Press Releases

31.05.2012

Valuable green inspiration for successful business

Together with its state associations and service companies, the association for employers and the industry presents its range of services for landscape gardeners on stand 101 in hall 5 in Nürnberg. BGL also organizes an attractive supporting programme, as revealed by BGL President Forster in the run-up to “GaLaBau 2012”: “We are experiencing a boom in the demand for landscape services again this year. Green is en vogue and has enormous potential. For visitors and exhibitors wishing to make optimum use of these opportunities, we offer a wealth of information, ideas and prospects for successful business. Green not only improves success – those who build on and with green contribute to a future with a great quality of life!”

Overview of conferences

BGL takes up garden and landscaping trends and offers a varied programme for green construction:

Integrated Pest Management for Grassed Areas

GaLaBau Conference I “Integrated Pest Management for Grassed Areas” takes place from 1.30 to 3 p.m. on 12 September 2012 in cooperation with the Deutscher Golf Verband e. V. (DGV) and the Greenkeeper Verband Deutschland e. V. (GVD), and is chaired by DGV Managing Director Klaus Dallmeyer.

After much discussion, the new Plant Protection Act has come into force and implements a whole series of EU regulations in national law. Users must already observe a number of changes over the old act. With effect from 2013, the Germany-wide introduction of the new standard certificate of competence is accompanied by further major changes to the regulations concerning knowledge of plant protection matters. The most important changes in practice will be introduced for turf used for sports.
Active substances associated with substantial health risks will no longer be approved in future. This will have consequences for garden, landscape and sports ground construction, because fewer effective pesticides will be available.

Experts like Heike Rose, Beate Licht and Carsten Audick show the “Effects of the new Plant Protection Act on gardening practice”, explain the “Guidelines for integrated pest management for sustainable golf course maintenance” and provide information on the “Plant Protection Act: Availability of pesticides for use in public areas”.

From Building to Open Space – Practical Knowledge: Professional Facade Connection

GaLaBau Conference II “From Building to Open Space – Practical Knowledge: Professional Facade Connection” from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. on 13 September 2012. Landscape contractors are often first called upon to create outdoor facilities and connect them to the building after completion of the structural building measures. This can be a problem if the interests and technical requirements for professional facade connection of the landscaping work were not sufficiently taken into account during the building planning stage, for example in terms of gradients, changes in height, connection heights or barrier-free accessibility.

Everything sounds very simple in theory and the assignment and responsibilities for planning and executing construction measures seem to be clearly arranged. The architect plans the building and the individual structural engineering trades implement the plan to achieve the building in reality. These services also cover sealing the building (including the doors and windows, attachments like staircases and cellar light wells) to prevent the ingress of water. Protecting the seal is also one of these services.

The speakers, Professor Dr. Mehdi Mahabadi, Markus Weissert, Klaus Wilmes and Wolf Meyer-Ricks, deal with current standards and give tips on professional planning and construction of the transition from the open space to the building.

Living Walls: Vertical Gardens – The Green Future!

GaLaBau Conference III “Living Walls: Vertical Gardens – The Green Future!” (from 1.30 to 3 p.m. on 13 September 2012). Gardens all over the world are taking on a new dimension and increasingly “growing” upwards. Green cities are attracting attention with planted facades – such large “wall pictures” of plants on buildings create unusual atmospheres. Vertical gardens develop new spaces and provide living green impulses for sustainable urban development.

Green improves the quality of life – green has future. Vertical greening becomes a new habitat for flora and fauna. Living walls protect facades against environmental effects, increase the heat insulation of buildings and improve the microclimate – in short, the “front gardens” of the future are enjoying a meteoric career!

Professor Dr. Manfred Köhler presents “Living walls – the new dimension for facade greening”. Speaker Teva Raj Palanisamy from Singapore shows attractive examples of “Greened facades and vertical gardens in Singapore”. Hema Kumar from Bangalore (India) explains useful information on “The green wall – structural engineering challenges”. Andreas Schulte speaks on “Living walls capturing the city – function and system of a new kind of facade greening”.

Healthy Urban Development Needs Real Green

GaLaBau Conference IV “Healthy Urban Development Needs Real Green” takes place from 10.30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on 14 September 2012 in cooperation with Die Grüne Stadt Trust. Green is an essential part of a modern urban infrastructure – green is the key to making the climate change bearable and reducing fine dust pollution in cities. Urban planning and urban development are also required to respond to the demographic and socio-cultural changes of the coming decades.

