Come Visit CT NOFA at the CT Flower and Garden Show!

CT NOFA's booth from last year's show

Join CT NOFA at the CT Flower and Garden show Thursday February 21-Sunday February 24! We'll be one of over 300 booths offering education and products for the garden and landscape enthusiast. Come to the show to explore beautiful landscaped gardens and booths overflowing with fresh flowers, plants, herbs, bulbs, seeds, gardening books, garden equipment and much more.

Why Attend?
Gorgeous landscape exhibits constructed by some of the most talented landscape designers in Connecticut. The award winning landscape exhibits occupy over an acre within the Convention Center Exhibit Hall. Landscapes in full bloom with lush green grass and fragrant flowers continue to amaze attendees each year.

Highlights:

• Over 300 booths filled with plants, flowers, fertilizers, garden tools, tractors & mowers, patio & lawn furniture and more!
• Floral & garden related artisian section with one of a kind artwork, garden ornaments, jewelry, photography to name a few.
• Non-profit and educational exhibits (including ours!)
• Floral Arranging Demonstrations
• Seed planting for children
• Hours of educational seminars

And the best part is you can take advantage of all the show has to offer for free by volunteering with us for part of a day!  CT NOFA will be at the show all four days, and we still need help on Thursday and Friday, especially in the evenings.  Volunteers receive free admission to the show as well as reimbursed parking in the Convention Center Garage. If you are interested in coming to volunteer, email me at melissa@ctnofa.org.

Learn more about the show here. View a list of exhibitors (including us!) here.

Can't wait to see you there!
-Melissa

Want to Get More Involved with CT NOFA?

CT NOFA Board Members Sought!
CT NOFA is looking for board members with Fundraising, Legal and/or Volunteer Coordination Experience.

The Board member will:

1. Attend in-person meetings approximately every other month
2. Participate in conference call meetings on the alternate month
3. Participate or lead the appropriate committee of the Board, with separate meetings for committee
4. Attend CT NOFA events, have fun, eat great food and advocate for local, organic food and organic land care

Interested?
Please contact John Turenne, Vice-President of the CT NOFA Board.  You can learn more about the current CT NOFA board here.

CT NOFA is a growing community of farmers, gardeners, land care professionals, and consumers that encourages a healthy relationship to the natural world.  We are the largest and oldest organization in the state that educates about and advocates for local organic food, farming, and land care.  You can learn more about us and our mission here.

A Successful Organic Land Care Business Workshop

On Friday, November 9, 2012, the NOFA Organic Land Care Program hosted its fourth advanced workshop, titled Business Essentials: Pricing and Marketing your Landscaping Services for Success. The half-day workshop was held at the Connecticut Forest and Park Association in Rockfall, CT. Frank Crandall of Frank Crandall Horticultural Solutions in Wakefield, Rhode Island began the first presentation about pricing and estimating organic versus conventional lawn care services.

Frank started out by reviewing the fundamentals of profitable estimates, and then went on to compare the pricing of organic, transitional, and conventional lawn care programs over a three year period. Frank was able to show from the three year comparison that:
a transition program can convert to fully organic after the second year
an organic program can approach traditional lawn care in cost in the third year and
all phases of the organic plan can be profitable with comprehensive estimating

One of the biggest concerns many land care professionals and clients have about organic land care is the idea that it more costly and less profitable than traditional land care. Frank's presentation argued that this isn't always the case, as long as land care professionals provide accurate estimating, and make sure to sell organic as a comprehensive program rather than the organic version of a 4-step program. Frank emphasized discussing expectations with clients before signing an agreement, to ensure that clients understand the differences in methodology between organic and conventional management. He also noted that it's easier to finalize contracts with clients that request organic services rather than trying to convert traditional customers. More>

If you are interested in organic landscaping, we are excited to tell you about our other upcoming events this winter, including our Accreditation Courses, Annual Gathering, and Organic Lawn Care Certificate Courses!  Check out our website to learn more.

