Upcoming Events

July 25-26, 2009
Conway School of Landscape Design:
Summer Landscape Design Institute Workshop

This intensive two-day workshop will explore how to integrate historic resources into our modern lives and will include a visit to and design exploration of the landscape of a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Usonian home. The workshop will also explore how to adapt historic places for modern living. Click here to learn more.

August 7, 18, and 20, 2009
5th Annual NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course

The course will also be held Tuesday, August 18 at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ and Thursday, August 20 at Manchester Community College in Manchester, CT.

This one-day, intensive course will provide state-of-the-art information for managing lawns and turf organically and is geared toward land care professionals, groundskeepers and municipalities who are responsible for the establishment and care of grass, as well as anyone interested in learning organic methods. The course will be taught by NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Donald Bishop of Gardens Are Inc. in Marlborough, MA, CT NOFA Executive Director Bill Duesing of Solar Farm Education in Oxford, CT, nationally renowned organic turfgrass educator Chip Osborne of Osborne Organics in Marblehead, MA, and entomological scientist Dr. Kimberly Stoner of the CT Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, CT.

NEW THIS YEAR! The course will include a special section on Water Management and Conservation led by noted engineer and water conservation expert Amy Vickers, president of Amy Vickers & Associates Inc. of Amherst, MA. (In NJ and CT this section will be taught by NOFA Accredited Organic Land Care Professional Frank Koll of Arlington, MA). There will also be plenty of time for Q&A and networking. Lunch is provided.

All course participants will receive a copy of the NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Handbook: Beautiful Grass Naturally, which serves as the course manual. This 100-page comprehensive, practical and easy-to-use reference manual was written and edited by scientists and experts in the field of organic lawn and turf care, this book covers what landscapers, landscape designers, municipal staff and homeowners need to know to grow natural and organic lawns. Topics include: Why Organic? Site Analysis, Soil Health, Cultural Practices, Weeds, Insects, Diseases, Obtaining Materials and Equipment, Running a Business, Client Relations and much more. The NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course costs $150 for the first person from a firm/town and $125 each additional person. Sat/Sun NOFA Summer Conference registrants receive a $30 discount on the combined registration fees. For more information or to register, visit www.organiclandcare.net or www.nofasummerconference.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Litchfield, NOFA/Mass OLC Program Coordinator (413-773-3830, kathy@nofamass.org).

September 18-21, 2009
ASLA 2009 Annual Meeting & EXPOThe annual meeting and EXPO will be held September 18-21 in Chicago and we are expecting another record-breaking attendance. The 2009 meeting theme will be Beyond Sustainability: Regenerating Places and People. Visit www.ASLA.org for event details.