The Buckeye Magazine, May/June 2016 by OGIA

May / June 2016

The Official Publication of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association

Vol. 27, Issue 3

Ohio High School Landscape Olympics

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The Buckeye is published six times per year by The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc. 72 Dorchester Square Westerville, OH 43081 p 614.899.1195 www.onla.org

CONTENTS

May / June 2016

EDITORIAL / ADVERTISING ISSN 1536-7940 Subscriptions: $75/year info@onla.org

OFFICERS Steve Maddox, Jr., President Michell’s Josh Posey, President-Elect Buckeye Resources, Inc. Michael Dues, Immediate Past President Dues Nursery & Landscaping, Ltd. DIRECTORS Hillary Henry The Pattie Group, Inc. Ryan Kolb Ryan Kolb Co. LLC Adam McClanahan Carlton Plants, LLC Mindy Moore Cardinal Landscape, Tree Service & Lawn Care Steve O’Neal Columbus State Community College Ellen Gallucci Purcell Riepenhoff Landscape Ltd. ONLA STAFF Frits Rizor, Executive Director Karen Lykins, Accounting Roni Petersen, Membership & Certification Alana Settle, Communications & Marketing Tracie Zody, MGIX Manager

THE FINE PRINT The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, directors or staff and do not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members of the ONLA does not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services.

Vol. 27, Issue 3

departments 4

President’s Perspective Change - The Only Constant

Branches of Government Medical Marijuana Bill on Fast Track: Senate Makes Substantive Changes

Executive Office Update Developing a Future Work Force

Why Trees Matter Recovery

features 11 Introducing the Ohio High School Landscape Olympics! 21 Safety First 22 Retail Roundtable:

25 28 29 32

The Buzz About Pollinators

Developing Summer Business by the Numbers Three Cans of Worms Finding Young Blood Landscape Award Program: Winning Projects

FRONT COVER ONLA Landscape Awards Program Project of the Year, Lifestyle Landscaping, Inc.

also in this issue

47 Calendar of Events • 47 Classified Ads • 47 Advertising Index

PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

Change - The Only Constant

ONLA President

Steve Maddox

One of the many things that I have learned in my 20+ years in the green industry is that “change is the only constant.” Every day, every season, and every year is different. Just when you think you have figured it out—it changes. It’s critical to be adaptable when dealing with the public and the weather. I remember days in retail where everything was perfect and ready for the season to begin and Mother Nature had different thoughts. You learn to make it work by reducing labor, marketing differently, and reducing inventory. But in the end—you make it work and you never throw in the towel. I have also found that if you wait for perfect conditions to happen before making a decision, it’ll never happen. There will always be an excuse or the dreaded “let’s wait until next year.” Next year may never come or conditions may change again making it more difficult. The key is to get your team on board, move forward, and do your best. But always be looking forward. As I sit and write this article, Mother Nature has imposed her will. We are seeing cold temps and rain at the worst time of the year. We saw a phenomenal early spring with record setting sales for some in April. Now, we see rain and some declining sales and spirits. The key to surviving is to adapt and push forward. The sales will come, albeit in a much shorter window with sometimes smaller margins.

4 The Buckeye

Like a business, over the past couple of years the ONLA has been through many challenges and changes, but has survived and has become stronger. We have a new director in place that has certainly taken the reigns, earned the respect of his team, and is driving forward. With new leadership comes new ideas, strategies, and strengths. I am very excited to see where we are today and where we are headed tomorrow. There are certainly some exciting things to come and we cannot wait to tell you about them. In the months to come, you will hear about some of the exciting changes that are happening within our association. The staff has worked extremely hard and, with the support of the board, we have made some decisions that will benefit our members moving forward. We have added new staff members and are excited to see what they bring to the table. So remember, change is the only constant. Embrace it, move forward, and adapt. Let’s hope for a little help from Mother Nature for the rest of the spring season! B Steve Maddox ONLA President smaddox@michells.com

onla.org

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May/June 2016 5

BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

Medical Marijuana Bill on Fast Track: Senate Makes Substantive Changes

Legislative Consultant

Belinda Jones

6 The Buckeye

HB 523, the medical marijuana bill, is definitely on the “fast track”. After several weeks of task force meetings in the House and a “listening tour” in the Senate, the bill was introduced by Rep. Steve Huffman (R; Tipp City) on April 14. Huffman, who is also a physician, lead the charge in the House hearings in a specially created House Select Committee on Medical Marijuana under the leadership of select committee chair, Kirk Schuring (R; Canton). The House had nine hearings on the bill. In one of the hearings, ONLA Legislative Committee member and former President Dick Gooding of Gooding’s Nursery testified. Gooding’s comments were based on general business concerns and he raised some thoughtful discussion among committee members. It should be noted that Mr. Gooding sat for a couple of hours one evening waiting to testify. Thank you, Dick! HB 523 passed the House 71-26 on May 10th. The bill was quickly referred to the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee, Chaired by Sen. Bill Coley (R; Middletown). Serving on the committee, amongst others, is Senator Dave Burke (R; Marysville), a pharmacist, who, along with Sen. Kenny Yuko (D; Richmond Heights) chaired the Senate’s listening tour. The Senate GAO committee recently made several changes to the bill including moving regulatory power to the Board of Pharmacy (in consultation with the expertise of a Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee [MMAC]), comprised of clinicians, law enforcement, patients and caregivers, mental health and treatment professionals, agriculture, employers and labor. Additionally, the substitute bill narrows the pain diagnoses that could qualify a patient for marijuana use

adding Alzheimer’s and fibromyalgia as qualifying conditions, and creates a process for individuals to petition to the State Medical Board to add new qualifying conditions. Further, the bill ensures that involvement with medical marijuana cannot be sole grounds for denying a concealed-carry handgun license, as well as other provisions. The sub-bill also attempts to expedite implementation of the legalization program, sticking with the House’s general timeframe for regulations to be adopted within a year, but requiring cultivator regulations specifically to be completed within six months. The General Assembly has indicated their intentions to get HB 523 on the Governor’s desk before the summer break. Meanwhile there are still two ballot initiatives that may be sent to the voters in November.

Digging Up Ideas for Beneficial Use of Dredge Materials You may recall, within the context of SB 1, the second nutrient management bill, effective July 1, 2020, it will be prohibited for dredged materials to be dumped into Lake Erie. In an effort to comply with this deadline, recently, the Ohio EPA held a workshop to discuss the use of dredge materials. While we are still waiting on a summary of the comments ascertained at the conference, you may follow this issue by checking this website: http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dir/ dredge#175485069-workshop Additionally, the recently introduced OEPA MBR, SB 333 contains provisions relative to beneficial reuse of dredge material. Among other provisions, the bill would give the Director of the OEPA the authority to write rules governing the beneficial use of dredged material including rules that will estabonla.org

lish criteria for determining when dredged material does not constitute either solid wastes under Ohio Revised Code 3734 or other wastes under 6111. Having met with the staff of OEPA recently, I know they are eager to find partners to pilot some of the potential uses of this material. If this subject is of great interest to you, please contact me at: bjones@capitol-consulting.net.

Water Quality: “WLEB” While details are slim at deadline, we wanted to give you a heads up that a new water quality collaborative is in the works. I will be attending a meeting May 25 being called by the Ohio Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Health and EPA. This meeting, called the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) Collaborative Implementation Plan Roll-out” will afford attendees to see the initial draft plan for the WLEB. It is anticipated that there will be plenty of opportunity for input in this process. We will send the draft plan after the May 25 meeting. Comments may be made to the plan at: Collaborativecomments@epa.ohio.gov. Stay tuned! please see page 8

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May/June 2016 7

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Kasich Removes Interim Tag to Make Morrison New Bwc Administrator Gov. John Kasich Tuesday announced that Sarah Morrison will be the new administrator and CEO of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, removing the interim tag from her current title. Morrison has been serving as interim administrator and CEO since former Administrator Steve Buehrer stepped down from the post in mid-April. “Sarah has been an important part of the BWC leadership team that helped drive our state’s workplace injury rate below the national average and provided Ohio businesses with $4.3 billion in rate cuts, rebates and credits. I am confident she will build on that record of achievement and continue BWC’s work to strengthen Ohio’s business environment,” Kasich said in a statement announcing the appointment. Morrison was BWC’s chief legal officer since first joining the bureau in November 2012 after 15 years in private law practice. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University and a law degree from Capital University Law School.

