19 Feb Washington State’s NEW Sustainable Landscape Certification!
We are very excited about a new statewide certification program for landscape professionals here in Washington that is about to launch next month. I’m personally very proud to have had a hand in helping see it come to life with a team of leaders within the green industry. For well over a year now, a small, dedicated group of us have sat on an volunteer advisory board helping to create the BMP’s and standards for this program. During this time, we met regularly pouring over and comparing other programs in the nation and having lengthy discussions around all of the topics at hand. This certification has been in the making for a while and is quite monumental in that all of the organizations who have collaborated and come together to raise the bar in our industry. Those who volunteered their time to be involved and on that board included:
| Advisory Board:ACADEMIA |
Affiliations |
|
| Don Marshall, CPH | Horticulture instructor, Lake Washington Institute of Technology; design practitioner |
Assn. of Professional Landscape Designers WA Chapter–American Society of Landscape Architects WSNLA WALP International Society of Arboriculture Coalition of Organic Landscape Professionals Sports Turf Management Assn. WA Native Plant Society UW Botanic Gardens Building Owners & Managers Assn. Sustainable Sites EnviroStars |
| Van Bobbitt, ISA | Horticulture instructor, S. Seattle Community College | |
| PUBLIC SECTOR | ||
| David McDonald | Educator, Seattle Public Utilities | |
| Barb DeCaro | Public grounds practitioner, Seattle Parks and Recreation | |
| PRIVATE SECTOR (LANDSCAPING & NURSERY) | ||
| Jessi Bloom, CPH | Residential contractor specializing in organic landscape design/build/maintenance, NW Bloom Eco-Logical Landscapes | |
| Will Bailey, CLT, CLP, ISA | Commercial contractor, Signature Landscape Services | |
| Ladd Smith | Residential contractor, In Harmony Sustainable Landscape Services | |
| Lisa Port, APLD | Designer, Banyon Tree Design Studio | |
| Jeff van Lierop | Nursery wholesaler, Country Green | |
Partners: King County EnviroStars, Seattle Public Utilities, WA State Nursery & Landscape Association (WSNLA), WA Association of Landscape Professionals (WALP), Cascade Water Alliance, Tacoma Water District
The first training and test is being held this March at South Seattle Community College and registration info can be found here through WSNLA. The registration is almost full – so pass this along quickly to anyone who may be interested! There are links to the required reading material as well as prerequisites to register.
I am excited to be the kickoff presenter for the training and our Project Manager Zac Kopra will be among the first class going through the training. We hope to see you there!