Watch for PLANET Universe - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

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Watch for PLANET Universe

In March of last year, PLANET convened an Education Strategic Task Force chaired by Board member Rich Wilbert and populated by representatives from all Specialty Groups, as well as a supplier representative, a state association executive, and a faculty member. The goal of the Task Force was to provide the best educational tools for our members, and the challenge was to determine the best way(s) to offer those tools. After careful analysis of our core membership categories and of feedback that we had gleaned from member surveys, and realizing that valuable information on the myriad educational topics of interest to our members exists in countless locations and many forms, the conclusion of the Task Force was to create the concept of PLANET Universe, a one-stop shop or gateway to an encyclopedic amount of Green Industry information and training resources, as well as publications, news, a calendar of nationwide events, trending topics, and other resources.

Over the last year, this concept has been refined, a website has been built, and the goal is to “go live” in June. PLANET Universe is about relationships- with suppliers, with the state associations, with other sister associations, industry consultants, and with the media- all of which can funnel content to PLANET Universe. The ultimate goal is to provide to PLANET members a “Green Industry Google” resource, where all topics are searchable, and results will link to further related information and websites.

Queries will start within six major topic headings: Administration, Faculty, Management, Marketing, Operations, and Safety and Risk Management. Each major heading will have subcategories- for instance, Operations will have subcategories of Equipment, Innovation/Technology, Technical Information, Certification, and Sustainability.

In addition to existing content, PLANET Universe has issued a Request for Submittals to further populate the site with fresh, current, breaking articles on all kinds of topics to further educate our members and improve their business practices and performance in the marketplace. We are soliciting articles from Specialty Groups, other media sources, faculty, consultants, and from our members, who can relate their real business experiences and lessons learned and convey those lessons to fellow contractors who will benefit from not making the same mistake that the colleague shared in the article. This sharing of experience and knowledge will fulfill, in an accessible although less personal way, the goal of satisfying for the membership a need that is perennially expressed for networking. PLANET is counting on members to participate and help each other by building a robust body of knowledge and connecting resources that will benefit our industry through shared best practices and industry experience.

Think about how you can contribute, and how good it will feel to know that you’re contributing to the success of your industry, not to mention seeing your work published. Once it is up and running, visit PLANET Universe and take it for a spin. We think you’ll like the ride.