Bill Recently Introduced

If passed the bill would prohibit the labeling and advertising of nursery stock as pollinator beneficial under specified conditions. I called Rep. Ramos and asked what caused him to introduce this bill. He said that he got the idea from Rep. Hansen in Minnesota. The ONLA Board has not yet taken a position on this bill but will likely do so at their June board meeting. To view the text of the bill, visit: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA131HB-566

Bills Signed by the Governor HB243 (Schaffer), which makes changes governing the architects board and the landscape architects board regarding continuing education requirements. SB75 (Jones-Peterson), which limits the authority of a board of county commissioners or board of township trustees to prohibit agritourism through zoning, applies current agricultural use valuation to land used for agritourism for property tax purposes, and establishes immunity in a civil action for agritourism providers. B Belinda Jones ONLA Legislative Consultant bjones@capitol-consulting.net

HB 566 (Ramos; D-Euclid) was introduced on May 12.

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8 The Buckeye

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EXECUTIVE OFFICE UPDATE

Developing a Future Work Force

ONLA Executive Director

Frits Rizor

Spring has definitely sprung! The economy seems to be in a steady rebound state, gas prices are still low, and clients are spending money on our products and services. While that’s all great, here’s the Catch-22—how in the heck are we going to get all this work done? I’m fairly certain there’s not a business owner, manager, or Green Industry educator in the state who couldn’t use a couple (5, 10, 20…) potential team members or students walking through the door. Unfortunately, this is not a problem that’s easily solved overnight, but it can be solved. A good friend of mine introduced me to a Chinese proverb years ago that he picked up from Paul Reiner in his younger days at Oakland Nursery. It’s definitely one of my favorite quotes of all time:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb Maybe that doesn’t seem all that relevant to the conversation at first glance, but it really is. Even though our crisis is right now, and we might scrape together a few warm bodies to get the work done by Memorial Day, 4th of July, or “insert other deadline here”; the long-term fix for the future is going to be the changes we make now. Students aren’t going to sign up for a landscape management program or come bursting through the door with a resume because they decided the Green Industry was a great career choice over a conversation at Taco Bell. What they are going to respond to is the “tree” that we plant now. About a month ago, I attended the State FFA Nursery & Landscape Competition at Tolles Technical in onla.org

Plain City. The hands-on competition allowed students to show their skills in plant layout, paver installation, grading, drainage, estimating and skid steer operation. About 100 students attended, representing the top 10 teams from a field that began with 38. The weather wasn’t the best—it poured the entire second day. Plant layout took place on plastic tarps in a commons room, kids trudged from building to building in a torrential downpour, but spirits remained high and these potential young professionals really showed their stuff. Now, here’s the tree that was planted. Half a dozen industry sponsors not only donated, but attended, judged, and interacted with students and educators. The students, thinking it was just a fun couple days of competition, were actually attending one of their first green industry networking events. This is a huge opportunity for us to “plant the tree.” Will all of these students end up in our industry? Certainly not. Will they be looking for a job this spring after graduation? Maybe. Will they go to college in the fall? Will they pick a major that prepares them for our industry? Will they seek technical training? Will they make this a career? Career. That’s the key word. What’s important to these students (critical to us) is that they view our industry as a career. No one wants to enter a field where they don’t know what success looks like, or if it’s even possible. This is our opportunity to show them just how great the Green Industry is and how the path they are on is not just a short term trip through high school, but a long term journey to a successful career. These students, who we know have at least a bit of interest and definitely please see page 10 May/June 2016 9

continued from page 9

a good deal of talent, networked. They saw industry professionals that cared about what they were doing and shared what they thought. They saw well dressed, wellspoken individuals who drove really nice trucks. I don’t know about you, but at the ripe age of 17, a shiny new F-250 (apologies to Ford haters out there) spelled success a mile away for me. What did it cost? A little bit of time… a little bit of money? How much are you spending now (time and money) to get little or no return on your recruiting efforts? The sponsors and volunteers had a captive audience of 100 potential employees for two days! The challenge of finding qualified help in our industry is not going away. If we don’t plant the tree right now, we’ll never reap the kind of harvest that we all need. So my challenge to all is this. Engage. Sponsor an event, volunteer at an event, or start off by attending an event. Reach out to landscape, horticulture, or forestry faculty at a high school, career center, or college and offer to come in to talk to their students. If possible, provide a field trip to a jobsite in progress or your place of business. Have lunch for them with you and your staff and try to engage in conversation. If students aren’t ready or able for full-time work at this point in their

life, get creative and provide opportunities for internships, part-time work, or Saturday shifts that get them involved with your company. Positive interactions with you, your staff, and the work environment will leave long lasting impressions with our industry’s future workforce and leaders. We’re in the process right now of organizing the Ohio High School Landscape Olympics (OHLO) in November. Students will compete in 10 different events ranging from landscape plant installation to irrigation assembly and troubleshooting to sales presentations. There are already 24 schools from Ohio that have committed to the event. One instructor even called to ask if he could bring 40 (yes 40) additional students to observe as potential enrollees for his program. Talk about planting the tree!! For more information on this event and how you can get involved, see page 11 in this issue of The Buckeye or visit the Events tab on the ONLA homepage. B Frits Rizor ONLA Executive Director frits@onla.org

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FEATURE ARTICLE

Introducing the Ohio High School Landscape Olympics! The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association is excited to present the 1st Annual Ohio High School Landscape Olympics (OHLO), November 3 & 4, 2016 at the OSU/ATI Wooster, OH campus. This competition has been created for two reasons:

ONLA Membership & Certification Manager

Roni Petersen

1. To create a fun, yet educational competition where aspiring students are able to test their hands-on skills. 2. Enable industry representatives to experience the next generation of green professionals, allowing students to see the value in green professions. OHLO is open to all Ohio high schools with a horticultural component. The competition will consist of ten competitive events aimed to test competitors’ abilities. These events will be planned, implemented and scored by industry sponsors using guidelines generated by the ONLA. Competition events include: • Compact Excavator Operation • Hardscape Installation • Construction Cost Estimating • Irrigation Assembly & Troubleshooting • Sales Presentation • Landscape Maintenance Operations • Skid Steer Operation • Landscape Plant Installation • Plant ID • Truck & Trailer Operation

onla.org

Single teams from all participating schools may compete in all events, or just a few. Each student is limited to competing in four events, however schools are encouraged to field a single team that will have participants in all ten events. The highest scoring team will be declared the Top Team in the State and the highest scoring individual will take home bragging rights as the Top Student in the State. These events are meant to create a fun learning and competitive environment that allows industry representatives to be a part of the next generation. Along with all the competitive events, a career fair and student networking event (pizza party and much more) is planned. An event of this size presents many opportunities for industry involvement. In order to raise funds to cover the costs associated, ONLA is hosting a Golf Outing (see page 12 for registration) and is actively seeking sponsors (see pages 13-14 for details). Career fair spaces are limited, so I encourage you to act quickly to sign up for a booth (see page 15 for registration). B Roni Petersen ONLA Membership & Certification Manager roni@onla.org

May/June 2016 11

ONLA GOLF OUTING

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES 100% of the proceeds go toward the ONLA High School Landscape Olympics

