A must-see movie for lawn care business owners

You won’t be seeing this movie in the local cinemax, but you might get to see it at a regional or state conference. Or maybe even on PBS, who knows? I’m talking about a 1-hour documentary entitled “Hudson: A Chemical Reaction.”

We haven't seen it yet, but we understand that it chronicles how Hudson, the small town in Quebec Province, successfully implemented restrictions within its jurisdiction on the use of traditional lawn care chemicals. The town cited health and safety concerns in taking the action, and battled several lawn care companies, eventually winning its case in the Supreme Court. That event, occurring a generation ago, has now been committed to legend, and is viewed as a milestone victory by anti-pesticide forces.

Since Hudson’s successful effort to ban pesticides, the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Ontario have also essentially banned the sale and use of these products, and other provinces are expected to follow their lead.

Paul Tukey, who is emerging as North America’s organic lawn care guru, is the force behind production of the movie. He is the founder and editor of the magazine “People, Place & Plants,” author of the book, “The Organic Lawn Care Manual,” national spokesman for www.safelawns.org and co-host of a HGTV program . . . and now he’s into cinema.

Tukey collaborated with filmmaker Bett Plymale in making “Hudson: A Chemical Reaction,” which reportedly will be shown at the Toronto International Film Festival this coming September. (Plymale is also listed as director of photography on Tukey's "People, Place & Plants," website.)

From a business as well as a health standpoint, Tukey's decision to switch from operating a traditional lawn care company (which he claims seriously harmed his health) to emerging as perhaps the most recognized proponent of organic lawn care in North America, appears to be working out very, very well for him. — Ron Hall

Electric mowing maybe; push-mowing probably not

I recently read with interest an article in the Aurora Beacon (IL) newspaper about Kevin Franz and his Go Green Mowing Company. Apparently, Frantz has been offering mowing services for the past 10 years, but this year decided to mow only electric and hand-pushed mowers. In the article he describes his concerns about carbon emissions arising from the use of gasoline-powered mowers as the reason for using electric and push mowers.

The article said that Franz had secured “about a half dozen” customers and when he reaches 20 he intends to take on a helper. I’ve read several similar articles this spring in other regional newspapers about start-up lawn service companies that are using electric and push mowers only. These eco-mow professionals make for safe, feel-good copy for local newspapers, but you have to wonder if they can ever generate enough customers and do enough production week in and week out to make a commercial go of it.

Based upon my personal experience (that's me in the image), I don’t see how anyone could do enough production with a push mower to build what can legitimately be described as a growing concern of a company — assuming, that is, that the person doesn't provide any other property services.

For the past 34 years I’ve owned and used a push mower on our 50-ft by 100-ft. property. I started with an old Sears model that I bought at a yard sale, but about five years ago I replaced it with a light-weight Brill mower. My experience has been that a push mower doesn’t mow wet or high grass very well, and it takes longer to mow because sometimes you have to go over the same patch of grass several times with a push mower if grass conditions aren’t just right.

That said, my little green Brill is quiet, never fails to start and is easy to store when I’m done with it. I don’t see any reason to use a gas-powered mower on my small property, but I wouldn’t want to have to depend upon it to build a commercial mowing service; that’s for sure.

Electric-powered equipment is the better alternative for the eco-mow contractor, but the state of battery technology, as it now stands, hinders its adoption by production-oriented service companies. Obviously, the development of better batteries for electric mowers and other lawn service equipment would provide an attractive alternative for lawn service companies that want to serve the “greener” portion of their customer base. Corded electric equipment is just too unhandy for professional users, especially on larger properties.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlights writer Gwendolyn “Wendy” Bounds experiences with the latest alternative-energy lawn service equipment, including the new battery-powered AMP Rider from Ariens Co. It's an entertaining article and highlights a trend that will almost certainly grow — quieter, more environmentally acceptable lawn service equipment.

Manufacturers are developing a host of new alternative-energy products to market but, so far, most of them are targeted for consumers. — Ron Hall

Our Memorial Days must always be green

Years ago, a good friend was in charge of the cemetery maintenance in our small town. For some reason he didn’t get the cemetery in the proper condition for Memorial Day. Perhaps the weather didn’t cooperate, or he had staffing issues or maybe he just dropped the ball. I don't recall the details. It doesn't matter. Our town won’t accept excuses for not having its two cemeteries and its public properties green, tidy and mowed for Memorial Day. The city fired my friend within the week.

Yes, coming out of a long, cold winter there's always a lot that needs to be done in our city, which hasn't changed all that much in the 39 years that I've been there. The downtown could use fixing up and the streets are begging for more than a little patching. But these things will have to wait, as they always do, until after Memorial Day, which this year is almost upon us already, a week early it seems.