Our Upcoming Organic Land Care Program Events

Are you interested in caring for landscapes organically, either through your business or as a homeowner?  If so, you should check out these events!  The NOFA Organic Land Care Program has been working hard to provide valuable information and hands-on experience in organic land care practices, and we want to share that knowledge as widely as possible.

Mark your calendars and check out the Organic Land Care Program's website for more information and to register.  

 

 Don't forget, you can always ask questions and register by calling our office at 203.888.5146.

Announcing the NOFA Summer Conference Workshop Tracks

Attention farmers, gardeners and landscapers!

The NOFA Summer Conference on August 10-12 features a host of workshop tracks to suit your needs!  If you are in need of valuable information about getting started in farming, operating a CSA program, earning AOLCP credits, and more, this conference has it all!  Here are some of the tracks that will be offered at the conference:

• Beginning Farmer Track: This track highlights a range of technical and farm-planning topics of particular interest to farmers with fewer than ten years of independent farming experience. Don't forget, if you've been farming for less than ten years, you may qualify for a scholarship to attend the conference.  You can fill out a scholarship application form online here. Please submit by July 2 in order to have your application reviewed and granted in time for you to register early.

• Community Supported Agriculture Track: Presenting a variety of innovations for the CSA model.

• Nutrient Density Track: Presenting principles of biological farming aimed at improving crop nutritional quality for a variety of scales and applications. Own own Connecticut farmer, Bryam O'Hara from Tobacco Road Farm in Lebanon, CT will be teaching a workshop in this track.

• Organic Land Care Track: Attending these workshops qualifies participants for credits in the NOFA Organic Land Care Program. Other AOLCP credit opportunities can be found on our website.

• Permaculture Track: Presenting permaculture approaches to organic agriculture and ecological design.

• Winter Growing and Season Extension Track: Presenting innovations from the farm to the home scale for growing and storing crops year round

View a full list of tracks by visiting the Summer Conference website.  You can also register for the conference here.  For a list of registration fees, click here.  We can't wait to see you at the conference!

Happy Solstice!
-Melissa

Our New Guide to Organic Land Care is in!

This is a view of the lower level of our office building with our new shipment of 2012-2013 Guides to Organic Land Care.  Hopefully it won't get too cold for a while because it looks like we won't be using that stove for a few months.

As you know, last month we received a shipment for the first of our two printed Guides, the 2012-2013 Farm and Food Guide, which provides information by county of our member farms, farmers markets, csa programs, supporting businesses, community farms, and community gardens.  Yesterday, our second Guide developed by the NOFA Organic Land Care Program was completed and brought back to the office!  The 2012-2013 Guide to Organic Land Care provides course information, local pesticide info, and AOLCP listings by state and county, as well as a large number of feature articles and book excerpts about pest control, compost, rain gardens, and much more. The Guide is a great resource to help you find Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals in your area who can help you maintain your property without the use of harmful chemicals.  If you are an Accredited Professional, this is a great way to advertise yourself as part of a large and influential community of sustainable landscapers while also providing helpful tips to homeowners and groundskeepers on how to organically maintain their land.

You can order a copy of the Guide to Organic Land Care for just $2 to cover the cost of shipping, and if you visit us at one of our outreach events, you can pick up a copy for free!  To order larger quantities of the Guide for distribution, contact the CT NOFA office at 203-888-5146 or e-mail ctnofa@ctnofa.org.  A PDF of the Guide will also be available online shortly.  

Have a lovely Thursday,
Melissa

Come Volunteer with us at the CT Flower and Garden Show!

We are still looking for volunteers to table at the CT Flower and Garden Show at the Convention Center in Hartford, so if you want to attend an exciting event and promote sustainable land care to the public, please email me, the volunteer coordinator, at melissa@ctnofa.org. 

