NorthCoastJournal_August_2010

North Coast Journal CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION

August Dinner Meeting Tuesday August 17, 2010 Rooster Run Golf Club 6:00 PM - $30 with RSVP ($35 at the door) See RSVP flier inside

CLCA North Coast Chapter www.clcanorthcoastchapter.org AUGUST 2010

5th Annual CLT Training @ Buckeye Ranch Maintenance Class….Saturday August 14 Irrigation Class……..Saturday August 28 Installation Class…...Saturday September 18

See application inside

Water

conservation panel

Hear what is new in the world of water for the landscape industry from….

Deb Lane – City of Santa Rosa Phil Wyatt – Wyatt Irrigation Carrie Pollard – SCWA Tom Noonan – Ewing Irrigation Chuck Ludlow - TORO

CLCA North Coast Chapter P.O. Box 1621 Sebastopol, CA 95473

RESPECT THE EARTH… RECYCLE

AUGUST 2010

In this Issue

PAGE 2 ………….…Arborsculpture PAGE 4……………..CLT Training – Upcoming in August & September PAGE 5….................2010 Landscape Expo PAGE 8……………..Associate Member Spotlight – Target Specialty Products PAGE 13……………Concrete that Purifies Air PAGE 16……………Awards Banquet PAGE 19……………Sonoma County Center – Water Conservation Project PAGE 20…………...Awards Night Sponsors and Volunteers

This Publication is Printed on Recycled Paper r

North Coast Chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association

PRESORTED STANDARD

MAIL U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT #105

NORTHBAY, CA

Arborsculpture is the art and technique of growing and shaping trunks of trees and other

woody plants by grafting, bending and pruning the woody trunks (dating back centuries).

Arbors, Chairs, Houses, Stick Figures, Tables, Serpents, Totems, Benches (All Living)!!!

Page 2

North Coast Chapter Board Members

Chairman of the Board – Past President Brigid Flagerman

Bertotti Landscaping (415) 720-0065

[email protected]

President Charlie Thompson Cagwin & Dorward

(415) 892-7710 [email protected]

Secretary Ben Kopshever

Sonoma Mountain Landscape (707) 695-2429

[email protected]

Treasurer Lisa Stratton

Cagwin & Dorward (415) 798-1753

[email protected]

Web Guru Michael O’Connell

O’Connell Landscape (707) 462-9729 [email protected]

Associate Member Chair

Russ Clarke Park Ave Turf


Resource Chair Susie Dowd Markarian

Susie Dowd Markarian Design (707) 546-6221

[email protected]

CLT State Committee Liaison Dave Iribarne

City of Petaluma (707) 778-4591

[email protected]

Programs Co-Chairs Owen Mitchell

Mitchell Landscapes (415) 717-6214 [email protected]

Tyler Doherty

Cal West Rentals (707) 694-9108

[email protected]

Legislative Chair Chris Zaim

Akita Landscape (707) 486-2548 [email protected]

Education Co-Chairs Luis Lua

Cagwin & Dorward (415) 720-6624

Will Jenkel Lampson Tractor


Membership Co-Chairs Kevin Kohl

Ewing Irrigation (707) 457-9530 [email protected]

Jeff Hausman

Gardenworks, Inc. (707) 974-5799 jeff@gardenworks-

inc.com

Salvador Ledezma Jr. Gardenworks, Inc


Chapter General Board Members

Jeff Jones

John Deere Landscapes (925) 595-6115

[email protected]

Jason North

North Coast CLCA Executive Director

Journal Editor

Connie Salinas

P.O. Box 1621 Sebastopol, CA 95473

Phone 707-829-5487 Fax 707-829-5487 [email protected]

CLCA 2010 State Officers

PRESIDENT

William Schnetz, CLP Schnetz Landscape, Inc Phone: (760) 591-3453

[email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECT Robert Wade, CLP,CLIA

Wade Landscape Phone: (949) 494-2130 [email protected]

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sharon McGuire

Phone: (800) 448-2522, ext. 13 FAX: (916) 446-7692

[email protected]

Page 3

MORE VALUABLE TRAINING COMING TO BUCKEYE RANCH Field Training days in August and September can be used for CLT Preparation or just for employee enrichment. In a bad economy training is even more important then ever. Saturday Saturday Saturday August 14th August 28th September 18th MAINTENANCE IRRIGATION INSTALLATION

See Training Application in This Issue

NEXT FIELD TEST

October 2 Buckeye Ranch, Petaluma, CA Sign up cut-off date: August 21, 2010 UPCOMING WRITTEN TEST

August 6 Gachina Landscape Management, San Jose CA Noon - 4pm

Page 4

Classroom – Plan Reading Fertilizer Lateral Repair Walk Behind Mower Chain Saw Plant Identification

Classroom – Plan Reading Trencher Valve Repair Program Controller Main Line Install Plant Identification

Classroom – Plan Reading Tractor Grading & Drainage Instrument Pavers Plant Identification

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul. Joseph Addison

When asked how much educated men were superior to those uneducated, Aristotle answered, 'As much as the living are to the dead.'