My town takes Memorial Day seriously, and it always has as far as I can tell, although the significance of the day must have grown enormously here more than a half century ago. This was a long time before I became a member of the community but I've heard the story often enough that it's become more real to me than anything I studied in high school history class.

On Nov. 25, 1940, just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States entered WWII, a sizable group of local men were inducted into the U.S. Army, proud members of Company C, 192nd Tank Battalion. After training at Fort Knox, KY, and Fort Polk, LA, they were wisked to San Francisco and then to the Phillipines. Within four months of landing in the Phillipines they had been captured by an invading Japanese army. Of the 32 local men captured by the Japanese, only 10 survived the “Bataan Death March” and 3 1/2 years of hard labor and starvation as prisoners of war before being released and returning to our small community.

I’m not sure if any of the men still survives, hopefully so. But other people keep the memory of those soldiers alive, and many years ago supported the naming of a then-new city elementary school Bataan School. That’s appropriate, of course, as is the attention we give to the grass and flowers in our cemeteries and public properties that, in some small way, recognizes the sacrifices of these and others on this one day of the year.

And here we are, just days away from another Memorial Day, and our public officials are making sure everything will be ready, especially the county courthouse property that's in the center of town. It gets special attention.

Two inmates wearing county jumpsuits, are spreading mulch around the trees and in the small gardens that dot the 4-acre property. The courthouse grass is always its darkest green as Memorial Day approaches. One of the inmates, obviously preferring the work and the open air to his jail cell, tells me they he will have opened and spread 488 bags of the mulch prior to this coming Monday morning.

The grassy property, dominated by the handsome 108-year-old sandstone courthouse building, is where the townsfolk will gather this coming Monday morning and line the street to watch the tiny parade pass by — the high school band, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Brownies, the three or four rows of marching veterans, some holding flags, others with rifles at their shoulders and many in uniforms now much too small.

The marchers, with locals following behind the police car that signals the end of the parade, will head north for another two blocks and then turn left to the west and stop and gather at a smallish rectangular Veteran’s Park behind the imposing brick former armory building, which is now an urgent care center. The park's purpose is easy enough to divine, even for a casual visitor. A hulk of a WWII tank and an adjacent “eternal flame" dominate the small area.

Following the script of every Memorial Day that I can recall, a local dignitary will lead a short solemn ceremony and the veterans will aim their rifles skyward and fire several rounds into the quiet morning sky.

This park too, as tiny as it is, will be freshly mowed, there will be flowers and everything will be tidy. Our small town will not look greener and its grounds will not again look so tidy and presentable as it does this and every Memorial Day. — Ron Hall

ASIC gets briefing on the amazing Masdar City project

Abu Dhabi is one of the seven emirates and the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the Persian Gulf. Although it averages just 4.2 inches of rain annually, it’s in full blossom thanks to its robust oil production and progressive leaders. Its skyline bristles with new skyscrapers, its streets with retail shops (including some of the most exclusive shops in the world), and its boulevards and parks are awash in greenery and colorful gardens.

Abu Dhabi, with about 900,000 people, is building what it is describing as the world’s first carbon-neutral city. Masdar City is a $28-billion development on a 7-year fast track to become the home of 50,000 people within a decade, and to become “a net carbon waste city.”

The city will be the most visible manifestation of the larger Masdar Initiative, an ambitious program launched by Abu Dhabi in 2006 to become a leader in the development of alternative and sustainable energies.

Jared Thorpe of CH2M Hill, provided details of Masdar City to about 150 people during the recent American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) Conference in St. Augustine, FL. ASIC members, who design and consult on major irrigation projects, were understandably fascinated by Thorpe’s overview of this visionary, sustainable project in one of the driest regions on earth. As designed, the city will recycle 80% of the water it needs, including capturing the irrigation water in underground pipes after it is used to grow crops.

Thorpe, from New Zealand, has been in the United States since 2001. The firm he works for, CH2M Hill, based near Denver, offers global full-service engineer, consulting and construction services. The company Web site says that CH2M Hill employs about 25,000 and that it had revenues of $5.8 billion in 2007.

Most recently CH2M Hill has been working in the UAE on desalination, the main source of the region’s drinking water, which will also supply potable water for Masdar City. Desalination, of course, is a huge consumer of energy. This, and other major energy users, such as the actual construction of the city, will be offset by the city’s greenery and by the production of energy once the city is up and running.

“This will be a brand new city,” said Thorpe. ‘There will be no cars. Private cars will be parked at the perimeter of the city, and there will be light rail to the airport and neighboring cities.” Within the city, people will be whisked from one area to another in what look like pods or something from the movie Blade Runner, the city’s Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, which will have several hundred locations and stops. The PRT will run on solar cells and batteries.

Electricity for the city will be supplied mostly from photovoltaics with some contribution from wind turbines and a waste-to-energy system, which is under development. “This city is going to be a testing ground for photovoltaics,” said Thorpe. The city will also use geothermal and concentrated solar power to help supply its energy needs.

