Blog

Smartscape offers green jobs training at affordable price, helps professionals stay on leading edge of landscape industry saving clients water, money, and time

In a tough economy, one way to stay ahead of the competition is to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, research, and practices in the industry for which you work. For the landscaping business, this is especially true. As the housing market remains stalled, new landscape installations and maintenance accounts are often hard to come by, and competition for customers is fierce. Therefore, programs that provide continuing education and training—especially at an affordable price—are all the more important and relevant for businesses today.

Enter Smartscape: A training program for landscape professionals
Sponsored by the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (a Water – Use It Wisely partner) and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County, Smartscape is a green jobs training program providing 20 hours of instruction on the proper irrigation and care for water-efficient landscapes in the Sonoran Desert.

Over the eight Smartscape sessions, instructors from the University of Arizona, municipal water departments, and the landscape industry present the latest research-based information regarding sustainable landscaping practices.

“We find the Smartscape program provides the updated training our employees need to keep our customers informed, as well as keeping us leaps and bounds ahead of the competition,” states Jill Gilbert, Customer Relations Manager for AZ Royal Landscaping and Design.

Smartscape professionals promote sustainable practices
Instruction on sustainable landscaping practices can help companies cut back on clients’ water use, where up to 70% of a residential water bill is devoted to outdoor uses such as landscapes and pools. By helping reduce outdoor water consumption, Smartscape graduates help homeowners save where it counts—in their wallet.

In addition, Smartscape attendees are trained on the fundamentals of designing, installing, and maintaining low-water-use landscapes compatible with our desert environment. Using landscape plants that are adapted to the climate and soils of the Sonoran Desert can make for a lower maintenance yard, which saves clients valuable time and energy.

“Smartscape is a comprehensive program, packed with useful information, taught by an all-star team of Valley landscape professionals, in a format anyone can understand, and built around our typical work schedule,” says Bryan Wallace, Vice President of Operations at Victor’s Landscaping Inc. and a Smartscape Certified Professional.

Online directory connects graduates to customers
To help Smartscape professionals market their training, graduates have the option to be included in the Smartscape Certified Professional Online Directory, found at http://www.amwua.org/ss_directory.html. The Online Directory allows homeowners to find a Smartscape Certified Professional in their area. As more homeowners want to save money and time in their yard, businesses and individuals who market their Smartscape training have another “leg up” on the competition.

Next class starts this month
The next Smartscape course will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:30-6:00 P.M., January 23- February 15, 2012. All classes will be held at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County, 4341 E. Broadway Road, Phoenix, AZ 85040. The registration fee for the entire series is $75.00. Please contact Haley Paul at smartscape@cals.arizona.edu or (602) 827-8200 x395 if you are a landscape professional interested in taking the course or sending your employees to the course. Also visit the Smartscape website to download and print a registration flyer: http://extension.arizona.edu/maricopa/smartscape-program.

Find Smartscape on Facebookand Twitter too!

From time to time, WUIW features guest bloggers who write about water conservation and education. Haley Paul is our guest blogger this week. Smartscape is co-sponsored by AMWUA, a WUIW partner.

What is container gardening? Raymond Rees, from the Town of Fountain Hills, otherwise known as one of our Arizona Regional Campaign Partners, tells us about how containers that we have lying around the house can be used to house plants that will accent your home, yard, balcony or anywhere you’d like to add a little pizzazz with plants.

Here is his interview on “Your Life A to Z” on local Channel 3 where you can learn more:

Stay tuned for the next segment of Water – Use It Wisely on TV!

Fall planting season is here! Leeann Spahos, from the City of Peoria (one of our Arizona Regional Partners), discusses the advantages of planting in the fall season and the types of low water-use plants that you can add to your landscaping easily and that will offer lots of attractive color to your yard.

Watch her interview on “Your Life A to Z” on local Channel 3 here:

Stay tuned for the next segment of Water – Use It Wisely on TV!

How do you know if you have a leak in your home? The most common and easily fixed leak is the one in your bathroom… Your toilet! Watch this interview of our Arizona Water Partner, the City of Phoenix‘s Mary Lu Nunley, with host of “Your Life A to Z” Lisa Haffner as they talk about finding sneaky leaks in your home.

Don’t forget to take the Online Home Water Challenge! It’s a great how-to video on how to look for leaks and fix them, as well as other water saving tips and tricks.

Stay tuned for our next segment “Fall Planting with Color”!

The fall planting season has arrived! Temperatures are cooler, and it’s a great time to renovate your landscape or replace plants you may have lost during the hot, dry summer.