Diogenes Laetius

Become More Valuable to Your Clients Through Education on Sustainability

In states where water is short and restrictions on its use are becoming stricter with stiffer penalties, both commercial and residential clients are relying heavily on landscape professionals for advice and solutions that reduce water usage, yet still provide beautiful and sustainable landscapes.

As this is the scenario in today’s, and future’s, business environment, it behooves landscape pros to learn as much as they can about sustainable landscape techniques, especially those that deal with water conservation.

Whether you’re involved in design, build or maintain segments of the industry, or even all three, keeping up-to-date on new laws & regulations, products and techniques will make you a very valuable resource to your clients as you save them money, keep them out of trouble, and provide them with a landscape environment they can be proud of.

With this in mind, Leslie McGuire, educational programs director for the 2010 Landscape Expo – Long Beach, has made sure to include several seminars that deal specifically with water issues in various knowledge tracks including Turf Care, Tree Care, Sustainability, Irrigation and Landscape Design.

The 2010 Landscape Expo will take place October 6th & 7th, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. For free exhibit hall admission and to sign-up for seminars, visit www.LandscapeOnline.com and click on the 2010 Landscape Expo button on the top menu bar. Discount hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency and Avia Hotel are also available and can be booked online at the show’s website. Call (714) 979-5276 ext. 123 for additional information.

Page 5

State Board Announces New Executive Director

The State Water Resources Control Board has announced that Tom Howard will become the board’s next executive director in August. An engineer who has held a variety of positions at the board since 1984, Howard has served as chief deputy director since 2003. Howard is a registered Professional Chemical Engineer and holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and master’s degrees from both Cal Tech and UC Davis.

Spring Scramble Tournament Recap by Michael O'Connell

The inaugural Spring Scramble Golf Tournament at Peacock Gap Golf Course was a huge success and helped raise funds for the LEAF Scholarship Fund. Thank you to the generous support of Ewing Irrigation for sponsoring the BBQ before the tournament and some delicious tri-tip! John Deere Landscapes donated balls, knapsacks, and tees for all players, and Marin Landscape Materials donated gift certificates for the raffle. The sponsors shown below gave us tremendous support, without which the tournament would not have been possible.

Winners of the tournament and a Costco Shopping Spree was the foursome of Jeff Hausman, Fred Hanker, Tom Bressan, and Adam Burgess. Thanks to all the players for their support and we hope to see you all next year!

Kudos also go out to the golf committee, headed by committee chairman Henry Buder, Jeff Jones of John Deere Landscapes, John Holmquist of Horizon, and Michael O’Connell of O’Connell Landscape

Page 6

Kevin Kohl and Stacy Nord from Ewing barbequed a Tri Tip lunch for all the golfers.

Event Organizers (left to right) Henry Buder, Michael O’Connell, Jeff Jones –John Deere, John Holmquist – Horizon and golfer Chris McNairy - Hunter

The Evolution of Golf in The North Coast Chapter by Henry Buder

Chapter golf, in my era, started in about 1975 when State President John Redman, and future State President Jay Tripathi, decided to have regular golf in the CLCA North Coast Chapter. So they starting calling members to play golf once a month at various places in the Bay Area, and sure enough, people signed up to play. This is where I first found out that I was not too good at golf. This went on for about a year, then interest declined, and wasn’t worth the effort to put it on.

