Speakers & Topics

Garth Aubin – Inventory Management/Logistics at Aubin Nurseries Ltd.

Garth is a fourth-generation member of Aubin Nurseries LTD in Carman, Manitoba, where he grew up and now works in day-to-day operations including inventory management, logistics, and anything else he is needed for. His education includes horticulture at the University of Guelph, and Business at Red River College. He is passionate about gardening/landscaping and is thrilled that his family’s business has been a major supplier of hardy trees, shrubs, fruit, and perennials to garden centres across the prairie provinces for coming up on 100 years.

Garth will be showcasing some new and noteworthy plant varieties that Aubin Nurseries will be growing for garden centres and landscapers this upcoming season and in coming years.

Dennis Bergen – Product Development Manager at Barkman

Dennis Bergen is the product development manager at Barkman Concrete. He studied architectural design at the university of Manitoba and now leads a team to develop new and innovative products for the landscape industry. Dennis’ main design focus is on pavers, slabs, and retaining walls for the central and western Canadian markets.

Presentation Topic: New Product Developments in the Landscape Industry

Description: Dennis will speak about product development at Barkman and how they launch new products. He will also discuss the new products Barkman will be launching in 2026. 

Keith Doherty – Operations/Snow Manager for Sunshower Sprinklers

Keith is a graduate of the Greenspace management program from RRC, 20 plus years in the landscaping profession with work including here in Winnipeg and Westman area. Member of the MBNLA and PDC boards. 

Presentation Topic: How to Reconcile Vision and Practice on a Landscape

Description: By understanding the perspectives of architects, suppliers, and contractors, participants will gain a holistic view of the landscape design-build process. This session will help uncover practical challenges and solutions, preparing professionals to navigate complex projects more effectively.

Guy Dowhy – Dowhy Designs

Guy Dowhy is a career advocate of the horticulture industry. Often lovingly referred to as “The Poop Guy” by the apprentices he teaches (for his frequent references to manure fertilizers), he brings decades of real-life experiences, dad jokes, and stories – most of them true, to the classroom. As a lifelong learner with a belief that we can always be better, he has held every available credential in horticulture industry including the first Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist in Manitoba, and when combined with his Bachelor of Science degree in Botany makes him a formidable person to argue about plants with.

Guy owns and operates Dowhy Design & Landscapes, and has also worked in the retail garden centre and civic maintenance sectors throughout his 30+ year career in horticulture. He is currently the veteran instructor of the Apprenticeship Manitoba Landscape Horticulturist program and continual contributor to the national Red Seal curriculum.

Presentation Topic: Plant your Seed, Grow your Roots, and Spread your Branches. Careers and Pathways in the Horticulture Profession (Guy Dowhy and Casey Norman)

Description: Guy and Casey Norman will highlight and explore all the ways in which a career as a horticulturalist can be rewarding. Session for the students.

Kent Gulash – VP of Sales at HumaTerra Regen Ag Inc.

Kent Gulash holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked with growers, retailers, and consultants for over four decades in sales and leadership roles to solve agronomy and production challenges. Kent has extensively studied and coached leadership in agriculture and has a passion for helping others succeed.

Kent is the VP of Sales for HumaTerra Regen Ag Inc. and leads the development of routes to market for H-Start in agriculture, horticulture, and reclamation. HumaTerra has developed a biological soil inoculant that increases the diversity and density of naturally occurring fungi and bacteria in the soil. H-Start has shown that soil challenges, including salinity, compaction, water infiltration, nutrient availability, and water productivity, can be addressed by including H-Start as an agronomic solution.

Presentation Topic: The value of ensuring soil and growing medium is beneficially biologically loaded

Description: HumaTerra was founded on the belief that healthy people start with healthy soil. Their product, H-Start Yard & Garden, is a pelleted soil probiotic that restores beneficial, naturally occurring fungi and bacteria to the soil and planting medium. These microbes enhance seed germination and emergence, plant growth and development, water and nutrient uptake, stress tolerance, and contribute to overall healthier, hardier, and happier plants.

Learn about the opportunity to easily and cost-effectively add nature back to soil, potting mix and other planting media with H-Start Yard & Garden.