Thorpe said the key to ultimately making the city function as designed is the comprehensive “integrated resource system modeling” that is being used. This, of course, depends upon tying all of the project’s complex components together with the aid of an incredibly sophisticated information and technology system.

Thorpe said the Masdar Institute of Technology in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be opening by the end of the year.

For more information on Masdar City, visit the Web site www.masdaruae or click on the headline above.

Neat, quick guide to sustainable landscape design

We're in awe of how fast this sustainability movement is taking off.

It appears that it's no longer just a word, but a movement, real. We’re just beginning to see it emerge in the landscape industry. We feel that once it gets rolling full blast it’s going to change the industry in a big hurry — and for the better. It's going to open up service opportunities that none of us imagined previously.

This growing focus on sustainability will broaden the need for the landscape industry’s professional services beyond aesthetics and deeper into ecological remediation and regeneration. Like our nation’s infrastructure (roads, bridges, water plants, etc.), our urban environments (public and private) need help.

Academia can see what’s going on and is there to help. We lifted the information below from a a neat little publication from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension. Click on the headline for the concisely written 4-pager. A nice introduction to sustainable design.

1 Windbreaks and shelterbelts conserve energy, control drifting snow, provide food and shelter for wildlife, screen unwanted views, filter dust and noise, and create microclimates that benefit plant health.

2 Berms (gradually sloped mounds of soil) help define landscape spaces by creating sloping “walls” along pathways or between different areas, elevating plants for better visibility, and improving drainage and growing conditions for plants in poor soil.

3 Ornamental grasses tolerate a wide variety of conditions, provide food and cover for wildlife and offer year-round visual interest. Many of these ornamental grasses are native to the Great Plains.

4 Groundcover plants used on steep slopes eliminate dangerous turf mowing conditions, lessen precipitation runoff and soil erosion, and provide additional visual interest and biodiversity.

5 Grouping similar plants into masses creates a stronger visual impact and interest in the landscape, copies natural plant community structure, and produces stronger edges in the landscape that are important for both aesthetics and habitat.

6 Selectively use higher maintenance turfgrasses in areas of high visibility, access, and use.

7 Use lower maintenance turfgrasses and prairie or adapted grasses in areas of low use and access (not necessarily low visibility).

8 Use organic mulch in all planting beds to increase soil water retention, reduce weeds, visually strengthen bed lines through the color and texture contrast between the mulch and turf, minimize short-term swings in soil temperatures, and enhance soil structure and organic matter content.

Source: Steven N. Rodie, Extension Landscape Horticulture Specialist and Anne M. Streich, Horticulture Educator, U. of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension

New water meters pose mowing risk for the unaware

If you’re in the mowing business be aware of the new ‘green” water meters that are being installed in some cities. The meters, which are installed flush into the ground, have a plastic transmitter that sticks up about an inch. It allows water department employees to get properties' readings electronically. The meter guy or gal doesn’t even have to leave their truck to find out how much water has been used on the property for the month.

Television station KSWO in Wichita Falls, TX, says that property owners in Lawton, OK, have been accidentally mowing off the transmitters with their mowers, costing the city about $100 per meter to repair, not to mention the waste in time and fuel.

Our guess is that this warning is unnecessary for you professional cutters since you know better than to mow that close to the ground anyway. Higher cut turfgrass is healthier turfgrass and discourages weed competition.

Click on the headline if you’re interested in seeing a video of the KSWO newscast about the mowed off water meter sensors.

Green claims alone just won't cut it

Do you want to sell green? Well, green by itself won't cut it with the great majority of consumers, says Honey Rand, Ph.D., APR, an engaging ball of energy with a smiling, here’s-the-real-deal way of making a point.

Rand runs a Florida-based consulting, pr and issues management firm that specializes in environmental issues and was one of the presenters at the recent American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) conference. Here's what she shared with the irrigation professionals about selling green to today’s consumers — four selling points:

1) An economic reason

2) An environment reason

3) A social reason

4) A political reason

Get any combination of three of these right and — bingo — you’ve got the sale. (Actually, Rand’s phrase was “you’ll change public policy,” which we’re taking as a flashback to her days as director of communication for the South Florida Water Management Agency).

Rand, Environmental PR Group, Lutz, FL, used the example of a swimming pool service to make her point. Apparently, there’s a movement to replace the fresh water in residential swimming pools with salt water. (Since not LM editor owns a swimming pool we'll take her word for it.) Companies are selling this service by providing the following reasons:

1) economic reason — pool treatments are less expensive

2) environmental reason — reduces or eliminates the need for chlorine

3) social reason — less time is spent maintaining the pool

4) political reason — none for this particular example


The take home message: Few consumers select a green service or product solely on green claims. Your product or service will need to be competitively priced, and if it delivers other benefits, you've got a sale.