Some time later, smaller groups formed and started playing regular golf. Randy Tavenner, Dan Fix (pictured left) and Chris Hill started a weekly group, every Thursday at noon, at Rooster Run in Petaluma. One day I got a call from Chris Hill to join their weekly group, and I did. This is how I learned to play golf, plus watching the Golf Channel and reading Golf Digest. This went on for six or seven years, every week, rain or shine. It was Randy Tavenner that came up with the idea to turn golf into a source of funding for our scholarship fund, LEAF. Unfortunately, interest declined and economies worsened, and that group plays no more. But scholarship golf lives on. We have been giving money to Leaf for five or six years, not huge money but 4 or 5 thousand dollars at least. Well, interest in scholarship golf started to fade, and I thought it might go by the wayside, as attendance was too low to go through the effort. At the Chapter Championship last year, in the bar, I announced that maybe we should take a break from our tournaments. To my surprise, the die-hards would not have it. Golf was fun and giving to

LEAF was important. What if we changed the format? And that’s what we did. We formed a golf committee, we decided to play scramble golf, with lunch included, give out prizes, and offer sponsorships to our Associates. The Spring Fling had new energy. And the idea worked as planned, with over 30 golfers and almost 20 sponsors. Ewing Irrigation fixed lunch for everybody. We gave away a ton of prizes, and we added a new member to the Hole In One Club. Mike Davidson of Gardeners Guild got a hole in one on the par 3 13th hole, about 185 yards. Way to go Mike! You are in a very elite group, and may you forever be known as ACE.

Page 7

Harnessing Microbes to Clean Water and Create Energy

By Ellen Ferrante, National Science Foundation

This ScienceLives article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

In our world where many people lack access to potable water and sanitation, Bruce Logan and his team are developing energy sustainable technologies to clean water and make electrical energy for water treatment. Their research includes exploring how to develop microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that can tackle both challenges. The researchers have proven that almost any biodegradable material can be used to produce power, for instance, they can produce electricity from domestic wastewater, as well as wastewater generated by animals, farms, food processing and industry. Currently, the lab is working to utilize this technology on larger scales. In past research, Logan and his team developed a modified MFC system that produces hydrogen gas while cleaning wastewater, attaining record high hydrogen yields. This technology can use even the most common microorganisms to produce hydrogen and other fuels such as methane. See a video of Logan in his lab from the new series Green Revolution, an animation of his earlier work., ,

Page 9

California's Most Wanted Insect Pest

The Department operates Entomology and Plant Pathology Laboratories, which seek to protect consumers by identifying exotic insects (and other invertebrates), invasive weeds and plant pathogens entering Los Angeles County through truck, ship, airfreight, and parcel delivery operations. The laboratories provide rapid and accurate identifications to support the Pest Detection and Pest Exclusion programs and offer identification and information services for Los Angeles County residents, schools, governmental agencies, growers, nursery and pest control operators. Overall, the laboratories process over 8,000 pest specimens submitted annually.

If you would like to submit samples for identification or analysis, please use the following forms:

1. Insect and other invertebrate specimen submission form 2. Plant disease diagnosis/Plant & mushroom specimen submission form

Requests for pest identification are accepted for specimens originating in Los Angeles County only.

Visit our website for pest information at acwm.lacounty.gov/scripts/pestpdf.htm

Page 10

Water bond proposal uncertain for November ballot Governor urges legislators to push back proposal By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter

Hoping for a better election climate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is still urging legislators to push back a contentious water bond proposal to 2012.

As it stands, the $11.1 billion bond package, known as the Safe, Clean and Reliable Drinking Water Act of 2010, is scheduled to appear on the Nov. 2 ballot as Proposition 18.

Although there has been a push from Schwarzenegger to have the measure pulled, "it's not a done deal," said Alicia Trost, press secretary for Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Removing the proposition from the November ballot would require a two-thirds vote from the state Legislature, which doesn't return to session until Aug. 2. The change would have to be introduced and approved by Aug. 31 to remove the bond from the ballot. If Proposition 18 passes, the interest on the 30-year, $11.1 billion bond, would be from $600 million to $1 billion annually, threatening to push the portion of the state's general fund dedicated to debt service to nearly 10 percent, said Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano. "The bond itself is completely financially irresponsible," she added at a Solano Economic Development Corporation last month. "I oppose the package. It doesn't get to the heart of the issue. The Delta has done far too many things for the state." The $11 billion water bond includes about $2 billion in earmarks for projects, reportedly in order to win votes needed to pass the plan out of the Legislature.

Some of those projects include $40 million to educate the public about California's water; $100 million for a Lake Tahoe Environmental Improvement Program for watershed restoration, bike trails public access, and recreation projects; and $20 million for the Baldwin Hills Conservancy to buy more land.

The conservancy is near the home of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass.

Still, Wolk emphasized that the state hasn't done a good job of protecting water and should reduce its reliance on the Delta.

She added that the proposed multimillion dollar projects for the Delta would require only counties adjacent to the water source to pay half of the cost.

