Modern-Day Oxymoron How will you Celebrate Canada’s Year of the Garden 2022?
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WINTER 2022 VOL. 10, NO. 1
CONTENTS
ADVANCING THE PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY
04
The Value of Green
06
Industry and Association News
09
Resilience: New Year, New Outlook
10
Conventional Wisdom: The Modern-Day Oxymoron
12
How will you Celebrate Canada’s Year of the Garden 2022? (YOTG 2022)
13
A Canadian Snow and Ice Management Standard Update
14
Alberta Natural Grass Sod Industry Outlook
MANAGING EDITOR Joel Beatson CONTENT & EDITING Kyla Hardon LAYOUT KWL Design Landscape Alberta Green for Life is a professional publication for the landscape trade in Alberta. Editorial and Advertising Landscape Alberta 18051 107 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T5S 1K3 P: 780-489-1991 F: 780-444-2152 admin@landscape-alberta.com Landscape Alberta does not assume responsibility for and does not endorse the contents of any advertisements herein. All representations or warranties made are those of the advertiser and not the publication. Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Landscape Alberta or its members. Material may not be reprinted from this magazine without the consent of Landscape Alberta. ISSN No: 1929-7114 (print) ISSN N0: 1929-7122 (online) Landscape Alberta Board of Directors Brian Gibson, Green Drop Lawns Ltd., Chair Ken Ruddock, ULS Maintenance & Landscaping Inc. Cody Brown, Tree to Tree Nurseries Ltd. Jeff Oudyk, CSLA, AALA, JLG, Land Tec Landscape Contractors Ltd., Vice Chair John van Roessel, CLM, CLT, JVR Landscape (2006) Inc., Treasurer Matthew Chausse, Seasonal Impact Laura Watson, Finning Canada Adam Jansen, The Jansen Group Landscape Alberta Staff Joel Beatson, CAE, CLM, CEO joel.beatson@landscape-alberta.com
Marnie Main, Member Services Director member.services@landscape-alberta.com Valerie Stobbe, Trade Show Coordinator valerie.stobbe@landscape-alberta.com Kyla Hardon, Communications Coordinator kyla.hardon@landscape-alberta.com Lisa Brick, Events & Relationship Coordinator lisa.brick@landscape-alberta.com Cheryl Teo, Bookkeeper accounting@landscape-alberta.com On the Cover Visionscapes Landscape, 2020 Landscape Alberta Award of Excellence Winner for Residential Landscape Design, Lotus Garden Follow Our Social Media Instagram: @landscapealberta Twitter: @landscapeab Facebook: @landscapealberta
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 3
From the Editors Desk
The Value of Green BY JOEL BEATSON, CAE, CLM
I
t’s been amazing to see our industry for the most part thrive during the pandemic. The unprecedented demand for plants and landscapes brought with it new challenges like staff, public health rules, and supply chain delays. As the summer began to dwindle this year, my family and I decided it was time for a new house. After celebrating twenty years working for the horticultural industry in Canada this September, I have firmly drank the green Kool-Aid. So when we found a house that checked most of the boxes for our family, we moved quickly. The biggest issue with the house was the mis-treated front yard tree. Built in 2006 the house featured a flowering crab apple that still featured stakes. More worrisome was the sad attempts at pruning had left the tree twisted and choking itself. As we completed the home inspection and began negotiations on what would be fixed or accounted for, the subject of the tree became hotly debated. First, with my
own real-estate agents. Then with the selling agent and finally with the sellers. Each stage was a new challenge to convince them that this tree had value and that the work to repair or replace the tree would cost money and impact the total value of the property. In the end there was no budging the seller. It wasn’t an issue large enough to make us walk away from the deal. It did however strike me as interesting that for those in the industry or close the industry, we know the value of a tree, of green spaces. We however have a long way to go to convince the general public or those adjacent (cough cough, real estate agents) in the true value of green infrastructure. The great news in the pandemic is that it has created new generations of gardeners. The more connected people are to their gardens, the more likely I think they are to recognize the value. We’ve come along way in the last twenty years, but there is still plenty of hearts and minds to win!
