News
37th annual CanWest show launches

The 2018 CanWest Hort Expo Show is back. Organized by the BC Landscape and Nursery Association (BCLNA), the show will be running September 26 & 27 at TRADEX (Fraser Valley Trade and Exhibition Centre) in Abbotsford, BC.

BCLNA COO, Hedy Dyck says, “our education program drives the show, bringing people from all over the province to CanWest. This year we are delivering 31 sessions – the largest education program yet!” She adds, “The education program is strong enough to encourage a two-day commitment to the show.”

“The show provides an opportunity for companies to bring their staff, whether front line or management, to further their professional development,” says show chair, Craig Stewart of Finning Canada. “Connecting with others in the aisles, seminar rooms and show lounge facilitates a positive energy and excitement for the great industry we are fortunate to work in.”

New for this year are two tailgate parties (one each day) featuring live music from 2006 Juno Award Winner and Multiple-Maple Blues Award Winner, Kenny ‘Blues Boss’ Wayne, and international artist, Karla Sax. There will also be a key note presentation by Cisco Morris, tv and radio personality from Seattle, as well as a Green Careers Student Youth Tour & Mini Job Fair, connecting students with industry leaders and potential employers.

‘Find the Gnome’ is back! Three garden gnomes will be hidden somewhere on the show floor each day for delegates to find and win prizes! Cash and product prizes will also be given away at the Tailgate Parties. Don’t miss returning favourites: New Product Showcase, Plant ID Contest, and the Container Competition.

The 2018 Show will launch with two pre-show events on Tuesday September 25, including the Best of the Fraser Valley Tour and the Landscape Designers Symposium. The full day tour will cover five sites: DeVry Greenhouses & Nursery, Foamers Folly Brewery, Hopcott Meats, Golden Ears Cheese Crafters, and award-winning landscape Thyme on 43rd.

The Landscape Designers Symposium will feature Ron Koudy delivering presentations on ‘How to Make Money in Landscape Design’ and ‘Future Trends in Landscape’. Sean James will be presenting ‘Keeping it Green: Keeping it Beautiful’, and Karen Chapman will round out this Symposium with a presentation on ‘Foliage and Focal Points’.

The Urban Foresters Symposium is bringing back Dr. Julian Dunster with his insights on ‘Trees on Development Sites’ and ‘Professional Practice: Report Writing’. Jim Barborinas will be presenting ‘New and Underutilized Street and Landscape Trees’ and Dr. Drew Zwart will address ‘Moisture Stress in the Landscape’.

Two half-day workshops on Bubbling Rock Water Features are also being offered. Led by Aquascape experts, Chuck Catton and Gord Szolnyanszky, these workshops delve into the marketing and selling of water features while providing a comprehensive instruction on how to build one.

‘Effective Leadership for Lead Hands & Supervisors’ will be presented by Kevin Kehoe, a half-day session that will focus on successful crew management tactics.

The 90-minute general sessions offered at CanWest target landscape professionals, retail garden centres and greenhouse and nursery growers. Topics include:

For Growers: How to Fertilize for Profit and the Environment in Containerized Plant Production, Pest Management Update, Beyond Organic Matter: Unlocking the Power in Soil Microbial Life, Insect Identification: Learn to Identify the Most Common Greenhouse Pests, Science Based Production of High Quality and Yield Cannabis

For Landscape Professionals: Truck and Trailer Safety Workshop, Multi-Functional Landscapes, Fusion Gardening, Working with Nature, Plants for Now and the Future, Woody Plants for our Climate, Planting Design Patterns Based on Observing Wild Plant Communities, Creating Captivating Gardens, Garden Up! Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces, The Less is More Garden: Big Ideas for Small Yards, Sexy Succulents Inside and Out

For Garden Centre Retailers: People, Plants and Buying Habits, The Importance of Food in the Garden Centre, Weed 101: Understanding the Market & Profiting from It, Proven Winners: Great Performers for the Landscape & for Retailers to Sell, Putting the POSH into Garden Centres, Sexy Succulents Inside & Out

For Everyone: Growing Leaders, Onboarding: Today’s Employee Retention Solution, Trends: What Aren’t You Paying Attention To?, Cannabis, the Workplace and Your Company Policy

The sessions offer registrants the opportunity to earn Continuing Education Units for Landscape Industry Certification, International Society of Arboriculture and the Pesticide Applicator
Re-Certification Program.

To read more about CanWest’s Education Program, visit the website at www.CanWestHortExpo.com.