Lee Hotas – Account Manager at Belgard

Lee Hotas has been the Belgard Key Account Manager for Manitoba and NW Ontario for the past 15 years. Lee Hotas is an Allan Block Certified SRW Trainer, Manitoba Masonry Institute Treasurer, Member of MBLNA, Friends of MALA, and a Graduate of the University of Winnipeg.

Presentation Topic: New Hardscape Products

Vanessa Jukes Strutt – B. Env.D., M.L.Arch., Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects, CSLA, PMP

Vanessa is a Landscape Architect and Project Manager with UM – Physical Plant, Architectural & Engineering Services at the University of Manitoba (UM). Vanessa’s project portfolio primarily includes leading project teams for infrastructure renewal and public realm development on all UM campuses. Some of her favourite recent projects include those that help shape the landscape to be more resilient through flood mitigation, more sustainable through the establishment of a native revegetation and reforestation strategy, and more accessible through the advancement of a University wide accessibility audit of the built environment and public realm. Vanessa actively volunteers on a number of committees and initiatives focused primarily on accessibility, sustainability, and inclusion both at UM as well as throughout her professional network. She is a Past President of the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects, and a former board member of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.

Atish Kulkarni – Research Group at Carbon Lock Tech.

Atish Kulkarni (MSc) heads the Research Group at Carbon Lock Tech. His work revolves around investigating the use of biocarbon in a range of high-value applications and providing knowledge to support development of the patented pyrolytic processes. He holds a Master’s Degree in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University and is extremely passionate about developing carbon removal solutions for the current climate crisis.

Presentation Topic: From Peat to a Prosperous Net-Zero Future; Cultivating Local Climate Action with Cattail-based (Typha) Substrates (Alec Massé, Atish Kulkarni and Hank Venema)

Description: This presentation will unveil, for the first time, the latest growth-trial results from Typha Co. and Carbon Lock Tech on peat-free potting-mix substrates derived primarily from Typha biomass. Typha Co. will share grower best practices and practical insights, Carbon Lock Tech will explore the substrate’s contributions to climate-change mitigation, and Strategic Systems Engineering (SSE) will highlight feedstock procurement site’s relevance to climate-change adaptation.

Paul Laporte – Sergeant Manitoba Motor Carrier Enforcement with Transportation Operations Division

Sgt. Paul Laporte is the Outreach and Support Services Officer for Manitoba Motor Carrier Enforcement (MMCE), the provincial agency tasked with enforcing safety regulations related to commercial  and regulated vehicles.

Paul began his career in Public Safety in 1997 as a Paramedic, where the consequences of unsafe road behaviours was graphically illustrated to him. Over the next 28 years serving the citizens of the province, both as a Paramedic and a Law Enforcement Officer, he specialized in proactive education. Ensuring that people become more knowledgeable and empowered to make safe choices, rather than dealing with the aftermath of unsafe choices, is his passion.

Presentation Topic: Regulated Vehicle Enforcement – What You Need To Know

Description: This session will introduce what companies operating commercial and regulated vehicles, and their drivers, need to know about laws and regulations. Topics will include: the importance of pre-trip inspections, vehicle and driver inspections, cargo securement, common violations and the consequences for non-compliance.

John Leperre – Sales Rep for Byland Nurseries

John is the Manitoba and Ontario sales representative for Bylands Nurseries, located in Kelowna, British Columbia. A born-and-raised Manitoban, he makes his home and gardens in Winnipeg, and has worked in the horticultural industry in Manitoba since 2012. He enjoys trialing new plant varieties and experimenting with what will thrive in our zone 3 climate.

Presentation Topic: New and Noteworthy Plant Varieties

Description: John Leperre will be showcasing some new and noteworthy plant varieties that Byland  Nurseries will be growing for garden centres and landscapers this upcoming season and in coming years.

Shannon Loewen – Landscape Architect and Associate at HTFC Planning and Design

Shannon Loewen is a Landscape Architect and Associate at HTFC Planning and Design and University Olmsted Scholar. Her upbringing on a farm embedded in the rural prairies fostered a lasting, deep connection and wealth of knowledge of plant history and human to plant connections that she brings to each of her projects. Her work experience ranges from play parks and outdoor learning environments to cultural interpretive design, master planning, and detailed site design. Shannon has a special interest in plant management and finding creative ways to use plants as architectural features; creating unique planting strategies with historically and socially significant specimens.

