Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/319149
WESTERN CANADA TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION 29 IN PROFILE KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY School Of Horticulture Primary Contact: ............... Stan Kazymerchyk Tel: .................................... 604-345-7125 Email: ............... stan.kazymerchyk@kpu.ca Website: ..................................... kpu.ca/hort Our programs prepare students for jobs. The success of our graduates demonstrates the value of a Kwantlen Horticulture program to a successful career. The Kwantlen Polytechnic University School of Horticulture is located at the Langley Campus, in Langley, BC. People, plants, place. We use plants in specific places for specific purposes. Understanding community interest and personal preference, the limitations of site (soil, micro-climate, …) and the requirements and characteristics of plants all contribute to the sustainable, successful practice of horticulture including turf management. Learning, thinking, doing. Kwantlen's turf management program com- bines an excellent foundation in horticulture with the core knowledge, skills, and abilities outlined in the national occupational standard for golf course superintendents. Students combine learning and doing at the start of their programs and critically apply knowledge to practice as their programs develop. A job, a career, a life. Our programs prepare students for jobs. The success of our graduates demonstrates the value of a Kwantlen horticulture program to a successful career. The contribution of our students and graduates to community and industry enriches our lives. The programs. Kwantlen offers a 2-year diploma in turf man- agement (or landscape design or production horticulture) and 4-year bachelor degrees in plant health and urban ecosystems. Diploma graduates may opt to continue their educa- tion with a horticulture degree or a degree in Business Administration from Kwantlen. Recently, we received word that our grant application called Sustainable Turfgrass Management in the Canadian Prairie Prov- inces was approved for funding. The $2.3M grant is for five years and is an award from the Natural Sciences and Engineer- ing Research Council (NSERC), a federal granting agency in Canada. When informed of the decision, Alberta Turfgrass Research Foundation President, Daryl Asher stated, "This is tremendous news! We will now be able to move forward on our plans to expand our research program in Alberta and western Canada." Many other Superintendents, turfgrass man- agers and research personnel sent congratula- tory wishes to us and we are grateful for all the support that was received prior to and during the application process. So what does this mean for turfgrass research? One of our first orders of business will be to hire a Lead Scientist for turfgrass research. This individual will have the main responsibility to oversee the research program and institute new initiatives. It is expected this individual will have considerable experience in turfgrass research and will be somewhat familiar with the challenges faced by growers in western Canada. "We would like to have someone in this posi- tion as soon as possible," said Tanya McDonald Associate Vice President at Olds College Centre for Innovation. "We expect this summer to be a busy time for turfgrass research and our search for this individual needs to begin right away." The process for doing this will be to advertise throughout North America and then interview candidates for the position. "It is hoped that we can have someone in place by July 1." In addition to the Lead Scientist, a post- doctoral fellow will also be hired. A 'Post-Doc' is a recent Ph. D. graduate and this individual will form part of the research team. Instructors at Olds College, Dr. Darrell Tompkins, Dr. Ken Fry and Jason Pick, will also form part of this research team and they will support the new hires during the orientation period. In addition, they will be involved in the implementation of student research projects within the turfgrass curriculum at Olds College. In years one to three, the budget for turf- grass research will more than double from cur- rent funding levels and will total more than $600,000 in each of the first three years. In addition to salaries, this funding allows for equipment purchases, supplies and information dissemination to the end-users in the turfgrass industry. "One of the reasons for the success of this grant was the high level of industry support," stated Asher. "We were able to secure more than $100,000 from industry in year one and we expect that this will grow over the next five years." The application pointed out that this research is necessary due to the fact that the turfgrass industry in the Prairie Provinces is estimated to generate an economic impact of somewhere between $1.6-2.2B. Technological advancements are necessary in the industry to support growers and homeowners as they encounter increased pressures to maintain their turf in an environmentally acceptable manner. The social and recreational uses of turf are many and varied and it is difficult to imagine our lives without turf. The actual research will focus on the fol- lowing research themes: strategies to reduce winter injury, biotic stress management in sod, recreational turf and lawns, species/biotype selection for alternative turf uses, and water quality and conservation. With funding received from industry, there has already been research activity in some of these research areas. This research grant will allow for significant expan- sion of the research in these areas. The next few months will be critical as we institute the changes to the program and as Asher pointed out, "Research is so important to us in the industry…it allows us to continue to make improvements at our golf course that are based on science." WCTA INDUSTRY BRIEFS BY JIM ROSS PRAIRIE TURGRASS RESEARCH CENTRE $2.3M GRANT ANNOUNCED FOR TURFGRASS RESEARCH FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT WILL ALLOW FOR AN INCREASE IN PLOT TOURS AND SEMINARS SIMILAR TO THE PICTURE ABOVE. IMAGE CREDIT JIM ROSS