What consumers really want is “substantive value,” said Rand.

Cocoa (mulch) a no-no for Fido

Apparently, cocoa mulch and dogs don’t go together very well. We just ran across an article in a local newspaper about a man’s dog gulping down an indeterminate amount of cocoa mulch and getting extremely sick as a result. While it would seem that cocoa mulch provides an inordinate amount of roughage for any system, which would create an obvious problem, apparently the veterinarian determined it was the cocoa more than the mulch that caused the pet's near-death experience.

Curious about what effect cocoa mulch might have on a dog, we Googled the subject and came across this information from dogownersdigest.com.

Chocolate contains theobromine. A naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean, theobromine increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle. While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it's the theobromine that is poisonous to dogs.

Not all chocolate is the same. Some has a small amount of theobromine; another type has a large amount and still another contains an amount that is somewhere in between. The quantity has a relationship with the weight of your dog. Small dogs can be poisoned, it is easy to understand, from smaller amounts of theobromine than large dogs.

I’m not sure if landscapers use cocoa mulch anymore, and we wouldn’t recommend it in light of the hazard it might present to the family pet.

If you want to know more about what chocolate can do to a dog, click on the headline.

Groundcovers work when turfgrass won't

We love turfgrass, and nothing comes close to it for beauty and utility on our sports fields, in our parks, in our common areas and for our home lawns. Even so, native and regionally adapted creeping perennials are often a better design choice for some locations within landscapes and also in some regions of the country, where water resources are scarce and/or expensive.

A little research or a trip to a local botanical garden or demonstration garden will usually reveal attractive low-maintenance perennial ground covers that grow in sun or shade, often in locations where turfgrass struggles. Most ground covers, once they're established, require very little water or fertilizer. Most varieties only need one feeding of slow-release fertilizer each year to provide a thick mat of foliage that helps prevent weeds, eliminating the need for chemical control.

Ground covers are especially well suited for small areas that are difficult to maintain — slopes, under trees or in confined landscapes. Many of the varieties will withstand some foot traffic. Varieties such as Platt's Black Brass Buttons, with its wonderfully textured purple-gray leaves, and County Park Pratia with its showy blue blooms above a dense mat of foliage, are perfect varieties to use between stepping-stones or along walkways.

Check out the many varieties of sedums that thrive in sunny, dry areas. Sedums work well on slopes and are a classic rock garden plant filling in between rocks, eliminating a haven for weeds. John Creech Sedum, with it purple-pink flowers and dense foliage, and Angelina Sedum, with its uniquely textured golden-yellow foliage, are star performers in sunny, arid areas.

Some ground covers, such as the Yellow Ripple Ivy, also do very well in patio containers. Ivy and other creeping perennials make great fillers for container gardens, drooping or cascading over the edges of the pots.

(Thanks to Forever and Ever Groundcovers for reminding us of the beauty and utility of these attractive but often-overlooked landscape plants.)

Accurate read of Canadian's views on lawn chemicals?

Are Canadian's feelings against the use of common synthetic pesticides on lawns as strong as the responses to recent news articles suggest? Or is the weight of these responses misleading because people with strong feelings regarding a particular issue tend to be more outspoken in expressing their opinions about it?

Your answer, I suppose, depends on which side of this issue you favor.

The action by liberal provincial leaders effective April 22 banning the sale and use of more than 240 pesticide products for the “cosmetic” use on landscapes in Ontario Province would appear to have widespread support — assuming reader responses to a recent article in the Toronto Star newspaper accurately measure citizen's sentiments.

That article briefly notes that new Democrat MP Pat Martin introduced a bill in the nation’s House of Commons to impose a national ban on pesticides on lawns, gardens and parks. While his proposal isn’t expected to go anywhere (not soon anyway), it generated a spat of responses on the Star website, most of them seemingly in favor of a national ban.

Click on the headline and check out the responses, an indication perhaps of how effective activists have been in regards to the lawn pesticide issue? — Ron Hall

National Arboretum unveils first solar-powered irrigation system

The U.S. National Arboretum is "going green" with the installation of its first solar-powered drip irrigation system that will save electricity and water at the 446-acre facility operated by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Washington, DC., writes Stephanie Yao for the USDA.

The new system is part of a long-range plan to update and improve the arboretum grounds. Future plans include installing a larger solar collector near the National Capitol Columns and solar shingles on the Arbor House, which houses the gift shop and visitor restrooms.

Installation of the new system marked the end of a week-long workshop conducted by students and faculty from Alfred State College of the State University of New York. The workshop—attended by arboretum staff, contractors and homeowners—provided hands-on instruction on how to construct and use the system and its many benefits.