September 23, 2016

Bent Tree Golf Club, Sunbury, Ohio 10:00 AM Shotgun Start 3:00 PM Awards & Cookout PRESENTING SPONSOR— Opportunity to welcome golfers & distribute awards during awards ceremony $1900.00 (1 Available) WELCOME SPONSOR— Opportunity to welcome golfers & distribute goodie bags with your logo co-branded on one or more: · Thermal Cooler Tote · T-shirt (all sponsors included) · Golf Balls · Coffee mug $1900.00 (2 Available) HOLE SPONSOR— Company name on tee sign at hole. $650.00 (18 Available) BEVERAGE CART SPONSOR— Opportunity to drive beverage cart with company signage displayed $750.00 (2 Available)

As an event sponsor you will receive: • One golf foursome: meals at event ($400 Value). • Logo recognition includes: · Event t-shirt · Events Signage · ONLA ‑Website · The Buckeye Return this form, along with a check payable: ONLA, 72 Dorchester Square, Westerville, Ohio 43081 Name:________________________________________ Company Name:_______________________________ Address: ______________________________________ City, State & Zip: _______________________________ Email:_________________________________________ Phone: _______________________________________ I am happy to support ONLA with the following sponsorship:___________________________________

GAME SPONSOR— Opportunity to conduct game (corn-hole or dice) $750.00 (2 Available) CONTEST SPONSOR— Hole in one, Longest Putt, Longest Drive, Closest To The Pin, Best Dressed Foursome $750.00 (5 Available) COOKOUT SPONSOR— Company advertisement on table signage during cookout $850.00 (2 Available)

I am donating the following door prize:____________

DOOR PRIZE SPONSOR Everyone loves door prizes!

Name on Card:________________________________

_____________________________________________ Estimated at: __________________________________ PAYMENT INFORMATION (circle one)

CHECK

VISA

MASTERCARD

Amount: _______________ Card Number: _________________________________ Exp Date: __________ 3 Digit Code:_____________ Cardholder Name/Signature:_____________________

Sponsorship Deadline is September 2, 2016, Contact Karen at karen@onla.org or (614) 899-1195

Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association

Ohio High School Landscape Olympics (OHLO) Sponsorships Wooster, Ohio November 3 & 4, 2016

Gold Sponsor

$5,000 Monetary Donation 1. Promotion as the Gold Sponsor on all marketing materials and all OHLO event signage 2. Speaking time at Opening and Closing ceremony 3. Option to distribute giveaway with your company logo (Sponsor bears expense of giveaway)

4. Verbal and Multimedia recognition at Opening and Closing ceremonies 5. Free Career Fair space at event (Max 2 booths) 6. Space on event location to display items (i.e. trailer or tent of equipment) 7. Company name and/or logo in event program 8. Recognition in The Buckeye magazine 9. Logo on event t-shirt

Silver Sponsor

$2,500 Monetary Donation 1. Promotion as a Silver Sponsor on all marketing materials and all OHLO event signage 2. Verbal and Multimedia recognition at Opening and Closing ceremonies 3. Option to distribute giveaway with your company logo (Sponsor bears expense of 4. 5. 6. 7.

giveaway)

Free Career Fair space at event Company name and/or logo in event program Recognition in The Buckeye magazine Logo on event t-shirt

Bronze Sponsor

$1,500 Monetary Donation Promotion as a Bronze Sponsor on all marketing materials and all OHLO event signage 1. Verbal and Multimedia recognition at Opening and Closing ceremonies 2. Free Career Fair space at event 3. Company name and/or logo in event program 4. Recognition in The Buckeye magazine 5. Logo on event t-shirt

Opening Student Party Sponsor (Exclusive)

$4,000 Monetary Donation 1. Named event opening party 2. Logo on all signage at event 3. Logo on all pre-event marketing 4. Free Career Fair space at event 5. Company name and/or logo in event program 6. Recognition in The Buckeye magazine 7. Logo on event t-shirt

Additional Sponsorships Options

$1,000 Monetary Donation • Breakfast Sponsor ($1000) • Lunch Sponsor ($1000) • Refreshment/Hospitality area ($1000) 1. Verbal and Multimedia recognition at Opening and Closing ceremonies 2. Company name and/or logo in event program 3. Recognition in The Buckeye magazine 4. Logo on signage of sponsored area/function $500 Monetary Donation 1. Company name and/or logo in event program 2. Recognition in The Buckeye magazine 3. Name on signage at event

onla.org

May/June 2016 13

Ohio High School Landscape Olympics (OHLO) Sponsorship/Career Fair Registration Form SPONSORSHIP

Company Name: __________________________________________________________ (As you want it to appear in marketing)

Contact Name: _____________________________________________________________________________ Company Address: __________________________________________________________________________ Company City: ________________________

State: ______________

Zip: _________________________

Contact Name Phone: __________________________ Contact Name Email: __________________________

Please Check Your Sponsorship Level  Gold ($5,000)  Silver ($2,500)  Bronze ($1,500)  Opening Student Party ($4,000) (exclusive)  Breakfast Sponsor ($1,000)  Lunch Sponsor ($1,000)  Refreshment/Hospitality Area ($1,000)  Additional Sponsor ($500)

Career Fair

Thursday, November 3, 2016 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Space $50.00  Table $15.00 (additional fee) TOTAL AMOUNT $_______________ Payment Method

 Check Enclosed  Credit Card Number: _______________________________________ Exp. Date: _______ 3 Digit Code: _________

Sponsorship DEADLINE, September 16, 2016 Please send payment information to: Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association 72 Dorchester Square Westerville, OH 43081 614-899-1195 * roni@onla.org 14 The Buckeye

onla.org

ONLA Green Industry Career Exploration Event ONLA Career Exploration Official Rules & Regulations When & Where: The ONLA Career Fair will be held in conjunction with the Ohio High School Landscape Olympics (OHLO) on Thursday, November 3, 2016, from 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. at the OSU ATI Campus in Wooster, OH Official Rules & Regulations: 1. The ONLA Career Fair is open to all companies who deal with any aspect of the horticulture industry. Registration for space is $50 for ONLA members and $100 for non-members. This fee MUST accompany the registration form. 2. Pre-fabricated displays are permissible only if they do not encroach on neighboring displays.

3. Job descriptions and company literature are recommended. Set-Up & Tear Down: The Career Fair will be located at OSU ATI. Set-up will take place from 2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m., tear down will begin at 5:45 p.m. If you have questions, please contact the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association at (614) 8991195.

Booth spaces are limited, registration ends September 23, 2016.

Please neatly print or type the following information Company Name ______________________________________________________________________________________ Contact Name ______________________________________________________________________________________ Mailing Address _____________________________________________________________________________________ City _________________________State ______ Zip ______________

County___________________________

Phone Â(_____)___________________________________Fax (_____)__________________________________________ Contact Email ____________________________________Website____________________________________________

Registration Deadline: September 23 , 2016

Work Categories: Check all that apply: Garden Center / Retail Landscape Grower Arborists Lawn Care Golf Course, Turf Arboretum, Public Gardens Return form with payment to:

$50 ONLA Members

$100.00 Non-members

CHECK (enclosed, made payable to ONLA) VISA MasterCard Card Number: ___________________________________________ Exp. Date: ________

3-Digit Code:_________

Signature: ______________________________________________

The Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association 72 Dorchester Square, Westerville, Ohio 43081-3350 P: (614) 899-1195 onla.org

May/June 2016â&#x20AC;&#x192; 15

WHY TREES MATTER

Why Trees Matter Recovery

16â&#x20AC;&#x192; The Buckeye

onla.org

May/June 2016â&#x20AC;&#x192; 17

As I write this in late April, various Arbor Day celebrations are already underway, many before the traditional last Friday of April, April 29 this year. Arbor Days are celebrations of trees – and reminders of the many benefits of trees, from timber to the tree-mendous environmental, aesthetic, health, and social services trees provide To highlight these different uses and perspectives of Trees at Work, let us start with a story from the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania.

