Current Issues
The BCLNA's mission is "To provide an effective organization for meeting the needs of nursery growers, landscape professionals and garden centres, while progressively engaging relevant issues, to the benefit of the industry."

Consequently, as an association, we manage on our members' behalf many issues that cannot be effectively addressed by individual companies.

A guiding principle for BCLNA issue management is to be equally aware of the impact of issues on our industry and other stakeholders - such as government, industry and public stakeholders. It is not to the benefit of industry to support actions that are only self-serving.

Current issues and projects with which the BCLNA is involved include:

Promoting horticultural and landscape standards throughout BC

Urban pest management

Developing and managing Phytophthora ramorum in British Columbia

Enhancing BC's garden image

Promoting the use of low noise landscape equipment

Plant Health BC

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Promoting Good Horticultural and Landscape Standards
BCLNA, as part of a multi-stakeholder group that includes the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, the BC Society of Landscape Architects and government representatives, is launching a major initiative that will result in greater awareness of and compliance with good horticultural and landscape standards.

The core of the project is the BC Landscape Standard, a 130-page document that establishes levels of quality to minimize variation in production, manufacturing and/or service. It is an essential reference for growers, landscape installation and maintenance companies, municipalities and anyone buying their products or services.

The initiative will include the following components:

• Buy-in of key stakeholders: especially the provincial and municipal governments.
• Addition of significant new standards: green roof, structural soil, water features.
• Updated standards to reflect current information and sustainable practices: e.g. maintenance standards to reflect current IPM principles.
• Enhanced compliance with the Standard: e.g. training landscape inspectors, reviewing the impact of the low bid system, working with the building and development industry, making it easier to identify qualified service providers.
• Promotion and distribution of the revised Standard.
• There will be many opportunities for industry and other stakeholder to have input into this important project that will impact the quality of landscapes across British Columbia.
• For more information, please contact Krista Manton by email or call her at the BCLNA: 604-574-7772.

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Urban Pest Management
BCLNA has been involved in promoting responsible pest management for many years, with an increased focus beginning in spring 2000. At that time it became apparent there was a movement underway to address the cosmetic use of pesticides in urban landscapes. Considerable analysis of the issue was done, with the following observations:

There is a high level of agreement (perhaps 95+%) amongst most industry, government and public groups that healthy plants are most able to withstand pests and least likely to need pesticide applications. (Thus the previously mentioned Landscape Standard project is essential to achieving responsible pest management.).

British Columbia is perhaps the most informed region in North America with regard to responsible pest management. For about 15 years, the Province and many municipal governments, industry service providers, public organizations and home gardeners, have been actively promoting and practicing a high level of responsible pest management (often referred to as Integrated Pest Management (IPM)). People have seen with their own eyes how successful they can be at managing their plants with minimal or no use of pesticides.

BCLNA is strongly supportive of initiatives to reduce risk from pesticides and has spoken to many municipal groups with regard to partnership opportunities. Our membership includes retailers and the landscape trades, all of whom work directly with the home owners right at the point when many of them are making pest management decisions. We are the stakeholder with the greatest access to the target audiences; the service providers and the gardening public.

Some municipalities have moved toward "bans" which severely restrict the use of 'cosmetic' pesticides. The publicity surrounding these initiatives raise awareness of the issue, but may be disregarding some important factors ...

Responsible pest management is complex. The significant amount of plant, insect, weed and disease knowledge required to effectively manage plant health is challenging. This limits the numbers of people who have the time or commitment to consistently manage their gardens without using some pesticides.

Regardless of whether a ban is in place, it remains legal for people to purchase registered pesticides - making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for municipalities to enforce their bylaws. Homeowners, faced with plant health and pest problems that they cannot manage, continue to buy products in both Halifax, Nova Scotia and Hudson, Quebec, the only two regions in Canada with sufficient history of cosmetic bans to measure the results.

British Columbia has the opportunity to be the North American leader in true stakeholder approach to promoting responsible pest management - and capitalizing on the combined energy and resources of all.