Presentation Topic: How to Reconcile Vision and Practice on a Landscape Project

Alec Massé – Typha Co.

Graduated from the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) program; received a double major in International Management and Entrepreneurship. Alec’s experience is rooted in clean-tech start-ups, more specifically within the intersection of the circular and bio-economy.

Alec’s career first started in agriculture lending at a cooperative credit union. During his last year of his undergraduate degree, Typha Co. was conceived after placing third in a national hackathon competition called Aqua Action that was set on finding innovative solutions to addressing Lake Winnipeg’s environmental crisis. After graduation, Alec consulted for a few years for a non-profit that provided grant writing and project management services for Canadian prairie municipalities to undertake green infrastructure projects and for University of British Columbia’s BioProduct Institute to develop a technical  accelerator.

Presentation Topic: From Peat to a Prosperous Net-Zero Future; Cultivating Local Climate Action with Cattail-based (Typha) Substrates (Alec Massé, Atish Kulkarni and Hank Venema)

Description: This presentation will unveil, for the first time, the latest growth-trial results from Typha Co. and Carbon Lock Tech on peat-free potting-mix substrates derived primarily from Typha biomass. Typha Co. will share grower best practices and practical insights, Carbon Lock Tech will explore the substrate’s contributions to climate-change mitigation, and Strategic Systems Engineering (SSE) will highlight feedstock procurement site’s relevance to climate-change adaptation.

Casey Norman – Instructor at Red River College Polytechnic

Presentation Topic: Plant your Seed, Grow your Roots, and Spread your Branches. Careers and Pathways in the Horticulture Profession (Guy Dowhy and Casey Norman)

Description: Guy and Casey Norman will highlight and explore all the ways in which a career as a horticulturalist can be rewarding. Session for the students.

Jeff O’Brien – Founder of Brands in Blooms and creator of the BloomSuite marketing platform

Jeff O’Brien is the Founder of Brands in Blooms, a marketing and education company helping garden centres and local retailers attract and retain the next generation of customers. Drawing from his MBA research and years leading sales and marketing at Van Belle Nursery and Bloomin’ Easy, Jeff created the 5-Star Customer Experience Playbook, now used by hundreds of independent garden centres across North America.

Recognized as Educator of the Year by the BC Landscape & Nursery Association, Jeff combines storytelling, strategy, and real-world experience to help businesses simplify their message and elevate their customer experience. He is also the creator of BloomSuite — the industry’s easiest-to-edit website platform and all-in-one email, SMS, and content marketing software built specifically for garden centres and green industry professionals.

Session 1: The Power of Story — How to Win Hearts in a Distracted World

Description: Every business has a story, but not every story connects. Most companies lead with what they sell — when customers care most about why it matters. In this practical, story-driven session, Educator of the Year Jeff O’Brien, founder of Brands in Blooms and creator of the BloomSuite marketing platform, will show you how to craft a message that cuts through the noise and builds emotional connection with today’s customer.

Drawing from his MBA research and Storytelling Framework (where the customer is the hero), Jeff will help you clarify your message, build trust, and turn browsers into believers. You’ll leave with a one-liner that defines your story, a clear sense of your customer’s journey, and a framework you can apply to any brand or business — whether you sell plants, products, or professional services.

Key takeaways:

• Understand what today’s customer actually buys (it’s not your product)
• Learn how to build stories that spark emotion and loyalty
• Craft your one-liner and empathy statement to make marketing simple and effective

Session 2: Beyond Transactions — Creating a 5-Star Customer Experience

Description: Today’s customer doesn’t want to shop — they want to feel something. But many garden centres and local retailers still unintentionally overwhelm new customers with too much choice, too little guidance, and too few memorable moments.

In this engaging 1-hour session, Educator of the Year Jeff O’Brien, founder of Brands in Blooms, will share insights from his 5-Star Customer Experience Playbook, used by garden centres across North America to design spaces and experiences that inspire confidence, loyalty, and repeat visits.

You’ll learn how to reduce customer overwhelm, design your space around discovery, and align your team around one simple goal: creating customers who can’t wait to come back.