We have volunteer openings Thursday-Saturday, in two shifts of 10-3 and 3-8pm.  Volunteers be tabling with one other person (so you can take breaks as necessary) and will be provided with free admission.  You can learn more about the Flower Show here. 

The CT Flower and Garden Show boasts award winning landscape exhibits in full bloom ranging from 300 to 2,000 square feet and occupying over 45,000 square feet of the Convention Center Exhibit Hall. There will be 250 booths filled with plants, fertilizers, garden tools, tractors and mowers, patio and lawn furniture as well as other floral and garden related products and services, as well as an extensive floral & garden related artisian section with one of a kind designs including garden ornaments, jewelry, photography and more. Our booth will be among the many non-profit and educational exhibits.  Even if you don't want to volunteer with us, visit the Show and experience some of the hours of educational seminars that will be available.

Have a great afternoon,
-Melissa

Wisconsin Woman Taken to Court Over Her Lawn

In Shorewood, WI, Louise Quigley, who has been living in her home for over twenty years, is being taken to court over her native lawn.  In an effort to deter schoolchildren from using her lawn as a shortcut coming home from school, she decided to plant prairie grasses, goldenrods, milkweed, and butterfly weeds, citing the ecological benefits of such a planting.

“They are less work, they come up every year, they are pretty," she says.  "Native perennials have all kinds of environment benefits because the native plants feed the native bugs, feed the birds; it’s the bottom of the food chain.  You can promote the survival of our ecosystem and our biosphere if you plant native plants.”

However, despite Louise's astute decision regarding local ecology, her prairie yard happens to violate an outdated neighborhood ordinance that her community has begun cracking down on.  The ordinance states that native lawns can't exceed six inches in height, and when Louise refused to comply with the ordinance she was summoned to court.  Louise has since been trying to push village officials to get the ordinance changed.  She argues, "(The ordinance) is about lawns and it isn't about native plant communities.  It was drafted way back and wasn't about 21st century aesthetics or a 21st century ecological understanding. I don't have a lawn, I have a prairie. They are using a lawn regulation to harass me about my prairie."

 Read more about the Shorewood community and Louise's battle here.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

Events Galore!

This winter we have a flurry of events that promise to be both exciting and educational.  Read on to learn more:  

Get ready for our upcoming NOFA chapter Winter Conferences!  Six NOFA chapters are holding conferences between January and March with great speakers, workshops, and events for all.  Visit the chapter websites to learn more and to register.  If you've been farming for less than 10 years, you may also qualify for a scholarship - your local NOFA chapter can let you know if you do.

If you missed our Organic Land Care Annual Gathering last Tuesday, you can check out photos from the event on our Flickr page here. 

Registration is continuing for our NOFA chapter OLC Accreditation Courses!  If you'd like to take the course, or just want to learn more, check it out here.

Thanks!
-Melissa

A Demonstration to Promote Agroforestry

Gloria Flora walks through her forest garden.

In keeping with this year's United Nations designation as "The International Year of Forests", the New York Times reported recently on "the quiet push for agroforestry", highlighting a farm in Helena, MT that operates under a canopy of pine and spruce.  Gloria Flora's forest farm boasts over 300 smaller fruit trees - apple, pear, black walnut, and chestnut to name a few - nestled amongst the larger forest trees, as well as crops like raspberries, grapes, and medicinal plants, and turkeys and chickens.  The idea of producing food near or beneath a forest canopy may sound strange as we have been brought up under the assumption that farms need wide open spaces in order to flourish, but the truth of the matter is that a buffer of trees amongst crops serves many beneficial purposes.

