Letter from the President

Letter from the President

January 12, 2012

Dear SOUL members,

It’s been a transformative 8 months and we are bursting with renewed energy. September’s well- attended Annual General Meeting resulted in a revitalized Board with many new faces and fresh perspectives. My AGM address to the members told the story of our work over the past year.  We had reached a point where we didn’t understand what SOUL was supposed to be doing and took some time for internal reflection. We confirmed that our core values are embodied in the SOUL Standard, and our mission is to promote the Standard and professional certification, and support our members in the practice of organic landcare.

Heide and Michael Hermary of Gaia College gave a very informative presentation on their plans for the college’s future. All of us were delighted that their plans corresponded so closely with SOUL’s vision. For those of you not familiar with the SOUL Standard, the Organic Master Gardener (OMG) course that many of you have taken is built on the foundation of the SOUL Standard. AGM enthusiasm was so great that previous board members Michael Hermary and Gail Szostek spontaneously volunteered to once again be on the SOUL Board. We also welcomed new board members Will Jung (Vice President) and Bibiana Lampert (Secretary), both graduates of the OMG program. With much gratitude, Lee de Rosenroll, Catherine Dale and Melissa Duehmig all stayed on.

On January 8th in Burnaby we had a successful board governance workshop, further strengthening our team bonds and enthusiasm. The new Board has decided to focus on three key areas for the future - the SOUL Standard, professional certification and membership support. We will be engaging paid support so that our core needs in these areas are addressed in a timely and professional manner.

Standard
We are planning a review of the SOUL Organic Land Care Standard. As part of this process we will consult with key stakeholders in business, government and other non-profit groups. Did you know that the Canadian Green Building Council (LEED Canada), Canadian Cooperative Association and the Ontario Realty Corporation all reference the SOUL standard now? We are going to expand this recognition and awareness of our standard so many others can share our vision.

Certification
Interest in SOUL professional certification is growing amongst organic landscapers. We conducted our first certification exam at Humber College in Ontario this past February. In 2012 we will be updating the exam and in the future plan to offer the exam online. We are also planning to extend certification to larger government bodies and organizations, and examining the possibility of site certification.  Site certification is what organizations like LEEDS does. They go through their check list for a project and award points for the various materials, methods etc that are used and give it a final grade.

Membership Support
SOUL is forming a Membership Committee that will be able to offer support to the different SOUL communities and its members. Too much was falling on the shoulders of a select few and not enough guidance was given to the individual branches and their core leaders. With a more fluid approach we can harness the energies of the most inspired. We want to encourage members to host salons, garden tours, workshops, write grant proposals for local community projects and build resource connections for organic inquiring minds and businesses connected to organic horticulture.

We want and need your help in all these activities. Combining our collective expertise will help us expand SOUL’s leadership in organic urban land care. We all want the cities we live in and the neighbours we live next to, to adhere to the SOUL Standard for all of our benefit.

Over the next 3 months our focus will be strategic planning. We will be asking our stakeholders  (membership, government, agricultural suppliers, related non-profit organizations and certifying bodies) for input. If you receive a survey please fill it out, your opinion is very valuable to SOUL’s long term vision.

Make a New Year’s resolution and join one of the committees listed below. Let us know how much time you have to share and what expertise you can offer by emailing the Committee contact listed below.

Wishing you a happy and productive new year, from all of us at SOUL.


Rochelle Relyea
President


Committee List and Contacts
Membership Committee This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The Standard Committee This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Certification Committee This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Finance Committee This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Communications Committee This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


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