Desert Willow Trees are native to the Sonoran Desert.

There are hundreds of beautiful desert plants to choose from but one of the biggest challenges of purchasing desert plants (especially since many are Sonoran Desert natives) is that some don’t look great in the pot at the nursery. You really have to have faith and know that the wispy stems in the container will be like the ‘ugly duckling that turns into a swan’ once planted in your landscape.

That’s why we suggest visiting a Xeriscape Demonstration Garden for plant selection ideas. It’s amazing how different plants look when they’re established in the landscape. Best of all, demonstration gardens give you a good idea of how large a plant can get so that you’re sure to put the right plant in the right place. You’ll also find design ideas and great examples of plant combinations.

Brand new xeriscape demonstration garden in Paradise Valley

One of our Water – Use It Wisely Partners, Arizona American Water, is pleased to showcase a new Xeriscape Demonstration Garden in Paradise Valley located at 6229 N. Mockingbird Lane. The Company planned the garden with neighbors, town council members, and Master Gardeners and turned an unused site into a fabulous demonstration for low-water use plants, Xeriscape principals and how to save water and money.

Arizona American Water is one of fifteen Water – Use It Wisely regional partners and many of them sponsor beautiful demonstration gardens. Get inspired. Find a Xeriscape Demonstration Garden near you!

To continue to provide quality, affordable professional development opportunities to landscape professionals across the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, the upcoming Smartscape workshop series will be held in Goodyear, Arizona starting August 8th and running Mondays and Wednesdays through August 31st, 2011. Sponsored by the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA is a Water – Use It Wisely Arizona partner) and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County, the series has an outstanding speaker lineup including Mary Irish, garden author, and Dr. Ursula Schuch, University of Arizona plant scientist and researcher.

Smartscape prepares students with the essential skills to plan, create, and care for low-water-use landscapes and plants. Taught by experts in the green industry, Smartscape delivers 20 hours of high-quality education on the best irrigation and horticultural practices for the desert southwest. For just $60, students receive a Smartscape manual with valuable materials, instruction from experts in green industry, and snacks and refreshments. Landscape companies send their crew members to Smartscape to receive training at an affordable price. “I will always send my employees to this class,” one Smartscape graduate noted.

Upon completion of the course, graduates receive two Smartscape logo decals, a lapel pin, a certificate of completion, and a chance to market themselves as a Smartscape professional by listing their contact information in the Smartscape online directory. This directory is a great resource for homeowners who are looking to hire knowledgeable and trained landscape professionals.

Registration for the Fall 2011 Smartscape series is now open. Download and print the registration form or contact Haley Paul, Smartscape Program Coordinator, at hepaul@cals.arizona.edu or (602) 827-8200 x395 with any questions.

Throughout the month of July, the Mesa Red Mountain Library, 635 N. Power Road in Mesa, Arizona, will feature a 16-foot tall, 136-gallon water jug pyramid as part of the City’s Water – Use It Wisely campaign. The display represents how much water one person consumes per day in their home.

“This impressive display illustrates the need for all of us to be more aware of how much water each of us uses on a daily basis,” Mesa Conservation Specialist Donna DiFrancesco said. “We hope this urges our customers to be responsible in their water usage to protect this valuable resource.”

Typical residential water usage in Mesa ranges from 80 to 180 gallons of water per person per day, including indoor and outdoor use. Water use is broken down in the following categories:

• Consumption – 6 gallons
• Showers and Baths – 16 gallons
• Toilets – 18 gallons
• Household Cleaning – 22 gallons
• Outdoors – 74 gallons

The campaign recently introduced the Home Water Challenge, an educational video that provides water conservation information, tips and helpful links that show how to conserve water in and around your home. Find it on our site by clicking here.

Participants can then input their monthly water use from their utility bill into a worksheet to see how their own water use stacks up to the average.

The water jug pyramid will be on display in Mesa through the month of August. If you miss the Mesa showing … don’t worry. You’ll be able to catch it on tour in the City of Chandler for September 2011.

Water – Use It Wisely Regional Campaign Partners include the cities of Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Glendale, Tempe, Avondale, Fountain Hills, Peoria, Surprise, and Queen Creek. Additional partners include the Arizona American Water Company, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, Global Water Resources and Salt River Project.

Siemens and Facebook have come together to help you define your personal water footprint. The water calculator allows you to input personal information about your household water use and gives you a score. It’s easy to use and keeps you thinking about all of the ways you can save water.