Located in Nursery 5, which is used to conduct research aimed at the development of improved trees for landscape use, the new system consists of six solar panels that collect sunlight, a battery that stores the energy, and a converter box that converts the stored energy into electricity used to run the nursery's drip-irrigation system. Because of the nursery's remote location, installing solar panels was less expensive than running an electrical line from the main power source, approximately a half mile away. As a result, the arboretum will see immediate savings on costs.

The latest project is a staff-driven effort to cut energy costs and conserve resources. The new system took less than one year to complete. Arboretum Director Tom Elias first met Alfred State representatives during the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Bio Energy Awareness Days (BEAD II) exhibition held at the arboretum last June. The meeting led to a five-year cooperative agreement to develop and install green technologies that will help the arboretum reduce its carbon footprint.

The arboretum's new system serves as a model for more energy-efficient landscape gardening. Solar power can be used in urban and suburban areas and is applicable to all types of power systems. Gardeners can use it to power water features, such as fountains and waterfalls, and irrigation systems.

USDA gets in on the Earth Day 'People's Garden' action

WASHINGTON, D.C. — I’m beginning to get the feeling that the U.S. government, perhaps channeling Thomas Jefferson’s vision of America, would like us to return to being a nation of self-reliant, small-scale truck farmers/landscapers.

I'm not sure we've still got the grit for that because many of the people I know take cheap food an American God-given, and that it's always available neatly packaged at any local super store. Somehow it just miraculously appears on store shelves. No fuss. No problem.

I can confidently say that that's not the case, having misspent the summers of my youth working on truck farms in northern Ohio, most of which have long since disappeared, the land apparently being better suited for growing houses and strip malls. Based upon the many days I spent hoeing peppers and cucumbers, pulling sweet corn at the crack of dawn and picking green beans, tomatoes and all sorts of other edibles, I think I'm qualified to say that farmng, include its smaller cousin gardening, ain't that easy.

Landscaping, I've since learned, isn’t something for the untrained or sedentary either, although I think the point the U.S. government is trying to make in regards to some of photos ops it has staged recently involving the planting of vegetable gardens in places like the White House is that we've got to do a better job of taking care of our land.

That said, at the Earth Day ceremony at the USDA headquarters here Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared the entire grounds at the USDA Jamie L. Whitten Building as 'The People's Garden' (whoa there, sounds too much like the People’s Republic for my taste) and unveiled plans to create a sustainable landscape on the grounds.

A positive gesture, a symbolic gesture, a reminder that we should get off our fannies and get reconnected with the land that we live on, but, alas, mostly an opportunity for a photo op?

Here's the release (shortened) from the USDA regarding the Earth Day ceremony. You can click on the headline to be taken to the news release and a slew of images of the ceremony so you can judge for yourself.

"USDA is an every day every way kind of department and this garden will help illustrate the many ways USDA works to provide a sustainable, safe and nutritious food supply as well as protect and preserve the landscape where that food is produced," said Vilsack. "The garden will help explain to the public how small things they can do at home, at their business or on their farm or ranch, can promote sustainability, conserve the nation's natural resources, and make America a leader in combating climate change."

The People's Garden is designed to provide a sampling of USDA's efforts throughout the world as well as teach others how to nurture, maintain and protect a healthy landscape. If practiced, these garden concepts can be the general public's, government's, or business' contribution to providing healthy food, air, and water for people and communities.

In response to the overwhelming public support and hundreds of letters the 'People's Garden' concept has received, Secretary Vilsack challenged USDA facilities around the world to plant their own 'People's Gardens.'

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan officially kicked off the Earth Day event at the Whitten Building with Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Brings Plenty who performed a traditional song and planted seeds at a ceremonial Three Sisters Garden to celebrate American Indians' contribution to American agriculture. Merrigan led volunteers and USDA staffers in planting vegetables, herbs and flowers to complete the first phase of The People's Garden. Eventually, the garden will include organic raised vegetable beds, organic transition plots, an organic urban container garden, an organic kitchen pollinator garden, rain gardens and a bat house.

A Three Sisters Garden is a traditional garden consisting of corn, beans and squash that has been planted by American Indians for centuries. Stories of the Three Sisters refers to a tradition of interplanting corn, beans and squash in the same mound. It is a sophisticated, sustainable planting system that has provided long term soil fertility and a healthy diet to generations of American Indians.

The People's Garden is not confined to USDA headquarters in Washington, DC. Secretary Vilsack has challenged all USDA facilities-across the country and around the world-to create similar gardens and create healthier landscapes. — Ron Hall

Making the connection with Mexican workers

Emeric McCleary, a first generation U.S. born Mexican-American who lives in Alexandria, KY, maintains a blog for businesses that employ Latin American workers.

The tips and advice he offers on the blog help Green Industry employers of Hispanic workers (primarily Mexican) reduce frustration and identify potential profit-killing mistakes that business owners are prone to make before they happen.