We were certainly a different country then, for one thing with a much higher agrarian population. We did need then (and still need now) the natural resource of trees. As noted at the Laurel Mountain display, at the logging peak, there were over 600 sawmills on Laurel Mountain. A lumberman was quoted about “the screams of the saw, the roar of the machines, the booming of lumber on the rolls.” Special railcars and tracks were developed for the torturous, winding paths through the mountain.

In late March of this year, my wife Laura and I traveled to Laurel Mountain State Park in west-Central Pennsylvania. On one of our first hikes, we moved upward on the Hemlock Trail from streamside views and trout fisherman, to a forest of hemlocks and beeches and birches, then into the Hemlock Natural Area, where trees were much larger. These larger hemlocks were in fact a virgin stand. We would have needed extra family members to encircle these hemlock trees with our arms.

Then, on the next panels in the interpretive display, Teddy Roosevelt’s fifth cousin President Franklin Roosevelt is quoted in 1933, as the Great Depression roars through our country: “I propose a Civilian Conservation Corps of volunteers to be used…forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control and similar projects.” Among the fruits of their labor? They “transformed hundreds of thousands of acres, built millions of miles of roads and trails, stocked a billion fish in lakes and streams, and planted billions of trees.”

First, it was wonderful that these hemlocks did not appear to be infested with the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid insect, which has devastated large areas of hemlock forest east of Ohio and has now become an issue worthy of eradication in our Hocking Hills State Park area and elsewhere. Second, we enjoyed this growing stand and the surrounding forest, which though certainly not as mature as in the Hemlock Natural Area, was on its way.

This brings us to the display at the small Visitor Center in the park and the tale it tells. The trees of Laurel Mountain were almost totaled in the early 20th century. Why? As President Theodore Roosevelt put it: “The railroads must have ties…the mines must have timber…the farmer must have timber...the stockman must have fenceposts.”

According to the display, in Pennsylvania alone, the CCC involved 194,572 young men, who planted over 60 million trees and improved the health of over 600,000 forest acres. It almost makes our current million tree planting projects seem paltry. They are not, as they involve thousands of volunteers, multitudes of communities and have well-documented impacts of the growing tree benefits movement in American communities. What a recovery the forests of Laurel Mountain represent. The history of the forests in Ohio is also quite interesting. Ohio was, of course, once almost all forested, with estimates of pre-European colonization of from 90%-95% forested land for what became Ohio, with some prairies and swamps mixed in. Then, with clearing of land for agriculture please see page 20

18 The Buckeye

onla.org

Page 16: Top row, left to right The amazing white redbud corsagesized flowers in Central Park Ohio buckeye at Ohio rest area near Delaware Ohio Male and female flowers of birch at Secrest Arboretum

Bottom row, left to right Hornbeam flowers and foliage at Polaris north of Columbus Strawberry Parfait crabapple blooms and foliage at Secrest Arboretum in Wooster Aesculus foliage and flowers in Oberlin Ohio Page 17: Red maple tree with colorful fruits in Central Park

Pages 18 & 19: 1. Wild, wonderful, scaley Douglasfir cones on the College of Oberlin campus 2. Three flowered maples with their dramatic bud scales in the Chatscape 3. Red maple fruits from Central Park in NYC 4. Mary Maloney Arbor Day celebration for Chadwick Arboretum on Arbor Day 5. Three flowered maples and their soft spring look in the Chatscape 6. Sustainable Landscape Maintenance class at OSU on their NYC trip in Central Park at the Elm Allee 7 & 8: Hybrid striped maple in Chatscape 9. Early oak leaves and flowers at Polaris north of Columbus onla.org

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and living space, by the early 1900s, Edmund Secrest, the first state forester for Ohio, stationed at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, estimated Ohio’s forest cover at around 10%. Quite a change. Yet, due to those CCC workers, due to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, due to purchase and protection of large areas of state forest, by 2006 the survey of Ohio forest lands estimated it to be in excess of 30%. Quite a change, again. And look at our current understanding of the impact of trees. According to the well- researched i-Tree model, a 24 inch diameter white oak next to a building in Doylestown, Ohio provides annual environmental services of $239 in terms of stormwater remediation, energy savings, air quality benefits, carbon sequestration, and aesthetic benefits (treebenefits.com). Check it out for the trees on properties you maintain or trees you have in your landscape designs. Do a little mental arithmetic to estimate the trees in your nursery once they reach their potential of mature size in the future. And that is only the beginning - then there are the social and human health benefits of trees. As Maria Zampini noted in the October 2011 The Buckeye: Educating our customers and the public about the economic benefits of the environmental services that trees provide is a direction the green industry needs to go. This helps us sell the idea that our products are a great use for the consumer dollar and are a bottomline necessity, not a luxury. Note: i-Tree was developed from a public-private partnership of the United States Forest Service, the International Society of Arboriculture, the Arbor Day Foundation and Davey Tree Expert Co. of Kent, Let us finish with Teddy Roosevelt speaking to the schoolchildren of the United States on Arbor Day 1907, with a little broader context then his 1905 comments of the usage of trees. So, trees as timber. Then trees as wondrous parkland in magnificent renewal. Trees to sell, trees as the infrastructure of landscape design, trees to plant, trees to maintain in good health. And as Mary Maloney of OSU’s Chadwick Arboretum pointed out at the OSU Columbus Campus Arbor Day this year, after receiving her well-deserved ONLA achievement award from Frits Rizor - trees are one resource that does not depreciate with time, but appreciates – in so many ways – including in its canopy and root system environmental services effects. Recovery. The Sustainable Landscape Maintenance class I teach in and learn so much from due to the talented and inspiring students always takes a trip to New York 20 The Buckeye

City in April. We dine well and we view the ways landscape architects, landscape designers, landscape installers and maintenance professionals, and arborists so intelligently make cities more livable, from the High Line, to Central Park to the Hudson River Parkway ad infinitum. Bill Johnson, who took the class last year and returned to the Big Apple this year had the assignment of doing a mini-lecture about Central Park. Starting in 1857, Frederick Law Olmstead and other visionaries transformed a sewage-strewn wasteland into a marvel of nature and nurture (horticulture) beauty and use. It flourished but then declined during one of New York City’s down times into a place of litter and danger into the 1980’s. Then the Central Park Conservancy and others have turned it around again. Visit and marvel. Recovery is possible and alive and well. Oh - the sights you will see! Horticulture is hard work, but do smell the roses, and eat the fruits of your edible landscape and labors, and simply keep your eyes wide open.

Teddy Roosevelt said to the youth of America in 1905 Arbor Day (which means simply “Tree Day”) is now observed in every State in our Union — and mainly in the schools. At various times from January to December, but chiefly in this month of April, you give a day or part of a day to special exercises and perhaps to actual tree planting, in recognition of the importance of trees to us as a Nation, and of what they yield in adornment, comfort, and useful products to the communities in which you live… …So any nation which in its youth lives only for the day, reaps without sowing, and consumes without husbanding, must expect the penalty of the prodigal, whose labor could with difficulty find him the bare means of life…A people without children would face a hopeless future; a country without trees is almost as hopeless; forests which are so used that they cannot renew themselves will soon vanish, and with them all their benefits… If your Arbor Day exercises help you to realize what benefits each one of you receives from the forests, and how by your assistance these benefits may continue, they will serve a good end. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is – May to November 2016; this New Year of Trees. B Jim Chatfield Ohio State University Extension chatfield.1@osu.edu Photos courtesy Jim Chatfield.