I Even got a “Nice job,” attaboy from the calculator for our water footprint. It says we use around 57,917 gallons per year. That still seems like a lot, so I guess I’ve got more work to do.

How do you compare? Take the challenge now. It only takes a minute or so, and you’ll be surprised at what you learn.

Here are a 100+ ways to save.

When in doubt, ask. Here’s an interesting question and answer that I think all homeowners can take advantage of.

The Average Arizonan uses 136 gallons of water per day

Q: I have a concern about high water usage.  We have lots of mature landscaping, but artificial turf (no grass), a fairly large pool, hot tub, 3 full baths; a 1/2 bath.  There are 3 people in our home; I am home a lot during the day.  Is 24,000 gallons of usage for the month of August something to be concerned about?  It seems like an awful lot.  What can we do??

A: Thank you for your interest in saving water and concerns for your household water use.

Let’s look at your daily per person usage. If you used 24,000 gallons, we’ll divide by 3 people = 8,000 gallons per person per month. Let’s divide 8,000 by 31= 258 gallons per person per day. Yep, that’s a lot!

Of course August is a very hot month and I suspect that a lot of the water is being used in the landscape or swimming pool (glad to hear you don’t have grass though).

You can easily be losing 3,400 gallons in your pool alone during August due to evaporation and about 17,000 gallons would be typical water needs in August for a very large landscape of about 10,000 square feet. Add the two together and you already have over 20,000 gallons, so your outdoor use might be why your bill was so high. However, I’m just guessing on your landscape size and I’m not sure if you live in Arizona or another climate. There are always other things to check.

• Look around for leaks
• Listen for running backwash water around water treatment appliances
• Check to see if your irrigation timer has been set properly
• Check to make sure you are watering properly with our Landscape Watering Guide
• Check your toilet for leaks, trickling sounds or water moving in the bowl
• Check your pool for leaks, especially if you have an automatic pool refiller
• Browse through our 100-tips at Water – Use It Wisely
• Take our Home Water Challenge, then visit the links at the end to see how you can reduce your water use

Another helpful brochure is our High Water Use Action Plan. It can help you figure out where all that water might be going.

Good luck and I hope you’re well on your way to reducing your water use at your home.

Donna DiFrancesco is a Conservation Specialist with the City of Mesa, Environmental & Sustainability Division where she educates Mesa, Arizona residents about xeriscape, water conservation, living green and sustainability. She is also a member of the Water – Use It Wisely regional campaign steering committee.

Water conservation can serve as an integral part of corporate sustainability practices, or the “greening” of a business.

Many often think of “greening” as a technique that focuses on energy savings, but it is important to not forget the importance of saving “blue.” Not only is water a limited natural resource, but there is also a fundamental water-energy connection.

The treatment and delivery of water requires a great deal of energy, but it takes a lot of cooling water for energy production too. The electrical power industry is one of the greatest consumers of water, using more than 200,000 million gallons of water per day, according to the most recent U.S. Geological Survey for water.

Saving Water is Good for Business

Environmental issues are becoming increasingly important to businesses, as customers are becoming more environmentally savvy. In fact, as reported in the UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study: A New Era of Sustainability, in 2008, 91 percent of consumers said they had bought a product or service from a company they trusted—showing a direct correlation between profits and public image.

Being an active water steward is one more way to enhance a company’s image and improve employee pride and motivation. Besides positive PR, an organization will benefit with cost savings, including lower maintenance and equipment replacement costs, in addition to reductions in energy and water bills.

Ways Businesses Use Water

The ways a business may use water are as varied as the types of businesses that use it. Is the organization a simple office setting or a manufacturer? A food processor, school, hospital or motel? All have different ways of using water, from simple bathroom and kitchen use to cooling towers, landscape irrigation, water purification, scrubbers or rinsing processes. Water use may range from a few thousand gallons a month to millions of gallons.

Ways Businesses Can Save Water

Simple steps can be taken like fixing leaks, installing low-flow showerheads, installing high efficiency toilets, xeriscape landscaping and recycling process water. However, the best savings will occur if a business creates a water management plan.

Three best practices for all organizations:

1. Have a goal to save water
2. Identify and implement water efficiency measures
3. Monitor savings and progress

Donna DiFrancesco is a Conservation Specialist with the City of Mesa, Environmental & Sustainability Division where she educates Mesa, Arizona residents about xeriscape, water conservation, living green and sustainability. She is also a member of the Water – Use It Wisely regional campaign steering committee.