The following five perennials received the 2020 “Top Performer” award at the CSU Trial Gardens. Out of the 67 taxa planted in 2018, these five plants were the superior performers during three growing seasons and two winters in the Fort Collins trials.

There are several implications for employers regarding COVID vaccines. Can you ask if an employee or job candidate is vaccinated? Can you mandate vaccines? Employers can download a free toolkit from CDC regarding vaccines and the workplace. Employers Council also tackled this topic in a helpful video. 

Good afternoon,

In partnership with the Seasonal Employment Alliance (SEA), we ask for your help in reaching out to Senator Bennet in support of H-2B reform.

DHS’s recent release of 22,000 H-2B visas underscores the need for Congress to fix this program permanently. 100% of our frustration and determination should be channeled into advocating for a permanent fix. Counting on either the Trump or Biden administration to bail us and Congress out each year has been an abject disaster.

Last week, on April 8, USCIS hosted an H-2B Nonimmigrant Worker Supplemental Visas Listening Session. There were many participants on the call representing the landscape industry, forestry, and hospitality along with other industries who benefit from the H-2B program. Due to the high volume of participants, not everyone was able to speak on the call. While the comments made on the call were overwhelmingly in support of the need for additional H-2B visas, opponents of the program continue to lobby the Administration against the release of supplemental visas. It is important that we make our collective voices heard and that we urge DHS to immediately release all additional H-2B visas that are authorized under the law.

Please take a minute to send a short email to USCIS stressing the need for the immediate release of supplemental visas. 

Earn your Sustainable Landscape Management (SLM) Colorado certificate at next week's online class on Tuesday, April 13. Deadline to register for this session is Friday, April 9.

ALCC has announced its scholarship recipients for 2021. This year there are three student recipients. They will be formally recognized at The ELITE Awards ceremony, which has been delayed to fall 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Michael Womochil, Program Director for Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources with the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), will retire this year at the end of June. He has been a long-time ally to the Colorado landscape industry.

Womochil helped ALCC launch its Landscape Career Pathways Program in 2014 in order to help train students as skilled workers who can be hired directly out of high school into upwardly mobile careers in the landscape industry.

Due to the pandemic, the 2021 National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) was held virtually in March. Activities and challenges were reimagined in the virtual format and teams were given multiple options to earn points for their schools from their remote locations. Challenges were on the honor system and were individually scored. Points from individual challenges didn’t roll up to a team score this year.

If you are interviewing candidates for the 2021 season, there are some discussion areas you should avoid in the interest of protecting yourself from discrimination claims. Any questions that could help you determine protected characteristics are liabilities.

Did you know? Your yard can help fight climate change.

Your yard is a great place to relax. But did you know that it is so much more? The trees, grass, plants, and flowers in your yard, local parks, and ballfields play an important role in fighting climate change.

Climate change is causing unpredictable weather. The earth is warming because there is too much carbon in the atmosphere. The easiest way to sequester the carbon is through the photosynthesis of trees, grasses, and plants. And, your lawn, trees, and plants also produce oxygen and help save energy at the same time.

Help your yard become a climate change fighter
Follow these tips to boost your yard's climate change fighting abilities:

• Ensure that your lawn is healthy. Turfgrass is excellent at capturing carbon and turning it into organic matter that improves soil quality. Keep your lawn healthy to capture more carbon and filter stormwater. If you aren't sure how to improve your soil condition or build stronger turfgrass, a lawn care professional can help determine your yard's care plan.
• Add more trees and shrubs. When you have more trees, plants, and shrubs in your yard, they not only sequester more carbon - they also produce oxygen and clean and filter the air you breathe.
• Plant trees in the right spots. By planting trees and screening shrubs that help block the prevailing winds, you'll reduce the impact of the wind on your house, keeping it warmer in winter. And, by planting shade trees in the right places, you can cool your home in the summer.
• Make the right plant choices. By choosing plants adapted to your particular climate zone and planting them in their ideal growing conditions (full sun, shade, or partial shade), they will thrive and use less water to maintain.

Article courtesy of National Association of Landscape Professionals

Read more in this issue of Colorado Green NOW:
ALCC announces 2021 scholarship recipients
Michael Womochil, key proponent of Landscape Career Pathways, to retire
Two Colorado schools showed their skills at virtual landscape competition
Remember anti-discrimination compliance when recruiting