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SAFETY FIRST Take the first step to ladder safety Employees can be pretty nonchalant about safety when using ladders. Just remember that injuries from a ladder fall can be serious - even fatal. The first step, so to speak, in protecting yourself from injury is proper setup. Keep these tips in mind before you climb a ladder at work or at home: • Make sure no overhead obstructions or power lines are in the way. • Lock or block nearby doors to keep people from suddenly or accidentally bumping the ladder. • Keep the area around the ladder base free of clutter. • Rest the ladder base on a solid, level surface. • If you’re working outdoors or in the grass, use a large board to level the surface and keep the ladder from sinking into soft ground. • Tie a straight ladder as close to the upper support point as possible. • Make sure the ladder extends three feet beyond the roof’s edge or support point when using a ladder to reach a roof or platform. • Make sure stepladders are fully open and the spreader is locked. • Never use a ladder outside during strong winds.

On the road? Your employer won’t protect you in all cases If you travel for work, your employer may be liable for accidents or injuries that you suffer off-site - but not in every case. Be careful to avoid these mistakes that could leave you exposed: • Your injury is the result of your own misconduct. You can’t drive a car while intoxicated, or take unreasonable chances with your personal safety, and expect your employer to take responsibility. Behave professionally at all times when traveling on business. • You refuse medical treatment. You may think you’re not seriously injured, but take time to visit a doctor or emergency room after any onla.org

•

accident. Waiting too long may aggravate the injury, and reduce your employer’s responsibility for treatment. You make a claim 12 months or more after an incident. Don’t delay when you’re injured. Inform your employer promptly so the organization can investigate and confirm the details of your situation.

Be ready to stay safe during the hot summer months As we move toward the summer months, you may be working in hotter conditions whether your job takes you outdoors or not. Your manager should take care of you when temperatures soar, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect some basic precautions against heat-related injuries. Keep these tips in mind when the heat starts getting to you: • Drink plenty of liquids. When temperatures rise, try to drink a pint of water every hour. Avoid drinks with lots of sugar or caffeine, or anything alcoholic; these can dehydrate you more rapidly. • Eat frequent meals. Don’t let your energy get too low because of hunger. Light, balanced meals are best. • Wear your sunscreen. If you’re working outside, be sure to apply and reapply a strong sunblock to avoid sunburn. • Avoid sudden extremes. Don’t try to cool down with a freezing shower. The shock to your system can trigger more problems. • Pay attention to your body. If you feel dizzy or light-headed, tell your supervisor right away and move to somewhere cooler. Drink some water. Go to a doctor if you don’t quickly feel better. • Watch out for your co-workers. Someone suffering the early symptoms of heat exhaustion may not be aware of his or her behavior. Step in if a colleague appears woozy or otherwise ill. B

May/June 2016 21

RETAIL ROUNDTABLE

The Buzz About

POLLINATORS Hi Kids! Do you know what time it is? That’s right; it’s time for another round of “Let’s Ask the Retailers!” You know the rules; we ask the questions and our retailing aficionados provide their thought provoking brain stimulating answers, sure to be changing your retailing ways. Aficionados, are you ready? Then grab your buzzers and let’s play! Here is your question. Good luck. Bees, Monarch Butterflies and other Pollinators, oh my! Definitely the buzz in the gardening world, so what are you doing this spring / this year to help educate your customers (and employees) about the pollinators, what they can do to help, and which pollinator plants are best suited for planting in their yards, gardens, landscapes and containers? If nothing special, just curious as to why not, or if you have future plans to do something? Bonus question: have customers asked what chemicals your plants are treated with, and if so, what’s your response, and would the employees all answer the same way?

Tom Hilgeman / White Oak Garden Center Good question! This is a hot topic and each season it seems we have more and more customers coming

22 The Buckeye

in asking for pollinator plants. Cannot keep Butterfly weed in stock, and is it really that great of a plant? I love the flower but I have killed the plant at least 3 times over the last 10 years. Could be that I’m not as good of a gardener as I was before kids, when I had time to garden. We have signage, big butterflies and more great signage to help attract customers to the bee & butterfly friendly displays. We are also excited to have a new series of branded Pollinator plants by the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The POP and info provided in this program will help educate customers as well as employees on which pollinator plants are easy to grow and are best for our area. The website, http://cincinnatizoo.org/horticulture/zoosbest-plants-for-pollinators/, also has great info on the benefits of planting pollinator friendly plants in the garden. Blog posts and emails during the spring & early summer will feature the benefits of planting pollinator plants.

Tim Clark / H.J. Benken Florist & Greenhouses We are offering a seminar in April entitled “Bees Bugs and Butterflies”. A good portion of the class will be spent on the importance of bees in the garden and what the consumer needs to do to attract and

please see page 24 onla.org

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keep them along with other beneficial bugs. We will have signage in the garden center next to good pollinator plants that will inform the consumer of some good choices. If a customer asks if we put chemicals on the plants, our answer is yes, we do. We are a production greenhouse that relies on some chemicals for control.

Tony Sciambi / Buckeye Resources I would suggest that all Garden Centers make available the US Department of Agriculture Home & Garden Bulletin #158, “Beekeeping for Beginners.” It covers just about everything one would need to know about honeybees, which I feel customers and employees would find very interesting. The more you know, the better you are at making gardening decisions to help the bees.

Mike Ennemoser / Greenleaf Landscapes In recent seasons, there has been most certainly been more pollinator plant requests. Attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees does seem to be the “buzz” and I agree, even in our market. The commonly recommended perennial pollinator plants are Bee balm, Butterfly weed, and Milkweed. Based upon questioning, we will ask if they want annual(s), perennial(s), or flowering shrubs. We will then make a recommendation to suit their needs. If more information is needed, we refer to our in-house handouts or website. We also utilize the internet as a source of information. A few years ago, we installed a flat screen monitor on a wall with access to the internet. This corner of our store becomes an invaluable resource and sales tool. If we do not know the answer, we just simply research it on the spot. Yes, we have planned for additional point of purchase signage to assist with pollinator plant questions. We also do short product plant talks with new hires and seasonal staff to help alleviate selling pressures “peak season.”

of growing and maintaining our bee population. It goes without saying that we really need to get kids on board with this, too. As far as customers asking about what our plants are treated with, I can honestly say I have only been asked that once or twice in the past ten years. Since we don’t claim to be an organic nursery I hope people know that what our growers treat their plants with is out of our control. I would hope that all of our staff would say the same thing, but.... Great answers, as usual! At Natorp’s, we’ve invested in new POP material about pollinators, created a special display (which changes) showing pollinator plants, have a multi-paged handout about “Beeing Friendly and Pollinator Polite,” selling bee houses, feeders, etc., even putting signage near the bug controls on “beeing” friendly. And we’ve bombarded our family of employees with bee / pollinator / bee decline / research / most recent findings / websites /etc. information, should they chose to read it. Keeping employees up to date with what is going on out there in the bee / pollinator / butterfly world is very important for them, and for us and our customers. We also have a written statement about the insecticidal usage on our nursery, just in case someone asks (and they do). And we’re adding bee hives to the nursery, right next to the parking lot. “Plant it and they will come.” You can quote me on that, as we take advantage of this buzz to “bee friendly and pollinator polite” in our yards, gardens and container plantings. I leave you with this line from a song sung by Clint Eastwood: “You don’t reach for the honey, without smokin’ the hive”, which has nothing to do with this article but good trivia question about Clint actually singing a song (with Randy Travis). B Ron Wilson Personal Yardboy and ONLA Retail Committee Ghost Writer in the Sky rwilson@natorp.com

Darlene Cooper / Sharon Nursery I’d love to say we have brilliant POP information posted at every cash register but... We don’t! We do, however, have lots of POP out in the perennial section with lists of larval foods and pollinators. We also have fairly comprehensive handouts at the checkout to help educate our customers. We are a very bee and butterfly friendly nursery and we encourage our customers to plan and plant accordingly. I suspect as customer requests for information grow we will try to support their interests with either a workshop or by grouping plants together to make a bee or butterfly sample garden. I have certainly seen a higher level of interest in butterfly gardening over the past few years. Sadly, not nearly enough people come in looking to bring bees to the garden. We have a long way to go toward educating folks about the extreme importance 24 The Buckeye

