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Professional Qualifications
Training
A wise man once said 'The day you stop learning is the day you die'
This is very true, learning is an essential part of living and believing you know all is the route to disaster.
That is why we here at It Is Your Garden are always looking to learn, and take every opportunity to train our staff.
That's Naughty
Can you see whats wrong in the above image?
Personal Protective Equipment appears to be ok.
Supervision or Spectators?
Water soaked grass?
The image above shows an operative calibrating a Boom Sprayer mounted on a Quad bike, with spectators to distract them, and over grass. Performing such a task over grass means that if any spillage does occur it can't be cleaned up. The grass being water soaked is adding to the environmental risks.
This calibration task should have been carried out in a protected area where people cannot just wonder up and have a look, asking questions and distracting the operative. It should have been carried out over a surface that can be easily cleaned up with a spill kit. The spill kit should be ready and within easy reach.
The photograph above was taken as training material, and the fluid in the jug is water with washing up liquid in it. No risk to the environment was taken in getting this image!
- Careless actions risk damaging the environment.
Training and Experience counts
Many 'gardening companies' use anybody that can wield a fork, mostly hobby gardeners with no real professional gardening knowledge.
It Is Your Garden sees major problems with using hobby gardeners to perform professional services. Hobbies and interests are a past time. You do things your way, everybody else is wrong and needs to learn from you attitudes are common.
This is not the professional way, a professional landscape gardener knows they have to continue to learn and they don't always know best. A professional knows their strengths and their weaknesses. A true professional in any industry specializes in a particular field of expertise, they may well know plenty about other fields, and where to get help if they get stuck, but get them started on their expertise and you will see them come to life. Producing superior results in just one field of expertise, and good results in all other fields of their industry is the sign of a true professional.
For this reason It Is Your Garden does not employ hobby gardeners, only time served professionals. All staff are experienced professionals with an identified field of expertise. They all agree to partake in further training, and to train each other as needed. Above all they know how to conduct themselves, where to get help and advice, their strengths and their weaknesses.
City & Guilds NPTC
Herbicide Application Licenses.
Any company, sole trader, or service provider of any description that applies chemical interventions for the purpose of plant control of any description as part of their services, paid or otherwise, by LAW must be qualified and licensed to do so!
Application Licenses We Hold
In accordance with the law It Is Your Garden does not permit unlicensed applications of any chemicals. It's qualified staff hold the following licenses to apply Herbicides-
- Pa1 - The safe use of Herbicides. This is the basic qualification for the safe handling and disposing of Herbicides. It is not an application license.
- Pa6a - Use of Hand Held applicators, excluding LERAP. This is an application license, the holder has proved themselves to be of a suitably professional standard to use Herbicides from Hand Held applicators. This is the most basic application license and is needed to use weed control chemicals from a Knapsack sprayer, weed wiper, or other hand held applicators. The holder is not licensed to apply any chemicals to a water course or it's sensitive surroundings.
- Pa6aw - Use of Hand Held applicators including LERAP (To the sensitive environments around watercourses, and to water courses from the bank). This is a more advanced application license. The operator is qualified to a suitable professional standard to perform environmental risk assessments of the proposed project and to program works accordingly so as to prevent the risk of damage or harm to the environment from their activities.
- Pa2 - Use of Vehicle Mounted Applicators. This is an application license of an advanced type. The operator is qualified for the operation of, and risk assessment of, any Vehicle Mounted Applicator or application process. It does NOT qualify the operator to drive/operate the vehicles that the application equipment is mounted on and separate licenses for each type of vehicle are required in addition. The holder of this licence is qualified to risk assess their effects on the environment, and to those using the environment, this does include sensitive environments.
LERAP
Local Environment Risk Assessment Program
All pesticides are assessed when licensed for use for their risk of damaging the environment they are intended for use in. Herbicides are a Pesticide designed to be used to control plant growth and thus fall under this same assessment.
If a product is licensed for plant control it is then categorized. Field of use (Plant Control), Intended industry (Horticulture, Agriculture, Amenity), and environmental risk group.
The environmental risk grouping of herbicides is what the LERAP scheme is part of. Herbicides are broken down in to 2 Categories.
Category A herbicides cannot be used in sensitive environments where they may be caused to enter a 'Watercourse'. (This is any area that normally carries or holds water such as a stream or pond; plus any area likely to carry or hold water under foreseeable normal conditions.)
Category B herbicides are licensed for use in the sensitive environments around watercourses, but application licenses must also be held that demonstrate a proper level of professional training in assessing the risk to the environment to use them. This is indicated by the 'w' on a license.
- For in-depth information see this government sponsored web site.