McCleary offers the tips and strategies in a respectful win-win style, yet he doesn’t mince words. Check out his blog at www.MexicanWorkerTips.com (or click on the headline).

He would like to hear your comment, especially regarding any area of concern and interest you would like addressed.

Battery-powered robot mower in your future?

BOISBRIAND, QUEBEC — RobotShip and BelRobotics have signed a distribution relationship to improve distribution of battery-powered BigMow and ParcMow commercial robot lawn mowers and a robotic BallPicker for golf practice ranges.

RobotShop says the lawn mowers mow properties of up to 2.5 to 5 acres respectively. Large properties, private and commercial, can benefit from these automated mowers by reducing labor overhead, noise and emissions. They also follow a set of mowing patterns that improves property aesthetics.

"The agreement between BelRobotics America Inc. and RobotShop Inc. marks the dawn of our first steps into cyber space, a world premier for the Belrobotics group. We have great hope in this new channel of distribution and the RobotShop team," shared M. Christophe Sepulchre, President of BelRobotics North America.

The BallPicker is an automated golf ball picking robot that can collect up to 12 000 golf balls a day. The BigMow-ParcMow and BallPicker make a great combination for golf practice range owners, merging efficiency with silent operation and no emissions.

"Belrobotics products are green, producing absolutely no emissions and are autonomous. Our product line focuses on lawn care for small, medium and large surfaces and golf ball picking on practice range," stated M. Christophe Sepulchre, President of BelRobotics North America.

For more information on the BigMow, ParcMow and BallPicker, visit robotshop.com or click on the headline.

Colorado lawn care pros get into Earth Day spirit

DENVER — Davey Tree Expert Co., Whit Tree Service, Jim's Pride Landscaping, Cyn Mar, Fertek, Van Diest Supply, Bestyard.com, Green Mountain Lawn and Tree Care, and Lawn Doctor are among the companies, aided by local boy scouts, that are fixing up rundown Riverside Cemetery here on Earth Day, April, reports the Denver Post.

Riverside, established in 1876, is the oldest cemetery in Colorado. Its 77 acres are the final resting place for more than 67,000 people. The cemetery's last burial was in July 2995, because the company that manages the cemetery said it could no longer afford to maintain it, claiming that the cemetery's $2.1 million endowment did not generate enough money (about $62,000 annually) to water and take care of the grounds.

Green Industry companies across the country will be participating in community service projects on Earth Day. The Professional Lawncare Network (PLANET) is heading the effort for the landscape/lawn service contractor segment of the industry. State associations are getting into the act, too, as evidenced by the work being done at Riverside by members of the Colorado Lawn Care Association and other volunteers.

The group will plant and test various types of native grasses in various plots to determine what kinds of plant life will thrive in the cemetery's soil.

Scouts plan to pull weeds and clean up the fence line of the cemetery on Brighton Boulevard. Riverside's $2.1 million endowment generates about $62,000 a year — not enough to water the property and properly care for the graves.

Donors of materials and seed include Pawnee Buttes Seed, Sharp Brothers Seed, High Country Gardeners, Western Native Seed, Beauty Beyond Belief, John Deere Landscapes, Chem Way, Alpha Once Inc., Helena Chemical Co. and Arkansas Valley Seed Co, says the Denver Post.

Public picks winner of $35,000 park landscape

SAVANNAH, GA — Three companies have been chosen as finalists in the waterSmart Landscape Challenge here. The winner, which will be determined by public vote, will be awarded a $35,000 contract with the City of Savannah to install their garden design in Bryan Square. You see each of the plans and vote by going to www.watersmartgardenvote.com or clicking on the headline.

Three innovative landscape designer firms have created sustainable, water-efficient gardens for Bryan Square on Hutchinson Island as part of an overall effort by the city and state of Georgia to show residents how to create and maintain landscapes that use less water.

The three finalists are:

• Kern-Coleman & Co.: Multi-disciplined landscape architecture firm based in Savannah
• Thomas & Hutton Engineering Company: Savannah-based firm with more than 26 years experience in landscape design
• Witmer-Jones-Keefer, Ltd.: Bluffton, S.C.-based landscape architecture and land planning firm

"These three firms have delivered beautiful, creative and sustainable gardens designs that will welcome visitors to Hutchison Island and showcase our city's commitment to sustainability," said Laura Walker, administrator of Savannah's Environmental Affairs Department. "Each showcases new ideas for water-efficient landscapes that can easily be translated to residential gardening and I hope everyone takes the time to see them at www.watersmartgardenvote.com."

Bryan Square is located on Hutchinson Island and sits between the ferry landing and the entrance to the new Savannah International Trade and Convention Center, where thousands of visitors arrive each year. The property is also part of the Savannah Harbor at Hutchinson Island development, which will rely significantly on reclaimed water for landscaping needs.