Key takeaways:

• Identify common customer experience “gaps” and how to fix them
• Learn simple layout and signage improvements that build confidence
• Discover how to align your staff and space to create a 5-star experience

Edwin Pavey – Sales Leader and Landscape Growth Consultant at Intrigue Media

Edwin Pavey is a seasoned sales leader and Landscape Growth Consultant at Intrigue Media, where he helps landscape entrepreneurs create more predictable lead flow, strengthen their sales processes, and scale their businesses with greater confidence.

With more than 15 years of experience driving revenue across multiple sectors—including leadership over a $930 million financial services region, responsibility for 6,000+ client households, and overseeing a team of 93 financial profesionals—Edwin has consistently ranked among the top performers nationally. Edwin brings a deep background in consultative sales, strategic planning, and performance management to the green industry.

At Intrigue, Edwin works directly with landscape company owners who want to grow—whether that means unlocking more consistent inbound leads, expanding into new service areas, or building a stronger brand that stands out in crowded markets. He leads strategic conversations that uncover bottlenecks in lead generation, align marketing with revenue goals, and create long-term partnerships built on transparency, trust, and measurable results.

Known for his clear communication style and ability to simplify complex growth challenges, Edwin brings a practical, results-driven approach to every engagement. His mission is straightforward: help green-industry leaders make smarter decisions, win better clients, and build businesses that thrive with clarity instead of chaos.

Presentation Topic: Landscape Marketing Success Stories & How to Make Your Own

Description: This session will focus on transformative marketing strategies within the green industry. In “Landscape Marketing Success Stories & How to Make Your Own,” we will dive into the fundamentals of crafting a simple and strategic marketing plan that actually increases revenue. Discover practical tips and the latest tools—including cutting-edge AI technologies—that can streamline your marketing efforts and enhance effectiveness.

Throughout this presentation, we’ll showcase inspiring success stories from green industry businesses that have achieved remarkable results by:

• Setting clear objectives,
• Meticulously planning their marketing strategies
• Understanding how each step of a marketing plan contributes to sales
• Diligently tracking return on investment (ROI).

You’ll gain insights on how you can replicate this success, applying proven principles and innovative tools to elevate your business.

Whether you’re looking to refine your existing marketing approach or starting from scratch, this session will equip you with the knowledge and inspiration needed to forge your own path to marketing success.

Tracy Proctor – Motor Carrier Safety Program Manager

Manitoba Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, Motor Carrier Safety and Permits Branch

Tracy has been the Manager of the Motor Carrier Safety Program since the fall of 2021, playing an instrumental role in managing the implementation of a number of key initiatives to effectively monitor motor carrier safety. 

Presentation Topic: Manitoba Motor Carrier Safety Program Overview

Description: The Motor Carrier Safety and Permits Branch Provides Commercial Vehicle Safety Monitoring and Permitting Services to Support Safe Roads in Manitoba.

The Safety Program is responsible for maintaining and monitoring carrier safety records, educating carriers on their safety responsibilities under the Canadian National Safety Code standards, the Highway Traffic Act, and the Motor Vehicle Transport Act. The program intervenes when carriers do not demonstrate safe operation and compliance with applicable highway safety laws and regulations, with the objective of correcting potential safety issues before a serious incident occurs.

Andrew Ronald – Field Production at Jeffries Nurseries Ltd.

Andrew is a second generation member of the Ronald family growing quality plants for the prairies at Jeffries Nurseries. His responsibilities are in field growing seedlings, liner trees and caliper trees at multiple field sites in the Portage area. He has a Bachelors of Science in Horticulture and a Master of Science degree from the University of Manitoba. Andrew and his wife Georgia and their family live in Elie.

Presentation Topic: Understanding Landscape Design to Construction

Description: Andrew will showcase new varieties from Jeffries Nurseries Northern Garden Collection and other hardy plants that should be on the shopping lists of garden centres, greenhouses, landscapers, growers and urban foresters. He will also share the process on how designers and contractors are informed of materials available and how some products’ availability can be affected by uncontrollable factors.

Dr. Poonam Singh – Professor and Researcher, Russ Edwards School of Agriculture & Environment, Assiniboine Community College, Brandon

Dr. Poonam Singh is a key faculty researcher in the Horticultural Production and Sustainable Food Systems program at the Assiniboine College, Brandon, Manitoba. With international and Canadian experience in horticultural sciences, Dr. Singh has led several applied research projects for academia and industry, aimed at adopting sustainable practices and improving the production efficiency of horticultural farms. Her research focuses on the development of sustainable technologies for greenhouse-based production of horticultural crops with a focus on the development/assessment of innovative soilless media and substrates, rootzone management of greenhouse crops, hydroponic crop systems, controlled environment agriculture, and the study of horticultural crop physiology.