Agroforestry, the science of incorporating trees into traditional agriculture, is not the same as converting farmland to forest.  Agroforestry represents a collaborative attempt on the part of the farmer to harness the ecological services that trees provide and incorporate them into a farm.  The Times writes, "Depending on the species, trees make all sorts of contributions to agriculture, experts say. Trees in a shelter belt reduce wind and water erosion. Some trees serve as fertilizers - they take in nitrogen from the atmosphere, or pump it from deep underground and, when they drop their leaves, make it available upon decomposition.  Trees planted along streams can take up and scrub out polluted farm runoff. They increase species diversity by providing habitat, and some of those species are friendly to farmers - bees and butterflies that help pollinate crops, for example. (One study showed that 66 species of birds benefit from windbreaks on farms.) Trees can keep a field cooler and more moist."

Not to mention that trees in general help to offset the negative impacts of conventional agriculture by absorbing greenhouse gases and cleaning up polluted water. 

This forward-thinking approach to agriculture, however, faces a difficult opposition.  Conventional thinking about trees - that farmers should first remove all surrounding trees before planting and then prevent them from growing as the farm operates - has been ingrained in our collective minds for generations.  The truth - that trees can be used to benefit agriculture if planted with thought and planning - may be a tough one to swallow initially, but it looks like it's starting to catch on.

Read the full article here.

Want to learn more about trees in the landscape?  Register for our 2011 Organic Land Care Annual Gathering on December 6th at UConn, Storrs, CT.  This year's focus is Trees: Landscaping for Future Generations, and will feature Keynote Tom Wessels, as well as a host of other exciting speakers.  Click on the link above to learn more!

Have a great Tuesday!
-Melissa

Sustainable Yards Simplified

Native Landscape

The Santa Monica, CA Office of Sustainability and the Environment recently finished installing Garden-Garden, a demonstration landscape that provides a side by side comparison of two landscape strategies, the sustainable approach and the traditional non-native approach.  The project compares two adjacent yards in terms of aesthetic appearance, water usage, yard waste, and maintenance hours, and draws a concise and clear conclusion about which option is easier, cheaper in the long run, and better for the local ecosystem.

 
In this case, the numbers say it all. 

• The native garden cost $16,700 to install compared $12,400 for the traditional garden. Despite its higher initial cost, the native garden’s lower maintenance requirements translate into $2,200 per year in cost savings.
• The native garden uses 77 percent less water, produces 66 percent less waste, and requires 68 percent less labor than the traditional garden. 

Not to mention that the native garden looks beautiful and provides native habitat for indigenous fauna like butterflies and ladybugs.

Traditional "Mow and Blow" Landscape

Santa Monica currently imports over 90% of its water from Northern California and the Colorado River, and as these water sources are more than 400 miles away, their continued use in Santa Monica  can hardly be considered sustainable.  Traditional gardens in the area utilize exotic plants from wetter climates, and employ the use of standard sprinkler irrigation systems that distribute water over all plants regardless of need.  This translates into an incredible water demand that has already put regional ecosystems and communities under increased stress.

Additionally, traditional gardens require frequent applications of fertilizer and pesticides that leech into the city's water supply during rainstorms, causing pollution and aquatic habitat disruption.  When considered on a large scale, this is a huge problem as the average home gardener uses 10 times more toxic chemicals than a farmer.

Overall, the choice is a no-brainer.  Native gardens are an all-around amazing solution to Southern California's water shortages, as well as a sustainable alternative to landscapes steeped in exotics and pesticides.  In my opinion, education is the logical next step, so spread the word about what sustainable landscaping can do for you and your community!  Check out the full report here and tell your friends!

Wishing you all the best,
-Melissa

Sheep Lawn Mowers - the Sustainable Alternative

Eddie Miller and two of his Jacob sheep.

