Boston Flora

Tag: Chip Osborne

  • Saturday, April 21, 9:30 am – 11:00 am – The Living Lawn: Simple Steps to Organic Lawn Care

    In this April 21 Hollister House Garden presentation, beginning at 9:30 am, you will hear many compelling reasons why you should consider a natural approach to lawn care. The presenter, Chip Osborne, is a professional horticulturalist with over forty-five years in the green industry. He is the founder of Osborne Organics, a company providing natural turf consulting services. Chip will offer a detailed and systematic approach to natural lawn care, including basic soil biology and testing, proper use of organic products and sound cultural practices. These steps will be outlined and explained in a common sense way. This talk is suitable for the homeowner as well as for landscape professionals. Hollister House Garden is located at 300 Nettleton Hollow Road in Washington, Connecticut. HHG Members $30; Non-Members $35. Register online at https://hollisterhousegarden.org/events/living-lawn-simple-steps-organic-lawn-care/

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  • Tuesday, January 31, 8:00 am – Landscape Heroes: Carbon, Water, and Biodiversity

    Join Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, the Ecological Landscape Alliance, the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass), and the Organic Land Care of NOFA/CT at UMass Amherst on Tuesday, January 31st for an in-depth, inspiring conversation on Carbon Sequestration and learn what practical steps you can take to ensure that your interactions with the landscape make positive impacts.

    At this day-long program you will learn from many land care practitioners including land managers, farmers, researchers, and conservationists about what is possible for soil carbon and landscape restoration. From yards to farms to greenways to commons to gardens, how we treat our soils impacts the climate. Click for conference agenda.

    We know soil is alive. In fact, in one tablespoon of healthy soil there are more microorganisms than there are people on this planet. A highly functional, thriving soil has the capacity to store carbon, absorb water like a sponge, and support a thriving landscape. For years we have viewed soil through its physical and chemical properties, and we are beginning to realize the crucial role of biology in soil function and health. Now we are finding that from back yards to farms to greenways to commons to gardens, how we treat our soils has implications for the global climate.

    This day-long program offers practical tips and applications for how you, too, can be part of the climate solution. Whether you are a gardening enthusiast, farmer, conservation/restoration specialist, or landscape professional, there are positive changes that you can make. Whether you work to reduce compaction using biology, actively build soil carbon, increase soil biodiversity and resilience above and below ground, or heal degraded landscapes, you will walk away with practical tips to apply to your own setting. The synergy of many individuals taking small steps can result in big impacts!

    Come learn from experts in the field such as carbon expert and author, rancher and activist Courtney White with his new book Two Percent Solutions for the Planet and Eric Toensmeier with his new book The Carbon Farming Solution. Additional carbon experts include Eric Fleisher, Chip Osborne, Paul Wagner, Bruce Fulford, and Bryan O’Hara. See below for speaker bios and conference schedule.

    Keynote Presentation: “Two Percent Solutions for the Planet”

    The potential for large-scale removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere through plant photosynthesis and related land-based carbon sequestration activities is both large and largely overlooked. Strategies and co-benefits include: enriching soil carbon, no-till farming with perennials, employing climate-friendly livestock practices, conserving natural habitat, restoring degraded watersheds and range lands, increasing biodiversity, and producing local food. In Two Percent Solutions for the Planet, Courtney White profiles fifty different strategies that work together economically and ecologically with the aim of reducing the atmospheric content of CO2 while producing substantial co-benefits for all living things.  $79 registration. See more at: http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/carbon-conference/#sthash.959oO5Th.dpuf

  • Wednesday, January 13, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Large-Scale Landscapes Symposium

    On January 13, 2016 (Snow Date January 14), join ELA and Wellesley College for a symposium on the development and maintenance of large-scale landscapes that utilize fewer inputs, are designed and maintained with the environment in mind, and become more sustainable over time. Experts who work daily in successful, sustainable large-scale landscapes will lead four presentations and one panel discussion. If you are a landscape professional responsible for planning and maintaining the landscapes of college campuses, municipal parks, cemeteries, public gardens, land trusts, private estates, or other large landscapes, join ELA as we explore ecological options for large-scale landscapes with a distinguished lineup of presenters. Included in the program are Ronnit Bendavid-Val of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Addressing Wear and Tear in High Use Areas, a panel discussion on Maintaining the Maturing Landscape with Mark Richardson, Horticulture Director of the New England Wild Flower Society, Ray Oladapo-Johnson, Director of Park Operations at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Sue Pfeiffer, an arborist at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and John Olmstead, Wellesley College Landscape Manager. Also featured is a talk on Designing Rain Gardens for Long-lasting Success with Clay Larsen, Healthier and Lower-Cost Lawns with Chip Osborne, and Reawakening Large Landscapes: Activating the Space with Sandy Vorce of Audubon’s Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary. Fees $85 – $110. For complete information and registration visit http://www.ecolandscaping.org/event/large-scale-landscapes-symposium/

  • Friday, January 11, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm – Organic Lawn and Turf Day

    The NOFA/Mass Organic Land Care Program is pleased to present this one-day intensive workshop on organic turf management on Friday, January 11, from 8:30 – 4:30 at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive in Boylston, Massachusetts.

    The 2013 Organic Lawn and Turf Day begins with an overview of the cultural practices for establishing a successful organic turf system, and then moves into a more in-depth look at technical specifics of fertilization and product inputs. We will close out the day with a discussion of the direction of the organic lawn care market, and a Q&A with a panel of Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals currently offering lawn care services.

    Speakers include:

    Chip Osborne is an AOLCP, the President of Osborne Organics and Chairman of the Marblehead, MA Recreation and Parks Department. Chip is one of the country’s leading experts on organic turf grass management. His current projects include consulting with the National Parks Service to pilot organic turf systems in 9 different parks. He serves on the Advisory Committee for the NOFA Organic Land Care Program and on as a board member for the non-profit organization, Beyond Pesticides.

    Mary Owen is the Turf Program Coordinator for the UMASS Lawn and Turf Extension as well as a Turf Extension Specialist. She is a regular lecturer for the Green School, a founding member of the New England Sports Turf Managers Association, and an educational leader in both the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care Professionals and the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation.

    Fred Newcombe is an AOLCP and the President of PJC Ecological, an organic landscaping company- turned natural fertilizer supplier, where he oversees product research and development as well as providing consulting services and lectures on the topic of ecological land care. He is also a former Vice President of the NOFA/Mass Board of Directors.

    Who Should Attend?  Municipal, Campus, and Grounds staff – Parks & Recreation personnel – Public Works staff – Elected officials – Landscaping company owners and employees.  You may register online at http://www.nofamass.org/programs/organic-land-care-program#.UNR4obakAz5 or call Caro Roszell at 508-360-0874.