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 4
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Industry and Association News
VINELAND Research Report Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) released The 2020-2021 Innovation Report, containing updates on several multi-year projects designed to bring innovation and benefits to the agricultural, floriculture and horticulture industries. The 24-page report is available below in both English and French or via the Vineland website. https://cnla.ca/uploads/ The-Innovation-Report-2021-2022interactive-version.pdf
Issuing a Record of Employment Due to a COVID-19 Lockdown A reminder from Employment and Social Development Canada. If you have employees who stopped working because of a lockdown as a result of COVID-19, you must issue their records of employment (ROEs) as soon as possible. If you have already issued their ROE, you do not need to issue a new one. You can use ROE Web to issue ROEs online rather than completing paper forms. This can speed up the processing of your employees’ EI benefits. When you complete the employee’s ROE, indicate why the employee stopped working in block 16 (reason for issuing this ROE). When the employee: • is no longer working due to a shortage of work because the business has closed or decreased operations due to COVID-19, use code A (shortage of work). Do not add comments; • is sick or quarantined, use code D (illness or injury). Do not add comments; • refuses to come to work but is not sick or quarantined, use code E (quit) or code N (leave of absence), as appropriate. Avoid adding comments unless absolutely necessary.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 6
Industry and Association News
Garden Centre Summit – July 13-14 Edmonton Featured Speaker: Rob Sproule “Adapting to the New Normal” Rob Sproule is co-owner and marketing director of Salisbury Greenhouse, a 2021 Top 100 Independent Garden Center based in Alberta, Canada. Rob will speak in how to evolve your business rapidly in terms of marketing, eCommerce, and customer experience to meet this new challenge. Don’t let our industry get left behind. More details to follow on the rest of the event soon which features a full day of local tours and another day of great speakers. THE ECHO PROGRAM IS CHANGING! Effective January 1, 2022 a new program agreement will come into effect between ECHO Power Equipment Canada and CNLA. The new CNLA program will mimic our existing Landscaper Fleet Program, with a minimum $1000 qualifying purchase of gas-powered ECHO and or Shindaiwa products to qualify for one of three discount Tiers As an added bonus, members who qualify for the program will be eligible to receive a Bonus Gift (shipped directly from ECHO Canada to the customer) after the qualifying purchase is registered! The CNLA Bonus Gift includes One FREE case of 500 ml Red Armor Premium Mix Oil, plus a FREE X-Series Bonus Gift Bag! (a $200 retail value)
Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program Updates Wage Rates Updated for 2022 Effective, January 1, 2022 the wage rate for the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) has increased to $15.65 per hour for nursery/sod/greenhouse sectors. Part of the calculation of wages is based on the prevailing wage rates for the sector in a province, so employers paying above the listed rate to SAWP workers may be contributing to the annual increases for all farms. Please be sure to update your advertising and employment contracts accordingly.
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Mandatory Use of ArriveCAN to Enter Canada
SALES@CHEYENNETREE.CA
Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) must use ArriveCAN app to provide mandatory travel information before their arrival to Canada and can do so up to 72 hours before arrival. GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 7
Industry and Association News About ArriveCAN ArriveCAN mobile app is free and available in English, French and Spanish (displayed in the language of your device) and can be downloaded in Google Play or the Apple App store. All travellers – whether entering Canada by air, land, rail or marine vessel – must use ArriveCAN unless they are exempt from this requirement for a reason such as a disability, inadequate infrastructure, a service disruption or a natural disaster. If a TFW has an accessibility need, they can use the web version of ArriveCAN (www.canada.ca/arrivecan) as it supports the use of assistive devices such as screen readers and magnifiers. The ArriveCAN website is accessible on any personal or public device, such as tablets, laptops, smartphones and desktop computers. The web version of ArriveCAN is accessible only on recent versions of all other web browsers (it does not work on Internet Explorer). ALERT: A proof of vaccination will also need to be uploaded to ArriveCAN in English, French or certified translation (must include a stamp or membership number of a professional translation association). Ensure to have both the original proof of vaccination and the certified translation (if required) with you for review when entering Canada and for use while in Canada.
Once TFWs submit their information through ArriveCAN, including their vaccination information and evidence, a receipt will be displayed and emailed to them. While TFWs who do not submit their information through ArriveCAN, may not be denied boarding or entry into Canada, they: • will not be eligible for the fully vaccinated traveller quarantine exemption; • may experience increased quarantine and testing requirements; • may face additional delays at the border regarding public health questioning; and/or, • may be subject to fines or enforcement action. If TFWs did not use ArriveCAN, and submitted their information when entering Canada, including by paper form, they can’t use ArriveCAN to complete their mandatory reporting. They must call 1-833-641-0343 instead. ALERT: TFWs should be cautious of third party, fraudulent webpages and apps that may be posing as ArriveCAN and asking for payment. ArriveCAN is free and secure and is the official Government of Canada platform to provide information when entering Canada.