It's a win-win situation!  When many Americans have lawns to care for and the economy is bad, entrepreneurs will inevitably step up to find mutually beneficial ways to fill the demand.  In Ohio, 23 year old Eddie Miller has discovered that mowing a lawn can not only earn him money but can also feed his two sheep for free.  As a result, he can raise his sheep without spending hundreds of dollars a month on feed, and the residents who pay for his service don't have to deal with loud emission-spewing machines.  (There are emissions, of course, but rather than polluting the air, they make for great fertilizer.)  He simply brings his sheep to graze for anywhere from three hours to several days.  The sheep get healthy free food, Eddie gets revenue either monetarily or through barter, and the community gets a healthy dose of a more country lifestyle.  For people entering the working community during this tumultuous economic period, innovation is often the key to success.  Standard routes to revenue have proven stagnant over the past few years, so the answer may be to think outside of the box a bit and consider returning to methods of living often associated with the past.  Adopting a more natural lifestyle eliminates a lot of waste that technology so often produces, making profits go farther and keeping the investment local.  It's a sustainable alternative that could not only boost what goes into your pocket at the end of the day, but will also promote your well-being.

To read more about Eddie's story among others, check out the New York Times' article.

Have a healthy and stress-free day!
-Melissa

UNH Project Set to Boost Northeast Organic Dairy Industry

The University of New Hampshire is leading a multi-state project focused on helping organic farmers produce and sell their milk.  By expressing the needs of local farmers, the project aims to increase profits for organic dairy farmers in the northeast, but the information they will compile should be useful for farmers, organic or not, outside of the region.  A new federal standard dictates that organic dairy cows must feed at pasture for at least 120 days per year, and pasture feed must be at least 30% of total consumption.  This has many farmers in the northeast concerned, as their pasture's growing season is not only shorter than in other parts of the country due to longer winters, but many of the plants often grown in pasture also go through a dormant period during the dryer high summer season.  Another major concern voiced by farmers relates to the quality of organic milk.  Cows on pasture produce milk rich with omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), molecules sought after for their human health benefits. For Northeast organic dairy farmers to tap the added value of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA, however, they need to ensure high levels of these throughout the year, not just when cows are on pasture.

In response to these concerns, the UDSA has issued a grant to 12 researchers from the universities of Maine, Vermont, Cornell, and the USDA, well as UNH, to explore how organic dairy farmers in the Northeast can enhance farm profitability by extending the grazing season and adding value to milk through flaxseed supplementation.  Because extending the grazing season means keeping cows on pasture longer, researchers will conduct plot trials of various combinations of forage species, including perennial ryegrass, white clover, sorghum-sudan grass, brassicas, and small grains.  Additionally, the researchers hypothesize that supplementing cows' winter forage with flaxseed will sustain omega-3 fatty acids and CLA concentrations, meeting year-round market demands for milk with improved fatty acid profile, and possibly commanding higher prices in the marketplace in the future.

You can read the full article here.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

New Report on the IFOAM World Conference

On October 3-5 the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), in conjunction with the Organic World Conference, met in Seoul, South Korea to set the top priorities for IFOAM and elect the World Board.  During the Conference, IFOAM restructured their organic guarantee system to include five parts:

1. Family of standards – draws the line between what is organic and what is not, includes all standards and regulations that have passed an equivalence assessment.  At the GA, it was announced that the NOFA Organic Landcare standards had been accepted into the Family. 
2. Best Practice Standards – to stimulate innovation and continuing improvement
3. Participatory Guarantee Systems – based on community organizing, a way for small farms that cannot afford certification, to group together to provide a credible organic guarantee for use in local markets.
4. IFOAM’s Global Organic Mark –a universal logo now available for a fee.
5. International Organic Accredition Service (IOAS) - provides Accreditation to organic certification agencies.

IFOAM also elected a new world board and concluded that it is time to move away from discussions of standards and regulations since their role has been established, so IFOAM can shift to carbon, biodiversity, energy use, and developing local markets. 

Prior to the conference, the Agricultural Justice Project gathered to meet about organic and fair trade, and the relationship between organic certification, participatory guarantee systems (PGA – an alternative to organic certification that involves active the active participation of stakeholders in order to assure quality assurance), and CSA programs.  The participants of the meeting called upon IFOAM to create a task force on fair trade, a resolution that was later confirmed during the conference.  This task force will make recommendations on incorporating social justice principles in organic standards. 