The waterSmart Landscape Challenge's main objectives are to promote water conservation and education, while highlighting the creative potential of waterSmart landscape principles, specifically selecting plants that suit the location and minimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides. The selection of the right plants used in the right places will yield landscapes that, once established, can be maintained with little or no supplemental watering.

"Maintaining beautiful lawns and gardens requires much less water than most people realize. Overwatering harms plants and wastes a valuable community resource," said Deron Davis, director of the waterSmart program for the state Environmental Protection Division. "By creating waterSmart landscapes, homeowners can significantly reduce their water consumption - and their water bills."

In order to maximize public awareness of water-efficient landscaping and irrigation techniques, proposals were evaluated in a two-stage process. In the first round, a panel comprised of landscaping professionals and knowledgeable representatives selected by the city of Savannah selected the three finalists. In the second round of judging, residents of Savannah and across the state will select the final design through a period of online voting. Installation will occur according to the city of Savannah's needs, and will be paid for through a contract with the city.

The city of Savannah is working in partnership with the waterSmart program of the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. A Request for Proposal, which includes rules and site information, can be obtained online at www.ci.savannah.ga.us.

About waterSmart

waterSmart is an education program designed to give Georgians the information they need to successfully conserve water. Developed by the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority in 2000 for residents in its service area, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division began using the waterSmart brand in communications and education activities in 2006 to help residents statewide understand how to maintain their landscapes while using less water. The State waterSmart program was piloted in six communities in 2007 and went statewide through a partnership with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in 2008. For more information, please visit www.conservewatergeorgia.net.

A fresh look at unauthorized immigrants

The Pew Hispanic Center today released "A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States," which includes population and labor force estimates for each state, as well as national-level findings about families, education, income and other key indicators.

The report finds that unauthorized immigrants are more geographically dispersed than in the past. A group of 28 high-growth states in the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Mountain and Southeast regions are now home to 32% of the unauthorized population, more than double their 14% share in 1990. California's share declined to 22% from 42% during this same period.


Unauthorized immigrants are more likely than either U.S.-born residents or legal immigrants to live in a household with a spouse and children, according to the report. A growing share of the children of unauthorized immigrants (73%) are U.S. citizens by birth. The U.S.-born and foreign-born children of unauthorized immigrants make up an estimated 6.8% of the nation's students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12.

Looking at undocumented workers, the report finds that the rapid growth of the unauthorized immigrant labor force from 1990 to 2006 has halted. The new report estimates there were 8.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. labor force in March 2008, accounting for 5.4% of the work force. The 2008 labor force estimate appears slightly lower than the 2007 estimate, but the change is within the margin of error.

The unauthorized immigrant share of the labor force varies widely by state. Undocumented immigrant workers constitute roughly 10% or more of the labor force in Arizona, California and Nevada, but less than 2.5% in most Midwest and Plains states.

About three-quarters (76%) of the nation's unauthorized immigrants are Hispanic. As the Pew Hispanic Center has previously reported, 59% are from Mexico.

The new report builds on a Pew Hispanic Center analysis released last year, which estimated there were 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2008. That report said the size of the unauthorized population appears to have declined since 2007, but the difference is not statistically significant. Both reports are based on an analysis of data from the March Current Population Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau, and on the 1990 and 2000 Censuses.

Other major findings:

— Adult unauthorized immigrants are disproportionately likely to be poorly educated. Among unauthorized immigrants ages 25-64, 47% have less than a high school education. By contrast, only 8% of U.S.-born residents ages 25-64 have not graduated from high school.

— An analysis of college attendance finds that among unauthorized immigrants ages 18 to 24 who have graduated from high school, half (49%)are in college or have attended college. The comparable figure for U.S.-born residents is 71%.

— The 2007 median household income of unauthorized immigrants was $36,000, well below the $50,000 median household income for U.S.-born residents. In contrast to other immigrants, undocumented immigrants do not attain markedly higher incomes the longer they live in the United States.

— A third of the children of unauthorized immigrants and a fifth of adult unauthorized immigrants live in poverty. This is nearly double the poverty rate for children of U.S.-born parents (18%) or for U.S.-born adults (10%).

— More than half of adult unauthorized immigrants (59%) had no health insurance during all of 2007. Among their children, nearly half of those who are unauthorized immigrants (45%) were uninsured and 25% of those who were born in the U.S. were uninsured.

Click on the headline for a link to the full report.

City of Guelph plans world's first large "pollination park"

The world's first large-scale "pollination park" is a step closer to reality and will be on the agenda during a Pollination Symposium to be held April 18 at the Delta Hotel and Conference Centre in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

The event will feature experts from Canada and the United States speaking on a variety of topics, including the importance of pollination, challenges facing the honey bee industry, and how to keep “good bugs” happy using native plants.