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5
1970-2020
Resilience: New Year, New Outlook PROVIDED BY PEOPLE CORPORATION
Christopher Reeve, famous for being Superman in the movies and later breaking his neck in an equestrian accident, once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” Through his own resilience and the work of his charitable foundation, Christopher Reeve showed thousands of people with spinal cord injuries that living well with paralysis was possible. This is the power of resilience. In this article, we look at the types of resilience we can all cultivate, what it means to be resilient and how to increase our resilience over time. Let’s get started. Four common types of resilience The Oxford English Dictionary defines resilience as “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.” To achieve this, it helps to build resilience across four domains: physical, emotional, psychological and community resilience. Physical resilience is being able to handle physical challenges. Emotional resilience is the ability to return to a calm state after a stressful experience. Psychological resilience is being able to handle life’s stressful moments and become stronger as a result. Community resilience is when a community has the resources to respond to and recover from challenging situations. Working on one of these areas often spills into the others. For example, if you start strength training, you become more physically resilient. But lifting weights is
hard and consistently pushing yourself to do difficult activities also makes you psychologically stronger. And if your community ever needs to stack sandbags against an overflowing river, your physical resilience will contribute to your community’s resilience! Characteristics of a resilient person Resilient people don’t simply dodge adversity; they face adversity and keep going despite the challenges along the way. Without adversity, resilience isn’t possible. What characteristics help us cultivate resiliency? According to Verywell Mind, resilient people: • Look at challenges as problems to solve. • Regulate their emotions effectively. • Have strong and meaningful social connections. • Believe their actions matter. • Think of themselves as survivors. • Practice self-compassion. How to build your personal resiliency People become resilient by cultivating helpful thoughts, perspectives and behaviour over time; this means anyone can build their resiliency at any time, no matter the situation. Start building your resiliency with these suggestions from the American Psychological Association: • Look after your relationships Develop meaningful relationships and prioritize maintaining these important connections. GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 9
• Take care of yourself - Attend to your mind, body and spirit through activities like meditation, sleeping well, exercising and surrounding yourself with supportive and encouraging people. • Find your purpose - Figure out what you’re meant for and pursue that personal or professional calling! • Mind your thoughts - Avoid getting trapped in negativity; instead focus on what’s going well, what’s within your control and practice framing events in a productive way. Resilience is for everyone. As Christopher Reeve also said, “We all have many more abilities and internal resources than we know. My advice is that you don’t need to break your neck to find out about them.” Imagine what could happen if you took one step towards more resilience today! Additional Resources Everyday Health Assessment: Get Your Resilience Score Use this assessment to find out how resilient you are right now. https:/www.everydayhealth. com/wellness/resilience/ get-your-resilience-score/ Growing Up Resilient: Ways to Build Resilience in Children and Youth This guide published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows adults how to facilitate resilience in the children and youth in their lives. https://www.camh.ca/en/healthinfo/guides-and-publications/ growing-up-resilient
Conventional Wisdom
The Modern-Day Oxymoron BY BILL MCCURRY
“When times are good you should advertise. When times are bad you must advertise.” It’s conventional wisdom, but is it relevant to a garden retailing in 2021? Google will drop dozens of examples onto your screen of studies done over the last century that proves this point. These studies show market growth from those who continued to advertise or had the courage to increase their advertising investment in tough economic times. Is this misguided research with the majority of the successful companies already in a strong financial position, they had the cash or the borrowing ability to run advertising? It is inconvenient for the marketing types who pay for these studies to show that it was financial strength and advertising that led to business success. So, which comes first? Cash or advertising or Both? The good news is today as a retailer you don’t need as much cash to advertise as you used to. The bad news is you need more enthusiasm, more creativity and more focused personnel to accomplish the same marketplace success that your predecessors just threw money at. Now you are marketing your store and its personality as much as the products you sell.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 10