Presentation Topic: Sheep Wool Waste in Growing Media: Benefits and Limitations

Description: Sheep wool processing generates substantial waste that is often underutilized, despite its potential value as a growing media amendment for greenhouse and nursery production. The talk will discuss why wool waste is being considered as a growing media component, how it may influence physical and chemical properties of media, and its possible effects on plant growth and nutrient management. Practical considerations, including application rates, fertility interactions, and potential limitations for horticultural crop production, will also be addressed. This presentation aims to provide growers with an overview of current research and emerging opportunities for using sheep wool waste as a sustainable growing media amendment.

Hank Venema – CEO and Senior Engineer for Strategic

Hank Venema is the CEO and Senior Engineer for Strategic. He is strongly committed to sustainable development leadership, innovation, and implementation. Hank brings a strong focus on climate resilience planning and surface water management to municipal and regional landscapes.

Hank holds a PhD in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo with a diverse technical and management background spanning climate change, renewable energy, water resources, urban planning, agriculture, operations research, public health, and environmental economics.

Hank has extensive experience at home and abroad, having worked for and with the Inter–governmental Panel on Climate Change, The World Bank, The World Health Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations Environment Program, the Global Water Systems Project, and The Energy and Resources Institute. In Canada, Hank was Chief Scientist and Vice President for Science and Innovation at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), leading several of IISD’s signature Canadian programs including the Water Innovation Centre, saving and reviving the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) research station, and helping establish the Prairie Climate Centre. Hank also has over a decade of experience consulting to the Province of Manitoba and the Government of Canada on wind power development, Lake Winnipeg Basin management, water quality trading, ecosystem services, bio-economy development, and indigenous–led ecosystem management.

Presentation Topic: From Peat to a Prosperous Net-Zero Future; Cultivating Local Climate Action with Cattail-based (Typha) Substrates (Alec Massé, Atish Kulkarni and Hank Venema)

Description: This presentation will unveil, for the first time, the latest growth-trial results from Typha Co. and Carbon Lock Tech on peat-free potting-mix substrates derived primarily from Typha biomass. Typha Co. will share grower best practices and practical insights, Carbon Lock Tech will explore the substrate’s contributions to climate-change mitigation, and Strategic Systems Engineering (SSE) will highlight feedstock procurement site’s relevance to climate-change adaptation.

Michiel Verheul – High Q Greenhouses

Michiel Verheul was born into family run Vegetable and Market Garden in the Netherlands.  He came to Canada in 1983 and worked for the family that sponsored him at a greenhouse business in Saskatchewan.  After a year he had to move to Alberta and worked for a greenhouse North of Edmonton for 5 years. He and his family chose to get into the Young Plant business. They settled outside of Morinville (Sturgeon County), AB.  Fast forward 34 years. Michiel and his family operated a 60,000 sq. ft. facility of modern greenhouse space, continuing to grow young plants and finished plant material to cities towns and golf courses. In 2021 they sold the business, with the understanding that Michiel could continue to work there, as he was not ready to retire. Michiel been the AGGA President 3 times, he and High Q Greenhouses have received the “Integrity Award” from the Morinville Chamber of Commerce, as well as “Grower of the year” and the “Herb knodel” award from the AGGA. Michiel loves this industry and is very proud to be a part of it.

Presentation Topic: Getting Off the Hamster Wheel

Description: Michiel will take about how to effectively run a garden centre, using today s technology like social media, AI and how to keep the spark in your step and staying profitable.

Nicole Xavier – Member Services & Administration Manager, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association

Nicole joined the CNLA Member Services team in October 2021. With more than two decades of experience across hospitality, education, and administration, she is known for her strong organizational skills, dedication to excellence, and ability to build meaningful relationships. Nicole is passionate about providing exceptional service to CNLA members.

Presentation Topic: How to Access CNLA Member Benefits

Description: Nicole will walk you through the programs available to MBLNA members and highlight how these offerings can help you save money.