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Developing Summer Business by the Numbers This spring, most green industry companies were inundated with business opportunities too numerous to perform. Business owners had challenging customers who wanted to have their work handled on a priority basis. Establishing the priority of work for your business often was determined by manpower availability, product availability, and applicable equipment needed to complete the project. Earlier this year, sales people were called upon to develop many proposals which did not go forward, either because they could not be performed on a time frame the customer wanted or for some other reason the prospective customer delayed going forward with the proposal. For many green industry companies, sales/closure of proposals this spring is considerably below thirty percent of the total proposals made. At most companies, June is the time to start contacting those old prospects who did not engage you to perform the project. Most old proposals may not be priced based on the costs applicable to a time table ninety days or longer after the proposals had been provided to a prospect. You will need to reprice the proposals and then go about recontacting the prospects.

able from the work that has been completed or is scheduled to be completed before June 30. What you will need to calculate is the average value of the proposals that have been turned into revenue or production to be performed. 4. Number of proposals uncertain about going forward (average value): The number of proposals that had not been accepted or where the client elected to defer after receiving the proposal will need to be found. All of the unclosed proposals will need to be reviewed to identify when the client had elected to defer the project at that time. 5. Number of proposals that were an absolute no: On proposals that were not accepted, a tracking piece of data should be affixed to the proposal indicating the client has elected to not move forward on the project due to price/cost of the project. 6. Number of proposals to be recontacted: Developing the list of item 4 above and deleting item 5 proposals will identify opportunities for recontacting prospects about executing their project during the current year. please see page 26

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Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at what your spring was really like in terms of leads, closure rate, average value of proposals and average value of closed proposals. 1. Number of leads:I am sure that you have been assigning a sequential number to each lead received or your computer system has been doing this. Learning this data should be automatic but if you have not been recording the data you will need to add the data by day, week, and month. 2. Number of proposals (average value): Almost all companies have been assigning numbers to each proposal that is developed each year. Although you will have a count on the number of proposals developed, you will need to add the value of each proposal to learn the total value of the proposals that were developed for your business since the start of 2016. 3. Number of proposals closed (average value): The number of proposals closed will be availonla.org

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7. Closure rate (3/2) first time: Knowing your closure rate on initial proposals will provide you an insight as to how effective your sales personnel have been in understanding what the prospective client would be willing to invest in a project for the current year. 8. Number of sales when recontacted: Now that you have identified older proposals, contact prospects that did not accept your initial proposal. Doing this in person will be far more effective as you will learn if the prospect engaged another company to do the project or if the prospect is still be considering the project for the current year. Here, your sales effectiveness will be critical. 9. Closure rate (8/6) second time: After you have recontacted all of the potential clients identified as item 6, you can develop the closure rate that is achieved for this second selling effort. The benefit of developing this data for the summer months of 2016 will provide a list of projects that will keep your employees busy during the summer period when new sales leads tend to be lower than at any other period during a business sales period.

Most companies will complete most of the early spring sales installation by the end of June. The challenge for most companies is to have work to perform in July, August and September. If you take the time to develop the information about your proposals and the installations or services performed, you will have a launching point to begin your summer sales effort. When you perform the steps outlined previously, you will often be surprised to find willing customers whom you have already contacted eager to have you step in to perform the project you quoted. Summer is a great time to harvest prospects where proposals are outstanding, and this will lead you to much of your work for the summer months after you have completed the pressure packed period of springtime. Commit to develop the data outlined, and you will find that you already have business but you just have forgotten to contact the prospect to close the sale. B Ed Wandtke ONLA Freelance Author

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Grower The grower is the base of the green industry. In order to have healthy plants to sell, the nursery employee must be knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects including plant identification, development and health; growing and harvesting techniques; plant nutrients; pest and disease elimination; plant maintenance and more.

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tification, plant usage, plant health, soils, turfgrass management, use of pesticides, construction techniques, design, sales and more. Core Core is important to all aspects of the Green Industry. Plant ID, Professionalism, Safety & First Aid are examples of the Core chapters of which all nursery and landscape professionals should have knowledge. MONTHLY TESTING IN COLUMBUS, OH Visit onla.org to find upcoming test dates and download your OCNT test application or to get more information on the OCNT program or contact roni@onla.org.

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Feature

Three Cans of Worms My family has a long history of spouting off before we think. This time, I have been thinking about this article for more than a month, but have decided to hit on three topics I have been mulling over. I will doubtless make several people mad, but here goes. You have been warned. Hold on while I get on my soapbox.

CAN #1: Politics In my role as program chair of the Landscape Horticulture programs at Cincinnati State, I have the luxury of meeting a wide range of people, from students and parents to many folks in the green industry at all levels. I think it would be fair to say that I am exposed to many ideas and political views. Most of the business people I know, for example, hate our current president, and practically everything he has done for the past seven years. However, I recently had a conversation with a business owner that I have a lot of respect for in the landscape contracting field, who, surprisingly, had a different view. His company had actually prospered over most of

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28 The Buckeye

those last seven years, and he brings in enough work to keep several crews very busy. He actually admitted that Obama wasn’t as bad for business as some people had believed. To figure this out, he looked at his own business analysis and ignored the talking heads on both sides. Was he in agreement with everything Obama said or did? Of course not. But, just like in business, he would like to see people work together to solve the issues, not just block every attempt to fix something. Too often, we have the “us vs. them” mentality that blocks rational thought about various issues. Republicans vs. Democrats. Business owners vs. employees. Teacher vs. student. Government vs. everybody. We need to get away from this adversarial stance and look at how to solve issues from common ground. We only have one planet to live on, we need to seriously look at what needs to be done to improve everyone’s lives, not just a select few.

CAN #2: Chemical use I have had other people I know scream about chemical use. I am not against the proper use of chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides, and will use an organic formula as long as it is effective and safe for me to handle. However, there is a segment of the population who considers me part of the problem because I’m not 100% organic. The latest call to arms over the colony collapse disorder of honeybees has lots of folks in a frenzy, complete with a lot of junk science. Almost completely overlooked, of course, is the fact that many of the almost 4000 native bee species (the honeybee is not native) are on the brink of extinction, primarily due to loss of habitat and the native plants upon which they depend for survival. When you look at the “average” subdivision, the vast majority of the plants in landscapes are so poorly diversified that we tend in our classes to call them “ecological deserts.” Taxus, burning bush, boxwood, and callery pears, even without the invasiveness issue, are not contributing to the ecological diversity upon which we also depend, not just the “pollinators.” And while red maples are native, when that is one of the few species being over-planted, this too will set us up for another catastrophic scenario similar to when we once planted American elm on practically every street in the country. Being “bee friendly” is going to be much more than planting a few pretty plants here and there, it will take a wholesale change in attitude in the public and industry folks to adjust to the idea that working with nature will produce better conditions for both us and the wildlife around us. And while we now have the “poster child” of butterflies in the Monarch, what about the thousands of other species of butterflies and moths that, again, depend on the native plants and habitats we so willfully ignore and/or destroy? Again, loss of habitat, and the plants on which insects feed, contribute to the decline and extinction of butterflies and moths, which are onla.org

Feature the primary food for the young of most bird species. This decline in habitat for butterflies then sends shockwaves up the food chain. There are estimates that bird populations have declined in North America by 50% to as much as 80%, primarily caused by humans degrading habitats, and their pets hunting the birds (namely, domestic cats). If we are going to save birds, bees, butterflies, and, ourselves, we need to do things differently. Instead of the usual 10 or, in a complicated design, 20 species of plants on a property, we need to tailor our plant selections for more than just convenience of the installer. We can add plants to the edges of properties that define the spaces, act as food sources for the start of the food chain, help clean the air and water, and help cut down on air conditioning bills. This is basic design enhanced for additional function. Booth and Hiss have an excellent discussion in the latest edition of their book Residential Landscape Architecture. Doug Tallamy also has more information is his book Bringing Nature Home.