Conventional Wisdom The Modern-Day Oxymoron COVID-19 has made an indelible imprint on all of us. More people are now aware of community and the role small businesses play within their community. Seeing all the small restaurants that won’t open back up has caused a long term shift it positive attitudes toward small business. Garden Centers should reinforce that attitude and double down on it. Conventional wisdom says we should advertise sale! Sale! Buy now! Consider that people buy from people first, not corporations. Social media allows you to tell a variety of stories without the space limitations of traditional media. Social media must be social. Use yours to promote other local small businesses as well as your own. Invest your time to tell someone else’s story occasionally. It makes you part of a bigger community and eventually other people will be telling your story. This emotional tie can be a stronger customer magnet than the average weekend sale event. COVID-19 has also caused many people to reassess their priorities. Gardens and flowers got great press showing even more people the benefits of gardening whether window boxes or acreage, the positive PR we have received has created new awareness for plants and the joy of gardens. Your social media should leverage these points by showing your team in action with members of your community. Talk about how your employees and your customers are active in your area beyond just great service at the garden center. Successful retailers have someone in their store whose job it is to carry out the advertising strategy. This may be a change if your company doesn’t have anyone who is assigned this responsibility. Some of the dollars formerly spent on media has to go to wages to keep someone in your company focused and your marketing strategy properly executed. The purpose of “social” in social media is that it’s more than just selling messages. Garden centers that
constantly are seen yelling about new products are not being social, they’re being annoying. Give your customers things that bring them ideas to make their life more fun, more meaningful, more enjoyable. These might be your grandmothers corn bread recipe, a humorous cartoon, distinctive plants, animal pictures, unique landscaping, staff or customer pictures. Conventional wisdom has told retailers to avoid political discussion. The logic has been you could lose customers who don’t agree with you. The flip side seems to be more prevalent today. Companies that take a strong stand on some issues build a more loyal and customer base. Patagonia is the best example. Videos are the media of choice because they relay more emotion in less time than other media. Your customers don’t expect you to be George Lucas, so don’t try for Hollywood extravaganzas, just be you – the authentic you! Sound is the most important aspect of the video. If the video is to dark or fuzzy customers may watch it if the audio is easily understood. The sharpest picture in the world will lose its audience if the audio is garbled. Any good camera store sells relatively inexpensive high-quality microphones to use with your phone or camera. The built-in microphones won’t do the job you need. Many customers will watch your video on their phone, possibly in noisy surroundings. Your audio has to be crystal clear. Your social media messaging should be unique about you, your store, your team, your community and your products. Focus on one media at a time (i.e., Pinterest, or Instagram or Facebook) until you are well established before branching into another venue. Own one marketplace. As you consider your marketing for the balance of this unusual COVID-19 year, remember it’s not the money that’s thrown at advertising that pays dividends. It’s consistent messaging of your store’s benefits to an identified audience that will build repeat and referral customer traffic.
“Conventional wisdom says we should advertise sale! Sale! Buy now! Consider that people buy from people first, not corporations.”
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 11
How will you Celebrate Canada’s Year of the Garden 2022? (YOTG 2022)
O
n June 21st the Year of the Garden was officially recognized in the House of Commons, thanks to the efforts of Minister Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood and MP Vance Badwey. Scotts Canada and Premier Tech have both confirmed their participation as Founding Sponsors, other names coming soon. If you are interested in associating your name to Canada’s Year of the Garden 2022’s year long marketing campaign, please contact us. More partners are jumping on board: Parks Canada, Canada Post, National Capital Commission. Numerous promotions are being finalized like: YOTG 2022 Celebration Gardens, A Garden for Every School, Plant Red, Climate Action Gardens, Garden RX, Canada’s Garden Heroes, Canadian Garden Hall of Fame, National Garden Day, Live the Garden Life Agenda and many more. Zoomer Media have recorded a one-hour YOTG 2022 TV Show, to be broadcast this fall. The Local Gardener magazine, with its national distribution, has been named the Official Magazine for the Year of the Garden 2022.