To read the full report, please visit here

CT Slow to Embrace New Solutions to Stormwater Runoff Pollution

A Rain Garden in Torrington

The CT Mirror published an article this morning pointing out both the benefits of Low Impact Development (LID), as well as the difficulties moving forward without an overarching state mandated LID policy.  Low Impact Development is defined as a host of techniques, zoning, and engineering practices designed to more environmentally handle stormwater runoff, which in Connecticut has a major impact the water quality in Long Island Sound.  Individual towns in the state have begun adopting LID practices to prevent stormwater runoff and promote natural water filtration, but without statewide standards the efforts thus far have been hit-or-miss.  At the state level, LID gets little attention and minimal funding even though there is a demonstration project on the state Capitol grounds. Unlike the sweeping policy, coordination, and financing mechanism the state now has for energy, communities and even state agencies interested in LID in CT are basically on their own.  Although Connecticut isn't at the forefront of implementing LID techniques, the practice in the region is advancing.  The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the agency in charge of many local LID projects, hopes that communities will see their work and inquire about using LID strategies in their own towns.  At this point, the funding is not so widely available that projects can easily be promoted by other than word of mouth.  The DEEP views their progress thus far as a series of seeds that will hopefully advance LID in the rest of the state.

To read the full article, click here.

Think about rain gardens on your property!

Diagram from Ohio Wesleyan University

All the rain lately has highlighted the value of having rain gardens in your yard.  A rain garden is a depression, filled with shrubs and perennials that collect water runoff from a roof or paved surface allowing it to infiltrate into the soil of your yard. 

Water runoff is a major source of pollution to our nation’s waterways and run off and erosion contributes to the flooding which has really affected the northeast in the past couple weeks.   This fairly simple process (it requires a little more thought than a regular garden, and you need to dig a 6 inch depression).

A really helpful guide to a Do-It-Yourself rain garden is this brochure published by the UConn Cooperative Extension System. 

The brochure recommends that to design your garden you should consider placement of the rain garden – choose a location with good drainage that is fairly level that could catch water flowing from a gutter.  Determine if the soils are suitable at your rain garden site by doing a small percolation test – dig a hole about 6 inches deep and fill it with water, if there is still standing water 24 hours later, this location has inadequate drainage and your rain garden will  become a rain puddle.  The UConn brochure has detailed information about what kinds of plants to include in your rain garden and where to put them.

The Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, UConn Cooperative Extension System and the town of Old Saybrook are hosting a "Build a Rain Garden" workshop on Sept. 22 from 9am – 1 pm at the Acton Public Library in Old Saybrook. 

More on the USDA's decision on GMO Kentucky Bluegrass

Remember that article on the blog a couple weeks ago about the USDA’s deregulation of genetically modified Kentucky Blue Grass? This news has received more and more attention since the decision was first made the Friday before the Fourth of July weekend.   

The decision regarding genetically engineered Kentucky bluegrass is disturbing; however the precedent set for future GMO regulation decision is alarming.  There was already a lenient regime governing GMOs, however the Kentucky bluegrass decision reduced the USDA’s oversight even further.  

Tom Philpott explains in his article for Mother Jones that the Coordinated Framework for Regulation of Biotechnology has been the oversight body of GMO foods since the Reagan administration.  However the framework’s organization and regulations created no new laws and only regulated GM through already-existing laws (from a time when genetically engineered food was not a political issue or environmental threat).  The Plant Pest Act is the main law that gave the USDA regulatory power, however this oversight is nearly meaningless, because plant-pest substances are used in the genetic-modification process but are not in the final GM product. The USDA decision agreed with the letter from John Sanford, the president of Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company, that Scott’s genetically engineered grass is not a plant pest because there are no plant-pest genes in the final product.   