CAN #3: Invasive plants Now we come to my pet peeve of the month, callery pears. People are finally starting to notice the explosion of pear seedlings as they invade our “wild” spaces along the highways, in parks, and undeveloped lots. The fact that two Cincinnati TV stations covered the “invasion” of “zombie pears” along with dozens (hundreds) of Facebook posts helped. One person on Facebook even nicknamed pears “the Asian carp of plants.” I just bought a house in Boone County in northern Kentucky, in a subdivision next to a defunct nursery. Almost the entire neighborhood has one, two, or more mature pears in every yard, including mine. We also have numerous seedlings in every landscape bed. There is a seedling at the back of the lot that is over 20 feet tall. They have become a major threat to local ecosystems, along with amur honeysuckle. I have seen areas where these two species represent 90% or more of the plant material in the space. Just down the street, there is a lot with literally thousands of seedlings that will take big bucks to eradicate. Northern Kentucky seems to be “ground zero” for the pear invasion. So, now that they are getting attention, people are starting to question how to get rid of them if it’s not too late. This can be a good thing, if we are ready to suggest alternative trees that, native or not, are well-behaved in the landscape and don’t represent a threat to local ecosystems. What isn’t so good, is that local landscape experts in the area are still resisting the mounting evidence that these plants create more problems every day. Then, we get an email from ONLA saying the tree isn’t on the noxious species list, so it is still legal to plant. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean its harmless (think tobacco), or ethical to continue using it. In this case, instead of harming indiplease see page 30 onla.org

Finding Young Blood This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. You may have heard of this story before and perhaps can relate it to examples in your professional or personal lives. How can we relate it to our ever increasing need to recruit trained employees? How are we recruiting the future leaders of our industry? Often we get caught up in our day-to-day operations and we sometimes neglect investing the time and effort into recruiting our industry’s future by securing a highly qualified workforce. Where is the future workforce for our industry? I would suggest they are in within our local communities and neighborhoods. If this is the case, how do we find them? The reasons are obvious for our need to actively address this challenge. Without a sufficient workforce the very nature of our industry and your company is at risk of losing its clientele. Our company bottom line is impacted and may cause us to close or curtail the growth of our business. In speaking with many green industry company folks, they have expressed they cannot meet the demand of clients due to a lack of sufficient employees. So where are these potential employees? They could be in career centers and high schools. This is where the disconnect could be in your community. Too often, school district officials are closing high school horticulture programs due to their perception that there are no career opportunities for students or perhaps our careers don’t appear on some new “Tech Careers of the Future” list developed by some federal or state agency or group. Our jobs cannot be outsourced like many other careers. Our clients demand and deserve prompt on-site customer service. please see page 30 May/June 2016 29

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How can we help? We need local industry representatives to contact and schedule a meeting with your career center superintendent and explain the economics of the situation. They need to hear from you and understand the economic impact of your business to their bottom line. Without your business you unintentionally have a direct impact on the school district’s tax base and thus services they desire to provide the students in the district. Most superintendents are becoming active in their local chamber of commerce. This may be a way to connect with them and stress the need for a strong, local horticulture program that can provide students with job opportunities, career choices, and economic growth.

vidual people, we plant trees that are doing environmental damage that affects everyone in the area. The last time I checked, ONLA is a partner for the Ohio Invasive Plants Council, which put callery pear through their assessment protocols, and deemed it to be invasive. This is sending mixed messages to the landscape industry and the public, by stating that planting a certain species is still legal, but it’s also listed on the invasive species list.

If you have a local horticulture program servicing your area, I invite you to contact the instructor and avail your services. I have found the value of incorporating green industry representatives into my local program. They have had a significant impact in helping prepare my students for career success. I have only found success when including industry in my classroom. With nearly 20 industry representatives on my local advisory committee, I have been blessed to have my students gain an appreciation of the great future that awaits them in our industry. Educators must also be a part of the solution. Both secondary and post-secondary programs are struggling for numbers. High school and career career instructors, college professors – have you reached out to your local industry to include them into your program? What are you doing to recruit students in your program? Often some educators believe their job is to only teach the skills and not to recruit students. I believe a vital part of our jobs, whether at the secondary or post-secondary level, is to market our program and recruit the future leaders of our industry. Are we talking to one another to find solutions or are we concern about protecting our own turf and self-interests? I believe if everybody does what anybody can do than we will not find ourselves in the predicament that nobody did what everybody could have done. Our future is bright – let’s continue to tell the story to our schools, community, clients, and associates. B Jim Scott Knox County Career Center Landscape Design & Management Instructor

30 The Buckeye

It is time for our green industry to recognize that some of the plants we have used in landscapes over the years have now become America’s least wanted plants. The excuse that we have used that tree for 40 years without any problems means we are putting our heads in the sand. Very few people I know would want to drive the 1974 VW Beetle I had back in college as their main vehicle today. It was great for college in the early 1980s, as long as I parked on a hill to roll-start the thing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come close to meeting modern transportation needs, environmental standards, or safety regulations. When a plant becomes a problem, quit growing or using it, find better alternatives, and move on. Be proactive about it, otherwise you risk being labeled part of the problem. There is considerable resistance to change, whether in our industry or the public. I have heard many times from growers that “if we have to stop producing (insert your favorite invasive plant here) we might go out of business.” Personally, if your business skills are that poor that you can’t find alternatives to bad plants, you need to upgrade your skills. (May I suggest a local community college course?) If we are going to survive and grow our businesses, we will change, it’s inevitable. The question then becomes will we change willingly, or will we have change legislated for/to us? It’s time to look at some things we do with a critical eye, and ask if what we are doing is good for everyone, and the environment, or taking the easy path of “everybody else does it” And, the time is right to get out in front of the public and show some professionalism. Show folks what a great industry we have and that we truly care about us, our clients, and the natural world around us. OK, time to get off the soapbox. I need to go buy a chainsaw to slay a couple of large callery pears in my new front yard. Anyone need firewood? B Mark Deacon is the program chair of Landscape Horticulture Technologies at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, which offers Associate of Applied Business degrees in Landscape Horticulture, Sustainable Horticulture, and Turfgrass Management. He earned his BS in Technical Horticulture at Eastern KY University, and a MS Ed at University of Kentucky. He can be reached at mark.deacon@cincinnatistate.edu. onla.org

ONLA Membership Exclusive Member Benefits The ONLA strives to bring the most relevant and useful benefits and services to its members. In these economic times, please consider the following list of benefits in your efforts to save money. As ONLA members you are entitled to these benefits, which are chosen to answer green industry business needs and reduce company expenses.

Credit Collection - Cash Flow Management (CFM)

CFM’s collection system is geared to your individual operation, serving your specific business needs. With CFM, a trained collection specialist is assigned to bring in your past-due accounts before they fade away as bad debts. Bill Bosch bbosch@cfmcollect.com

Credit & Debit Card Processing - Merchant Services

Merchant Services will provide the ONLA membership with merchant accounts and credit and debit card processing. Other services include online reporting, check guarantee service and working capitol funding. Scott Norris scott.norris@merchantsvcs.com

Energy Program - Growers Energy Solutions (GES)

Grower Energy Solutions (GES) programs help manage your energy costs by bringing ONLA members together as one buying group. GES is an energy program that provides the opportunity to manage your energy needs and save on your natural gas & electric costs. Our programs can offer pricing to members located in all Ohio gas and electric utilities that allow third party supply. Joe Perlaky perlaky@bex. net

Fuel/Fleet Program - SuperFleet

Save $.05 cents per gallon after on all fuel purchases at Speedway, Marathon and Rich Oil locations with no minimum purchase required. This card can be used for shops and services or can be restricted to fuel use only. Also receive discounts on oil changes and car washes. John Kennedy jmkennedy@speedway.com

Health/Life/Income Insurance - TAH Benefits

The ONLA Insurance & Employee Benefits Programs has partnered with various insurance plans to offer a wide variety of benefit options for members including medical, vision, dental, life, and disability. Our insurance representatives will help tailor-make a program specifically to fit your needs, including advanced plan designs, management techniques, and improved benefits administration that can result in substantial cost savings and reduction of employee benefits liability exposure. Jay Hazelbaker onla@tahins.com

Legislative Advocacy

The ONLA provides legislative updates, information and plans advocacy events. Click on the link above to visit the ONLA CapWiz home page that features current elected officials issues and legislation, candidates and upcoming elections, as well as links to media sources in your area.