"This bond is fiscally irresponsible and it won't get better with age," she said in a prepared statement. "It's not fine wine. It's just pork. It is fiscal madness to contemplate passing the largest water bond in California history at the same time that we are in the midst of an economic crisis. We are in the deepest budget hole in state history. It's time to stop digging. We should start over next year with a new Legislature, a new governor, and an open and transparent public process."

The Woodland Daily Democrat contributed to this report.

Page 11

Notes From Our Webmaster: Michael O’Connell – O’Connell Landscape New Photo Galleries- Now in Facebook

Check out the chapter’s new Facebook Page and browse the Photo Galleries of this year’s awards. You can comment on and share with others all this year’s award winning gardens.

Cell Phone All Wet? Try This!

One of your crew members drop a cell phone while working on irrigation? It might be ruined, but you can also try Bhesstie, a bag specifically designed to get the water out of high tech devices. Featured in June’s Inc. Magazine, Bheestie was developed by sisters that developed the bag, which is full of special clay beads, after a son dropped a Game Boy in a pond.

For More: Bheestie.com

Read Chapter Newsletters from Around the State

Want to keep up with what’s happening in other Chapter’s around the state? You can find links to the Chapter websites and their newsletters on the State CLCA website: clca.org under “About CLCA” and then “Chapters”

Page 14

Concrete That Purifies Air

Vehicle exhaust gases contain nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause acid rain and smog. The air-purifying concrete contains titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that removes the nitrogen oxides from the air and converts them with the aid of sunlight into harmless nitrate. The nitrate is then rinsed away by rain. These stones also have another advantage: they break down algae and dirt, so that they always stay clean.

The tests were carried out in the municipality of Hengelo, where the busy Castorweg road was resurfaced last fall. As part of the project, around 1,000 square meters of the road's surface were covered with air-purifying concrete paving stones. For comparison purposes, another area of 1.000 square meters was surfaced with normal paving stones.

Researchers at TU/e carried out three air-purity measurements on the Castorweg last spring, at heights of between a half and one-and-a-half meters. Over the area paved with air-purifying concrete the NOx content was found to 25 to 45 per cent lower than that over the area paved with normal concrete. ''The air-purifying properties of the new paving stones had already been shown in the laboratory, but these results now show that they also work outdoors,'' said Professor Jos Brouwers in a recent inaugural lecture at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Further measurements are planned later this year.

Brouwers, who has been professor of building materials in the TU/e Department of Architecture, Building and Planning since September 2009, sees numerous potential applications, especially at locations where the maximum permitted NOx concentrations are now exceeded. The concrete stones used in the tests are made by, and co-developed with, paving stone manufacturer Struyk Verwo Infra, and are already available for use. For roads where an asphalt surface is preferred the air-purifying concrete can be mixed with open asphalt, according to Brouwers. It can also be used in self-cleaning and air-purifying building walls.

The use of air-purifying concrete does not have a major impact on the cost of a road, Brouwers has calculated. Although the stones themselves are 50 per cent more expensive than normal concrete stones, the total road-building costs are only ten per cent higher.

Page 15

Road surfaces can make a big contribution to local air purity. This conclusion can be drawn from the first test results on a road surface of air-purifying concrete. This material reduces the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 25 to 45 per cent.

For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled. ~Richard P. Feynman The system of nature, of which man is a part, tends to be self-balancing, self-adjusting, self-cleansing. Not so with technology. ~E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful, 1973

2010 AWARDS

Page 16

Special Awards went to:

Installation Sweepstakes Cagwin & Dorward

Management Sweepstakes

North Bay Landscape

Judges Award Franciscan Landscape

Excelsior Award Garden of Ease

Chris McNairy from Hunter with Cagwin & Dorward

North Bay wins Management Sweepstakes

Fred Hanker – Delta Bluegrass And Franciscan Landscape

Jerri from Sweetlane Nursery with Lynn Bernstein from

Garden of Ease

From left to right: Gil Gonzalez - LCIS with John Fitzgerald – Landesign, Russ Clarke – Park Ave Turf presents to Peter Estournes – Gardenworks, Bertorri Landscaping wins first for Design Build from Charlie Thompson and Equinox

Landscape takes home the Sustainable Installation plaque.

.

Page 17

Frank & Grossman receives the Custom Residential Installation Award from Wyatt Irrigation, Mike Parks from Target Specialty Products presents Gardeners’ Guild with their first place for Sustainable Maintenance and Marizco Landscape

gets their honor for Small Commercial Maintenance from John Holmquist of Horizon

Jeff Jones from John Deere Landscapes and North Bay Landscape, Rodney Rose form Autumn Skies Landscapes receives his plaque for Medium Residential Maintenance from Russ Clarke of Park Avenue Turf, Gardenworks takes home another First Place for Small

Residential Installation and Darrel Orr of Pacific Landscape receives his plaque from Mike Parks – Target Specialty Products.