Sustainable green urban development is a task for society as a whole. Die Grüne Stadt Trust has been committed for years to making people increasingly aware that green with its varied positive effects is a permanent feature of urban development, because healthy urban development needs real green!

Robert Schäfer, Chief Editor of “Topos” and “Garten + Landschaft”, chairs the panel discussion. The focus is on issues like “Urban development under changed demographic, economic and ecological conditions” (Oda Scheibelhuber, Senior Head of Department, Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development), “Green urban development” (Dr. Ing. Carlo W. Becker, Berlin) and “The city of the future is green” (Peter Menke, Executive Director, Die Grüne Stadt Trust).

Benefit from the Change: Practical Steps to More Success!

GaLaBau Conference V “Benefit from the Change: Practical Steps to More Success!” from 1 to 2.30 p.m. on 14 September 2012. Everything is changing – in many cases changes are also a real challenge in everyday business. From politics to legislation – from the economy to the weather: The world is geared to constant changing and changes. Especially management are constantly required to act. They not only need a high degree of willingness to change and the relevant flexibility. Together with everyone concerned in the company, they particularly benefit from successful strategies for shaping change.

The following speakers show many specific starting points for changes in landscaping contractors in their presentations: Georg von Koppen (“Nothing is more constant than change – in landscaping too”), Matthias Widenhorn (“Cornerstones of change: performance, marketing and employees”), Klaus Wolf (“Only the implementation counts”) and Christoph Walker (“Second-generation family firm”). The steps for consistent and successful implementation in practice are explained – and provide a valuable basis for shaping change in the individual business context.

Nationwide skills competition for the “Landscape Gardener Cup 2012”

The sixth edition of the “Landscape Gardener Cup”, the Germany-wide skills competition at “GaLaBau”, again attracts attention to the varied demands on garden and landscape experts. The German champion team of trainee landscape gardeners will then compete in the “WorldSkills” championship in Leipzig in 2013. The whole spectrum of professional training is presented at “GaLaBau 2012” – from apprenticeship and degree studies to further training. The get-together for university lecturers also takes place again.

International Award for “Ecological Construction & Landscaping” / “Silver Landscape”

The ELCA International Award for Ecological Construction & Landscaping will be presented to a deserving innovative project for the eighth time. BGL will also present its “Silver Landscape” Award again, its highest award for outstanding services. In addition, the “GaLaBau Innovation Medal 2012” will be presented to innovative and pioneering landscaping solutions.

Online registration for events from 16 July 2012 at www.galabau.de

Those interested can register online for the free conferences and for the evening events (at extra cost) – “Franconian GaLaBau Evening” (13 September 2012) and “GaLaBau Nach(t)tisch 2012” (14 September 2012) – from 16 July 2012 onwards at www.galabau.de


BGL President August Forster: “We are experiencing a boom in the demand for landscape services again this year. Green is en vogue and has enormous potential. For visitors and exhibitors wishing to make optimum use of these opportunities, we offer a wealth of information, ideas and prospects for successful business at GaLaBau 2012. Green not only improves success – those who build on and with green contribute to a future with a great quality of life!”


Gardens all over the world are taking on a new dimension and increasingly “growing” upwards. Vertical gardens (living walls) develop new spaces and provide living green impulses for sustainable urban development.


The sixth edition of the “Landscape Gardener Cup”, the Germany-wide skills competition at “GaLaBau”, again attracts attention to the varied demands on garden and landscape experts. The German champion team of trainee landscape gardeners will then compete in the “WorldSkills” championship in Leipzig in 2013.

BGL and the green sector – facts & figures

The Bundesverband Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V. (BGL) is an industry and employers association. It represents the interests of the German landscaping sector at German level and in Europe. Its twelve state associations have more than 3,350 members, mainly small and medium enterprises. They are recognized as service providers by the protected logo with the caption “Your Garden & Landscape Experts” and offer tailor-made individual solutions for green construction, with which they currently achieve some 70 per cent of the total market turnover in Germany. The green sector’s total turnover in 2011 rose to more than 5.5 billion euros. This milestone was set by the 16,460 specialist firms and their altogether 95,365 employees with a variety of services. They use their great expertise to design, construct, develop and maintain all kinds of green and outdoor facilities in the private, commercial and public sectors.

Contact:
Dr. Hermann J. Kurth
Bundesverband Garten-, Landschafts- und Sportplatzbau e. V.
Alexander-von-Humboldt-Straße 4
53604 Bad Honnef
Tel: 02224 7707-10
Fax: 02224 7707-78
E-mail: H.Kurth@galabau.de

The landscape gardeners can also be found at:
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