Online Training - LS Training

LS Training, the training experts! LS Training was developed with the landscaper in mind. We have 23 high-quality online videos; complete with online exams and field checklists. The employee watches the video, does the exam. Each video with exam takes 30 minutes to complete; then the hands-on portion, reviewing each piece of equipment with one of your experts, using a customized checklist. Arden Urbano arden@landscapesafety.com

Property/Casualty Insurance - Best Hoovler McTeague Save on your property and casualty insurance with BHM. BHM’s group program is designed for ONLA members to save at least 15 percent with the best coverage rates for your liability, fleet and equipment. Marc McTeague mmcteague@bhmins.com

Safety Services - American Safety & Health Management Consultants, Inc.

American Safety & Health Management Consultants, Inc (ASH) fills the growing need for professional safety and health management services for companies of all sizes. ASH has the capabilities to provide Total Safety Management, from working on a single problem area to evaluating, developing and administering an entire comprehensive safety and health problem. Gary Hanson ashmci@aol.com

Soil & Plant Tissue Testing/Ag Hort. Consulting Services - CLC LABS

Through CLC LABS, ONLA members receive various laboratory services at a 10% discount off list prices including testing of soil nutrients, soil texture, soilless media nutrients, plant tissue nutrients and irrigation water suitability testing, plus consulting services on all aspects of testing. Chuck Darrah clclabs@aol.com

Workers’ Compensation - CareWorksComp

The ONLA Workers’ Compensation Group Rating Program has saved its members over $21.4 million in the last 11 years. Through CareWorksComp, members are offered multiple savings levels, ranging from the BWC maximum to a lesser percentage, for companies with claims. Free, no obligation analysis of potential workers’ comp premium savings. Shawn Combs shawn.combs@ccitpa.com If you have any questions regarding details on a benefit, don’t hesitate to call our office at (614) 899-1195 and we will personally assist you. Please ensure that your correct email is on file with the ONLA so that you continue to receive important member announcements and updates.

For more information on ONLA member savings visit onla.org or call 614.899.1195

LANDSCAPE AWARDS PROGRAM

Judges’ Choice

Project of the Year

The 43rd Annual ONLA Landscape Awards Program was judged by a team of diverse, experienced professionals in the nursery and landscape industry. • Mark Deacon of Cincinnati State Technical & Community College in Ohio • Ron Dickerson of The Brickman Group in Ohio • Kevin McHale of McHale Landscape in Maryland • Adam Ravestein of Scarff’s Nursery in Ohio • Jim Sutton of Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania

32 The Buckeye

LandscapeAwards celebrate excellence

The Judges’ Choice Project of the Year and Grand Award, Residential Landscape Maintenance Lifestyle Landscaping Incorporated for the O’Brien Residence, North Ridgeville, Ohio

onla.org

May/June 2016â&#x20AC;&#x192; 33

Our Sponsors R E S O U R C E S

Residential Installation Under $15,000

I N C .

Merit Award

Sustainable Planning and Design in Columbus, Ohio, for The Kitchen Garden

Merit Award

Riepenhoff Landscape, Ltd. in Hilliard, Ohio, for the Bitler Residence

Merit Award

M.J. Design Associates in Plain City, Ohio, for the Underwood Residence 34â&#x20AC;&#x192; The Buckeye

onla.org

Residential Installation $15,001 to $50,000

Grand Award

Dan Druffel Inc. in Maineville, Ohio, for the Oaks Residence

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Company in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Rychlewski Residence

Merit Award

Foreground Studio in Columbus, Ohio, for Monet Inspired Pool to Pond Conversion Garden

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Company in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Hoff Residence

onla.org

May/June 2016â&#x20AC;&#x192; 35

Residential Installation $15,001 to $50,000

Merit Award

Lifestyle Landscaping Inc. in North Ridgeville, Ohio, for the Meredith Residence

Merit Award

LawnScapes, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, for the Spray Residence

Merit Award

Yard Solutions in Groveport, Ohio, for the Rousch Project

Merit Award

Yard Solutions in Groveport, Ohio, for the Kubatko Project

36â&#x20AC;&#x192; The Buckeye

onla.org

Residential Installation Over $50,000

Grand Award

Fullmer’s Landscaping, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, for Natural Appeal

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Co. in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Van Fleet Residence

Merit Award

Riepenhoff Landscape, Ltd. in Hilliard, Ohio, for the Gibbons Residence

Merit Award

Fullmer’s Landscaping Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, for the Kettering Residence

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May/June 2016 37

Residential Installation Over $50,000

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Co. in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Lyons Residence

Merit Award

Fullmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landscaping, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, for The Verdant Terrace

Merit Award

LWB Design, LLC in Willoughby, Ohio, for the Hunting Valley Residence

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Company in Miamisburg, Ohio, for Doubleday North Residence – Pool/Spa Addition

Merit Award

Fullmer’s Landscaping, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, for the Piqua Residence

Merit Award

Cedarbrook Nurseries in Powell, Ohio, for the McClure Residence Water Feature onla.org

Merit Award

JTS Landscaping in Seville, Ohio, for Backyard Escape May/June 2016 39

Commercial Installation Over $75,000 Grand Award

Cawrse & Associates, Inc. in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nai Jeshurun Linden Courtyard

Residential Landscape Maintenance

Merit Award

M.J. Design Associates in Plain City, Ohio, for the Emery Residence

Merit Award

Grunder Landscaping Co. in Miamisburg, Ohio, for the Sanford Residence

40â&#x20AC;&#x192; The Buckeye

onla.org

Commercial Landscape Maintenance

Merit Award

Grunder Landscape Co. in Miamisburg, Ohio, for Brixey-Meyer

Merit Award

Grunder Landscape Co. in Miamisburg, Ohio, for WinWholesale

Use of Seasonal Color, Container Garden, or Perennial Gardens

1. Merit Award

Brickman Group in Columbus, Ohio, for Easton Town Center

2. Merit Award

M.J. Design Associates in Plain City, Ohio, for the Muirfield Residence

3. Merit Award 3 onla.org

R. B. Stout, Inc. in Akron, Ohio, for the Hilton Resort May/June 2016â&#x20AC;&#x192; 41

Theme Gardens, Show Gardens or Educational or Informative Display of Horticultural Products, Services or Techniques

Grand Award

Lifestyle Landscaping, Inc. in North Ridgeville, Ohio, for the Kellum Residence

LANDSCAPING EQUIPMENT SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • RENTALS

NO DPF ON ANY JCB!

Covering Northeast Ohio

Covering Central Ohio

BURNS 800-752-1220 • www.burnsjcb.com

42 The Buckeye

Covering Southwest Ohio

855-509-1689 • www.hy-tekjcb.com

513-681-2200 • www.mhjcb.com

onla.org

LandscapeAwards celebrate excellence

2016 CALL FOR ENTRIES Applications due September 23, 2016 Project of the Year & Grand

Thank you to our Program Sponsors!

Winning Project

Lifestyle Landscaping, Inc. North Ridgeville, OH

R E S O U R C E S

I N C .