Speakers & Topics

Michael James – General Manager – DeepRoot Canada Corp

Mike has been in the municipal street tree/stormwater industry for over 25 years and has worked extensively with landscape architects, municipalities, engineers, and landscape contractors to provide solutions for the health of the Urban Forest and Low Impact Development techniques. Michael has a Degree in Public Administration and Business Management.

Sessions:

Grey to Green – This will focus on soil cell technology and the provision of soil volume to grow large mature trees in dense urban spaces.

Municipal Soil Volume Standards: Good Public Policy – This will cover the introduction and implementation of municipal Street Tree Soil Volume Standards and public policy.

Sean James – Business Owner – Sean James Consulting & Design

Named by Landscape Ontario as 2020 and 2021’s Garden Communicator of the Year, gardening has been Sean James’ hobby and profession for almost 40 years. A graduate of Niagara Parks School of Horticulture, a Master Gardener, writer, and teacher, Sean focuses on eco-gardening techniques, which makes sense since he grew up surrounded by nature near Crawford Lake in Campbellville. He has spoken from the Maritimes to Seattle and landscaped from Nova Scotia to California. Sean has had the honour to be part of creating the new Ontario Landscape Tree Planting Guide, the Grow-Me-Me-Instead guide, the Ontario Horticultural Apprenticeship Curriculum and the national Red Seal Occupational Standard, as well as the Master Gardeners Reference Manual. He has appeared on many radio shows and on television. Sean owns ‘Sean James Consulting & Design’ and instructs at Mohawk College.

Sessions:

Fusion® Gardening – Encouraged by many municipalities and regions, Fusion Gardening® blends LID (rainwater handling) with xeriscaping (drought-tolerant gardening) and folds in plantings to enhance biodiversity. One of the main foci of this style is to engage the public with beauty. Since it’s so important that property owners take up this gauntlet, we’ll address the backbone of each of these disciplines, and discuss how to do each artfully.

Life-Magnate: Creating a Layered Native Garden for Biodiversity – With the expanding trend toward landscaping to enhance all forms of life, the question becomes…how. By choosing plants favouring native species, and creating layers including varying heights of plants, focusing on what food and habitat niches those plants would fill, the life cycles of many species can be supported. This involves looking at all life stages from birth (larva and eggs) to adulthood; and from first food sources to berries and insects. Also worth considering, where creatures need shelter; old logs, standing trees, twiggy shrubs for nesting and more. We’ll delve into the best plant choices, design considerations, the ‘native vs. non’ issue, and finer details such as supporting obligat feeders (those that can only feed on one genus or species).

Lucas Steeves

Lucas Steeves is an 18-year veteran of the landscape industry with a passion for driving the green industry forward and helping landscapers succeed. When he got his first summer job pushing a wheelbarrow at 14 years old, Lucas had no idea that it was the beginning of a long and fulfilling career in the green industry. At 16 years old, Lucas enrolled in the registered apprenticeship program and began his apprenticeship before he was even out of high school, and by the time he was 20 Lucas was one of the youngest Journeymen to graduate the Landscape Gardener Apprenticeship Program at Olds College. Lucas then went on to earn industry certification through Canadian National Landscape Association as a hardscape technician, and has continued to pursue education wherever he can throughout his career. Lucas’ work has spanned many facets of the landscape industry including, Arboriculture, Golf Course Maintenance, Hardscape Construction, and just about everything in between. Having been both an employee and a business owner, Lucas’ unique perspective and range of skills has made him a highly sought-after industry professional who now chooses to dedicate his time and energy to the promotion and development of the landscape industry and mentoring the next generation of industry professionals. Lucas’ mission is simple, he wants to help everyone succeed as the Landscape industry continues to develop.

Sessions:

Growing People

The key to avoiding burnout and ensuring the long-term success of your business The unfortunate truth of the landscape industry is that most landscape companies don’t outlast their founders. In fact, more often than not business owners burnout long before they ever get to see their business reach it’s full potential. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this session we will talk about how to attract and retain the right people who will help your business reach its full potential so that you can leave a legacy that will last long after you retire, and do it all without burning you out.

Education

The Secret to Higher Profits and Better Customers Building a “Destination Company”, a place where the best people want to come to work, and the best clients want to spend their money is an expensive prospect. Often so expensive that most business owners don’t achieve it. But there is one simple secret that will help you recover all of those expenses and much much more. That secret? Education. Not just educating your employees, but also educating your clients and the general public. In this session we are going to talk about why education is one of the most underutilized sales tools in the landscape industry and how you can use education to unlock the potential of your business and maximize your profits.

Philip Ronald

Philip Ronald was raised in the Canadian prairies and educated in plant breeding and horticulture at the University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan. He currently divides his time between teaching ornamental horticulture at the University of Manitoba, managing a 20 acre fruit farm and providing support to the research and marketing programs at Jeffries Nurseries. He resides near Portage la Prairie with his wife Karen and their children.

Sessions:

Building Healthy Shade Trees

An overview of the propagation pathways by which shade trees are produced at nurseries, including seed and vegetative methods.

Different methods of vegetative propagation will be compared in detail for their efficiency, advantages and challenges.

New Plant Introductions

Presenters: Matt Kellas, Aubin Nurseries, Philip Ronald, Jeffries Nurseries, Owen Vanstone, Vanstone Nurseries and Duayne Friesen, Ball Horticulture will provide an overview a select number of trees, perennials and annuals that are new for 2023 along their strengths and stock forecasting -re: supply chain challenges- for 2023.

Matt Kellas, Sales Manager, Aubin Nurseries Ltd.

Matt Kellas was born and raised in Winnipeg. He has been in the green industry for 10 years and graduated from the Greenspace Management Program at Red River College in 2013.

Matt began his professional career working as a Forest Health Protection Inspector at the City of Winnipeg. He then moved to Thompson, MB to become the youngest Golf Course Superintendent in the Province. 3 years later, he started his first sales job as an Account Manager at Consolidated Supply – where he sold landscape/irrigation materials. Most recently he has found his true passion as the Sales Manager at Aubin Nurseries.

He recently served as the treasurer on the MBNLA board for two years. Some of his interests include watching/playing sports and spending time with family and friends.

Phillip Ronald, Jeffries Nursery

Philip Ronald was raised in the Canadian prairies and educated in plant breeding and horticulture at the University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan. He currently divides his time between teaching ornamental horticulture at the University of Manitoba, managing a 20 acre fruit farm and providing support to the research and marketing programs at Jeffries Nurseries. He resides near Portage la Prairie with his wife Karen and their children.

Owen Vanstone, Vanstone Nurseries

Owen Vanstone is a joint owner of Vanstone Nurseries, a greenhouse and nursery operation located in Manitoba. The company produces a wide range of hardy perennials, shrubs and roses as well as a growing line of herbs, vegetables, and annuals. Owen is involved in plant testing and selection as well as many details in the day to day operations.

Owen has enjoyed developing the perennial trial site at the nursery location. Plant material from several breeders is evaluated for cold hardiness and suitability to the Prairie landscape. The nursery trial site is also host to the All-America Selections trial with a focus on the Herbaceous Perennial category. Owen enjoys evaluating new plants and working to bring the best of them to Prairie gardeners.