The symposium runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will raise funds to establish pollinator habitat at the new Eastview Pollination Park, to be built on a former Guelph landfill site. The City of Guelph is scheduled to begin construction of trails and sports fields and a demonstration plot will be planted on the site this summer.

Pollination Guelph, a not-for-profit group formed this year, is working with the city to design habitat for pollinators including birds and insects, said Karen Landman, a member of the group’s board of directors and a professor in the department of environmental design and rural development at the University of Guelph.

Scientists estimate that pollinators provide one out of every three bites of food on our plates and that three out of four flowering plants require animal pollinators to set seeds and fruit. But pollinator populations have declined in recent years, she said.

Landman added the goal of the project isn't just to provide a habitat for pollinators; it's also to foster research and education programs that encourage people to help – by demonstrating the use and maintenance of pollinator-friendly plants, for example.
Speakers and topics scheduled for the symposium include:

• Ontario Beekeepers' Association, "Problems Facing the Honeybee Industry in Ontario"
• Cory Sheffield, York University, "The Bees of Canada"
• Rufus McIsaacs, Michigan State University, "Keeping Good Bugs Happy: Using Native Plants to Support Bees and Other Beneficial Insects"
• Bob Wildfong, Pollination Canada, "Be a Pollinator Observer: How to Identify and Record Information About Pollinators in Your Own Backyard"


For information or to register, contact pollinationguelph@gmail.com or visit www.pollinationguelph.ca

Will Canadians become U.S. pesticide customers?

A lot has been made in our region of the Great Lakes in northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan of seniors slipping into Canada to buy cheaper prescription drugs.

It looks like some Canadians might be returning the favor after April 22 when a ban on 250 lawn chemicals goes into effect throughout the Province of Ontario, Canada’s most populous region. A recent article in the Sarnia (Ontario) Observer points out how easy it will be for Canadians to still get their favorite pest controls, assuming they want to make the short drive into Michigan or other U.S. border states where the products are still sold.

We're waiting to hear if the Ontario pesticide police (with apologies to Dirty Harry) try out the following line on a would-be, lawn-loving, border-crossing, pesticide-buying homeowner: "You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?"

Click on the headline to read the short article in the Sarnia Observer. — The Staff

Barthuly Irrigation team steps up to the plate

A news article in a recent issue of the Indianpolis Star, a newspaper I used to read every day as a college student in Indiana a long time ago, reminded me of something I've been meaning to do for a long time, but always put off because I was too busy — or maybe I just I made myself too busy. I've been meaning to contact the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity and volunteer my skills as a volunteer home builder, as meager as they may be. Now that I've committed it to paper, I know my chances of following through are much greater.

The article in question? It referred to a recent "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" project near Indianapolis, and the generousity of volunteers, including Ken and Larry Barthuly and some of the other folks of Barthuly Irrigation, Carmel, IN, who donated time and product to the project:

Here's what the Star reported:

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" -- a reality TV show that builds a house in a week for a deserving family -- has built a 2,750-square-foot home on Indianapolis' Near Eastside. It is for Bernard McFarland, a computer specialist at Indianapolis Public Schools' Marshall High School. He and his three sons will return today, after the show sent them on a Paris vacation while the work was being done.

The McFarland makeover includes a 975-square-foot community resource center on the adjacent property.

The center is a surprise for McFarland, a mentor for children in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, where volunteers also improved dozens of homes in the area of 25th Street and Keystone Avenue.

Zionsville's Barthuly Irrigation, which specializes in residential and commercial irrigation and landscape lighting, is among more than 180 area companies and organizations -- and thousands of volunteers -- that have donated time and goods to the "Extreme Makeover" project.

Ken Barthuly, 39, and his brother Larry, 45, both Carmel, started the business 18 years ago. Barthuly Irrigation works closely with Carmel-based home builder Estridge, the TV show's local building partner.

"I heard about it on the radio and was about a minute away from making a call for us to be a part of it, and then found out they (Estridge) already called us," Ken Barthuly said.

Ken and Larry Barthuly; their father Roland, Carmel; and the company's production manager Brett Berry, Westfield, installed landscape lighting around the house, through the courtyard and around trees.

Ken Barthuly describes himself and his wife as reality show freaks who love being involved with a television program, but he said his involvement came about mostly because he wanted to give back to the community.

"It's a sense of paying it forward, and what better place for it to happen than in Indiana -- the heartland of red, white and blue," he said.

His company also contributes to about 20 other charities throughout the state and country.

Barthuly said it's great to see how many volunteers, businesses and organizations have come together. He called the house and outpouring of community support the McFarlands have received pretty impressive.

"The community is in need of some cleanup and it's nice to see the kids and adults watching the process because it's Hollywood in their front yards," he said. "This is something they'll (the community will) cherish for the rest of their lives." — Ron Hall