We are now in the process of engaging members of Canada’s Garden-Family. How would you like to be involved and celebrate Canada’s YOTG 2022? Check www.yearofthegarden.ca or contact us at info@gardencouncil.ca.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 12
A Canadian Snow and Ice Management Standard Update
I
n late 2020, Canadian Snow and Ice Management Industry approached the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) with a request to consider the development of a national standard on snow and ice management. Three key reasons to support this request were identified: (a) ensuring public and worker safety, (b) rising liability and insurance costs, and (c) managing risk from snow and ice management practices to nearby ecosystems. CSA Group agreed that the proposal had merit for further investigation and with funding provided by Canadian Nursery Landscape Association the scoping review for a proposed Snow and Ice Management standard for Canada was completed in August of 2021. The review included a planned process to obtain stakeholder consultation by way of a series of key informant interviews to be completed by May 2021 followed by a virtual workshop held in June 2021. Four key issues and risks facing the industry were identified by interviewed stakeholders and discussed during the workshop: (1) Liability; -snow and ice management contractors are required to bear all the liability for slips and falls on properties they service. (2) Training and Competency; -since there are no
formalized requirements for contractors to meet a minimum level of training and/or competency there is a lack of consistency between operators, many of whom are “fly-by-night” operators who don’t provide a consistent and professional level of service. (3) Environmental Impacts; -with the overuse of rock salt creating significant environmental impacts to surrounding ecosystems, particularly freshwater systems. (4) Regulatory Framework; -with significant safety and environmental concerns associated with snow and ice management practices, there is currently no statutory framework that specifically regulates what the industry must do to protect the environment or the safety of the public. There was overall agreement that there is a need for a national standard on snow and ice management in Canada. This was a very thorough exercise and by the end of August 2021 the CSA Group submitted their report to CNLA. The CSA group has undertaken a cost/benefit analysis and authorization for a new standard project has been received from the senior management at CSA Group. With funding from the CNLA the project is scheduled to begin early in the new year.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 13
Alberta Natural Grass Sod Industry Outlook BY ALBERTA SOD GROWERS COMMODITY GROUP
Alberta Sod Growers have faced rising input costs over the past two years and foresee dramatic cost increases leading into 2022 and beyond. The result of which is an expected price increase on sod over the next several years. COVID-19 has increased the demand for natural grass sod, as well as the direct required inputs such as seed and fertilizer. Seed demand increases, poor seed yields due to spring drought in most of the major growing regions combined with extraordinary heat has resulted in sizable reductions in seed yields across all major species. Overall yield averages are down up to 50%. The major seed production regions in Oregon and Washington are facing pressure over valuable agricultural land. The rise in other commodity prices, that has forced seed production outside of the optimal areas, has further reduced crop yield.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 14
Alberta Natural Grass Sod Industry Outlook
“Seed demand increases, poor seed yields due to spring drought in most of the major growing regions combined with extraordinary heat has resulted in sizable reductions in seed yields across all major species.”
Seed demand increases, along with drought and extraordinary heat events in most major growing regions, have resulted in sizable reductions in seed yields across all major species. Overall yield averages are down by as much as 50%, while costs have doubled. Global fertilizer commodity markets are facing volatility and uncertainty. Price has increased between 100-200% over the last few months due to supply shortages and high demand. All the while, other direct inputs including fuel, equipment and labour are trending towards record highs. Natural grass sod is a two-to-threeyear crop, in Alberta, meaning that seed sown in 2021 may not be ready for sale until 2023 or 2024. As such, annual increases to the price of inputs have a compounding effect on the cost of sod inventory. Sod harvested in 2021 is more expensive than ever before, and this upward trajectory is expected to continue. While over the last decade the sod market price in Alberta has remained unchanged, costs have continually increased, leading to diminishing margins. Anyone with projects already in progress for 2022 should be speaking
directly to their suppliers about both price and availability as to best prepare clients for the increases. Despite expected price increases, natural grass sod remains an extremely cost-effective ground cover that provides numerous, unmatched advantages. Natural grass sod is a key component in commercial and residential landscaping in Alberta, providing an immediate weed-free vegetation, soil stabilization and erosion control. 5,000 sq.ft. of lawn can produce enough oxygen to support 14 to 34 people per day, while carbon sequestration rates in urban lawns have been estimated at between 200 and 1,800 lb of carbon per acre per year, all while reducing the urban heat island effect and providing proven psychological benefits.
GREEN FOR LIFE WINTER 2022 • 15
Over the past 2 years, it has sometimes been hard to see the beauty around us as we navigate this pandemic but, we are incredibly fortunate to work in an industry where beauty is literally all around us. Whether it is the bright
green that comes from emerging leaves as the first sign of spring, trees in full bloom, stunning fall colours as leaves indicate the change of seasons,
or hoar frost sparkling in the light on a cold winter’s morning. Trees provide everlasting beauty all year round.
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