Connie Salinas provided the Phoenix rising from the flames and ash and Jim and Jerri from Sweet Lane Wholesale Nursery did a spectacular job in creating areas of plant material that went beautifully with the theme

Logo Patches

ORDER FORM

CLCA North Coast Chapter

COMPANY NAME____________________________ PHONE #____________________ # ordered circle color & size: _____LOGO PATCH: small $ 20 _____LOGO PATCH: large $145 _____HATS: $25 Green, Black, or Pale Burgundy _____GOLF SHIRT: $35 Green or Black /Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____FLEECE sm.Logo on front: $65 Green or Black /Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____FLEECE lg. Logo on back: $170 Green or Black /Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____FLEECE lg. & sm. Logos: $210 Green or Black /Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____VARSITY JACKET sm Logo: $180 Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____VARSITY JACKET lg Logo: $300 Sm, Med, Lg, XL _____VARSITY JACKET lg & sm Logos: $325 Sm, Med, Lg, XL (XXL Available at a slightly higher price)

Call or Fax to Connie @ (707) 829-5487

Page 18

Sonoma County Center Water Conservation Project

By Corbin Johnson, Regional Parks

The County Center Water Conservation Project

Although springtime rains are still tagging along into the month of June, the landscape water conservation improvements around the Fiscal Building are progressing quickly. As part of the improvements started in 2006-2007 around the Administration Building, Sonoma County Regional Parks’ staff has been making steady progress to convert the majority of landscaped areas around the County Center into low water use and drought tolerant water conserving gardens.

Designed to reduce water consumption by 2.4 million gallons annually and reduce weed growth in the dry season by 80%, the new gardens help conserve resources and are to offer an educational experience. Plants were selected not only for their hardiness and low water use, but also to illustrate plants available to the public from local growers. As one walks through the County Center gardens, we hope you consider using the different plant selections, layouts, and groupings of similar low water use plants and techniques in your own landscapes.

While saving water is critically important, these gardens also improve the aesthetic view of the County Center. Unlike the homogeneity of large expanses of turf, the multitude of plants in the gardens offer a beautiful array of colors from the darkest of greens and browns to the sunniest of yellow. Also unlike manicured turf, the look of the gardens changes and becomes distinctly different as our climate moves from season to season.

Such vivid colors and seasonal changes prompt many to stop, enjoy the gardens, and take photos, as did Jay Blackburn from ISD, who captured the beautiful shots below. The next time you are on your way to the Board or trudging over to pay your taxes, take a moment to look around, appreciate, and enjoy these beautiful gardens created by the hard work and dedication of your fellow County staff members.

For more information on the County Center Water Conservation project, please visit http://www.sonoma-county.org/parks/water

Page 19

Awards night Sponsors

Our Annual Achievement Awards would not be possible without all the Sponsors and the volunteers on the Awards Committee.

The Chapter would like to thank the following people who helped this year.

In addition to the Awards category sponsorships, there were several companies who sponsored portions of the Banquet Night activities!

Many thanks to the following……..

Wheeler Zamaroni - Wine Landscapes Unlimited Sweet Lane Wholesale Wholesale Nursery Nursery Hors d’oeuvres Cal-West Rentals – Table Centerpieces Plant Decorations

Page 20

Brigid Flagerman – Bertotti Landscaping Awards Committee Chairperson and Slide Show Creator Russ Clarke – Park Avenue Turf Application Coordination and Judges Binders Chuck Ludlow – TORO Mapping of Judging routes and Navigator Jeff Jones – John Deere Landscape Driver for Both Long Days of Judging Lisa Stratton – Cagwin & Dorward Awards Night Set-up

LANDSCAPES UNLIMITED NURSERY

4330 Bodega Avenue, Petaluma, CA 94952 Phone: (707) 778-0136 Fax: (707) 778-0633

When Insults Had Class "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." Winston Churchill

"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." Clarence Darrow "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." Moses Hadas

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." Oscar Wilde

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." Abraham Lincoln

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." Groucho Marx

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend... if you have one." George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." Winston Churchill, in response

"He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." James Reston (about Richard Nixon)

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." Samuel Johnson

"He had delusions of adequacy." Walter Kerr

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." Forrest Tucker

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