Philpott explains that in 2000 the Plant Protection Act broadened the Plant Pest Act a little bit to add regulation of “noxious weeds” or engineered crops that might become herbicide resistant and even more difficult to control.  The Center for Food Safety petitioned to have the GMO grass classified as a noxious weed. The application of Round-Up to the tens of millions of acres of US farmland that grow Roundup ready corn, soy and cotton have allowed the growth of herbicide resistant “superweeds” which require higher doses of herbicide or more harmful chemicals. If this herbicide is also applied to the United States' millions of acres of lawn, herbicide resistant weeds will become even more prevalent and durable.  However the USDA concluded that the GMO grass was not a noxious weed because conventional blue grass is not classified as such. 

The widespread application of glyphosate is also alarming because of the pesticide's linkage to serious health risks including birth defects and kidney problems.  The first two pages of this report from the Pesticide Action Network in the UK outline more health issues: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/impacts_glyphosate.pdf. 

Scott's can now sell the blue grass without federal approval and requires no federal permits to conduct field trials.  According to this New York Times article by Andrew Pollack, a different type of genetically engineered grass managed to escape company test plots and began to grow in the surrounding areas.  Bluegrass is already able to spread rapidly, because it is wind pollinated. An article on Grist by Tom Laskawy worries that the USDA has just "opened the floodgates" for genetically modified regulation, especially of non-food crops. 

The National Organic Land Care Movement!

Oregon Tilth just announced the Oregon Tilth Accredited Organic Land Care (OLC) program.  Oregon Tilth used the Standards for Organic Land Care: Practices for Design and maintenance of Ecological Landscapes created by NOFA in 2000-2001 as the model for their own program.  The goal of Organic Land Care programs is to replace artificial pesticides and fertilizers used in land care with natural or biological alternatives.  By eliminating these harmful practices, land care professionals or land owners can improve the health of the soil, conserve water, and work in conjunction with biological processes instead of against them.  These land care standards and practices are applicable in other parts of the country and it is exciting that the organic land care movement has made the transition from a regional movement to a national one. 

Upcoming Organic Land Care Workshops

Check out two summer workshops being hosted by the Organic Land Care Program!

“Organic Invasive Removal and Control,” will provide instruction on plant identification, identifying areas in need of invasive removal, site analysis, creating a management plan, biological controls of invasive species with beneficial insects, and a demonstration of organic techniques used for removing threatening invasive plants in Connecticut.  The workshop is lead by Dr. Charlotte Pyle, a landscape ecologist at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Donna Ellis, a Senior Extension Educator in the Dept. of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at UConn and Michael Nadeau of Plantscapes, Inc. 

Friday, July 8th, 2011 (Rain date – Friday, July 15th, 2011)

8:30 am – 3:00 pm
Beardsley Zoo - Hanson Exploration Station
1875 Noble Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06610

Cost:
General public..........................................$200
AOLCPs and/or NOFA members...............$185
AOLCPs who register by June 24th...........$150 

The second workshop is titled “Compost Tea: First Defense in Organic Land Care.”  Peter Schmidt of Composterwerks, LLC will explain Soil Foodweb methodology and how to brew compost tea through classroom time and a staff-guided visit to the compost tea facility at the Botanical Gardens.  The Soil Foodweb refers to the complex living systems of organisms living in the soil.  This community of organisms creates and retains nutrients in the soil until they are absorbed by the roots of plants.  The workshop will cover the topics of compost production, its specific uses, the relationship between soil and plants and the role of organic matter in soil. 

Tuesday, August 23, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
New York Botanical Garden

Cost:
General public...........................................................$200
AOLCPs,  NOFA and/or NYBG members...............$185
AOLCPs who register by August 2nd………............$150

To register for either workshop, please call the CT NOFA office at 203-888-5146.  For a full description of the workshops and the professionals leading them, please visit the Organic Land Care website: http://www.organiclandcare.net/education/advanced-workshops