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Managing P. ramorum in BC
'Sudden Oak Death', or 'Ramorum leaf and stem blight' is a disease caused by the fungus Phytophthora ramorum (Pr) that accumulates on host plants (such as Ericaceous plants, which include heathers, azaleas and rhododendrons). This disease is relatively new, only having been identified in the early 1990's in Europe and California. Symptoms of Pr in plants are identifiable, but often, the plants show no symptoms, making diagnosis and monitoring for the disease difficult.

The nursery industry in BC is aggressively working to stop the possible movement of Pr into our part of the Pacific Northwest, in co-operation with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (BCMAL) and other agencies.

Pr is not known to be established in BC. Incidents of Pr in BC have been minimal and sporadic and if found are immediately and rigorously eradicated under the auspices of the CFIA.

In the spring of 2004, thousands of potentially Pr infected camellias were unknowingly distributed across North America. In BC, the industry took up a large scale public recall of possibly infected camellias, and collected and disposed of them safely. This quick action was the only public recall of camellias in North America and minimized the risk of Pr coming into BC.

To further minimize the risk of importing and moving Pr, the BCLNA, with assistance from BCMAL and the CFIA, has developed a Pr Certification Program for nursery growers, silviculture and floriculture industries. This comprehensive program includes mandatory sampling and testing for Pr, workshops for nursery staff, implementation of best management practices and an audit by an independent organization.

For info on pathology, host plants and CFIA regulations, visit the CFIA website.

Download Best Management Practices for Landscapers here...

Download Best Management Practices for Retailers here...

Download a letter for affected homeowners here...

For more information, visit these websites:

California Oak Mortality Task Force:
http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf/

US Department of Agriculture:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov

United Kingdom Department of Environment, Farm and Rural Affairs:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pramorum.htm

For detailed information on the P. ramorum Certification program in Canada, visit Canada Nursery (CNLA) website's "Nursery Programs" page.

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Enhancing BC's Garden Image
Gardens play an important role in defining BC's image as many cities and municipalities, businesses, developments and individual residences are enhanced by horticulture - beautiful public and private gardens, smart landscaping and major plantings designed to be enjoyed for decades to come.

Much as it is celebrated as a centre for skiing, sport fishing, pristine forests, orchards, wildlife and all that is SuperNatural, British Columbia is also known around the world for a handful of outstanding public display gardens, including Butchart Gardens, and Minter Gardens. However, the Province is not currently capitalizing on the significant community and economic potential of a concerted, coordinated garden and gardening development and awareness initiative.

A variety of public and private organizations and businesses are involved with garden image initiatives, such as Communities in Bloom, Garden Inspired Tourism, the Vancouver Island Garden Association, Eco-Sculpture, and a variety of public, private and botanical garden destinations. Currently, each program is operating on its own, often with little communication with the other programs.

What appears to be lacking is a 'roadmap' as to how communities can not only enhance their appearance but, drilling deeper, establish linkages with tourism and garden related businesses and organizations, and communicate in a manner strategically designed to stimulate economic activity.


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Promoting Low Noise Landscape Equipment - especially Blowers
BCLNA, the Japanese Gardeners Association, Stihl Corporation and ECHO Canada, developed an action plan in 2003 to raise industry and public awareness of low noise blowers and the etiquette of using blowers.

A variety of actions have occurred, including:

Working with the BC Apartment Owners Association, the Condominium Home Owners Association and the Professional Association of Managing Agents (Property Managers) to increase awareness of public concern about blower noise, the advantage of low noise blowers and how to encourage use of alternate clean-up tools.

Encouraging industry service providers to use low noise blowers or alternate tools, and the appropriate etiquette when blowers are used. Special attention is emphasized in high density, high rise areas where blower noise reverberates. Industry notices have been prepared for non-English speaking service providers.

Working with the City of Vancouver to increase residents' awareness of noise restrictions and etiquette, as well as their responsibility to ensure contractors they hire are meeting requirements for low noise blowers and hours of operation.

For more information, please contact Krista Manton by email or call the BCLNA: 604-574-7772.

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