Ph: 08 8983 3233 | Fax: 08 8983 3244 | Email: ngint@ntha.com.au ABN: 98 438 929 847

NGINT Nursery Notes Nursery & Garden Industry NT Inc

PO Box 348 Palmerston NT 0831

Issue No 10 May 28th 2010

www.ngia.com.au www.ntha.com.au

Dates to Note

Melaleuca Awards Fri June 4

World Environment Day June 5

Tropical Garden Spectacular & Top End Sustainable Living Festival June 5 – 6

NIDO visit – John McDonald June 7 – 11

Risk Management in Nurseries for the Future Workshop Tue June 8

NGINT Committee Meeting Tue June 15

Landscape Group Meeting Tue June 29

Tropical Garden Spectacular & Top End Sustainable Living Festival – 1 week to go!

The Tropical Garden Spectacular & Top End Sustainable Living Festival is next weekend! Come along and paint the town

green with the Melaleuca Awards, World Environment Day and two days jam-packed with green living and gardening ideas,

tips, talks, workshops, activities, live music, short films and great family entertainment. Check out the website for a list of

what's on www.greenlivingfest.com.au .

From eco design to native gardens, permaculture to recycling, slow food to energy efficiency in your home, come along and

share your ideas for a greener future for the Territory. There will be more than 70 exhibitors and displays to visit throughout

the weekend.

The official opening will be held at 10am on Saturday June 5th

with our Patron Tessa Pauling and Administrator Tom Pauling

in attendance and joining in with all of the fun.

Thanks to all of our generous sponsors for their wonderful support and in particular the NGINT members and Tropical

Garden Spectacular Committee who have been working behind the scenes with great enthusiasm and commitment!

Risk Management in Nurseries for the Future – Workshop June 8

Having a sound risk management strategy is essential to ensure industry businesses remain protected from biological risks.

It seeks to identify internal and external (endemic and exotic) threats to the integrity of a business's biosecurity processes

and preparedness.

This workshop will outline how industry businesses can be prepared for risk management in the future. Topics include:

Industry BioSecurity - • Roles and Responsibilities • Managing an Incursion

On-Farm BioSecurity - • Effective BioSecurity Tools • Pest and Disease Identification • Disease Testing

• BioSecurity Ready Production By attending this workshop participants will gain a strong understanding of how to protect and manage their businesses if an

incursion were to happen. Also, they will understand and appreciate the necessity of having BioSecurity Ready Production

and the daily steps that are required to achieve this status.

Please register ASAP to assist with planning and catering.

Green Claims – Why the Nursery Industry Can Make Them

With growing consumer concern about the environment many businesses now promote their ‘green’ credentials to

differentiate themselves and their product from the competition.

The Trade Practices Act 1974 states that businesses must not mislead or deceive customers in any way. With the rise in

green marketing, companies as big as De Longhi and SAAB/General Motors have been found in breach of the act by the

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Ph: 08 8983 3233 | Fax: 08 8983 3244 | Email: ngint@ntha.com.au ABN: 98 438 929 847

However, NGIA National Marketing & Communications Manager Jacqui Gibbs says the nursery industry should be marketing

their green credentials. “We should be picking up on the green marketing trend. We are the real green industry and we

have a wealth of research to back this up.” Jacqui says.

Why we are the real green industry:

Plants can save energy - Dr. Stephen Livesley from the Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science at the University of

Melbourne, stated in his presentation at the 2009 Urban GreenScapes Symposium that green infrastructure can provide

direct indirect energy saving benefits.

Plants reduce stormwater run-off - according to Dr Greg McPherson project leader for the United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) Centre for Urban Forest Research, who also presented at the Urban GreenScapes Symposium.

Plants reduce pollutants in the air - According to the study by J Field ‘The Effect of Plants and Artificial Daylight on the well-

being and Health of Office Workers, School Children and Health Care Personnel’, Plants improve air quality by taking toxins

from the air and contributing oxygen back.

Further environmental benefits of plants – according to a Literature Review of Documented Health and Environmental

Benefits Derived from Ornamental Horticulture Products undertaken by the Australian Ornamental Horticultural Industry,

plants:

- Moderate urban climate extremes - Mitigate urban heat islands - Remove contaminants from soil (phytoremediation)

- Improve water quality - Reduce impacts of weather through windbreaks and shelterbelts - Reduce noise pollution

- Control urban glare and reflection - Attract birds and other wildlife

Jacqui says part of the industry’s peak industry body’s marketing campaign will focus on the environmental benefits of

plants. “NGIA will be developing a vibrant, strategic consumer PR and marketing campaign for 2010 – 11 and some of the

focus of this will be on marketing the environmental benefits of plants and green-life to the Australian public. I encourage

the whole of the industry to get on board to really make this campaign a success,” Jacqui says.

The ACCC has producted a guide to help businesses understand their obligations under the Trade Practices Act when making

green claims, it is available from www.accc.gov.au

Growers Encouraged to Pick Up Tools to Navigate Urban Encroachment

As the great Aussie ‘quarter-acre block dream’ and inner city housing affordability put even greater pressure on the city

fringes, understanding the issues around peri-urban1 land use planning and its impacts on horticulture is increasingly

important. The concept of agricultural land ‘awaiting urban development’ via an ad hoc process of conversion is often

regarded as an inevitable outcome of population and economic growth.

The nursery industry is among the horticultural industries affected by the expansion of cities into traditional agricultural

growing areas. As urban expansion continues to grow, horticultural industries find themselves, sharing the environment with

lifestyle farmers and non-rural residents. The issue is particularly important to many intensive agricultural industries and has

been on the government planning radar as a result of land use conflict in peri-urban areas.

Conflict can arise over such things as noise from dogs, trucks and farm equipment; odour from fertilisers and sprays; health

concerns about spray drift; access to water; and visual intrusion from things such as hail netting.

While growers face the challenge of continuing to make a living in an increasingly urbanised environment, planners must

balance the demands of population growth with the need to maintain agricultural businesses, protect the environment and

ensure food supply.

The responsibility for assessing development and subdivision proposals generally falls on local government who, by their

own admission, are in many cases under resourced and not well placed to address the issues. Input from existing

landholders would serve to assist planners in their decisions. To help growers understand and address issues related to peri-

urban planning, a study was commissioned in 2007 as part of the HAL across industry funded program.

The project comprised a literature review on peri-urban horticulture and land use planning and a ‘tool-kit’ made up of

practical guidelines to help growers navigate through land use planning jargon and the system itself.

HAL project manager Ravi Hegde says the planning system can be a minefield and the report, Peri-urban horticulture and

land use planning: Literature Review & Tool-kit, would help people to understand how Federal, state and local governments

work to put the whole planning system in place.

“It has a glossary of terms which gives people an everyday English understanding of jargon,” Mr Hegde says.

“It also provides some practical information about buffers. Having buffers in place will reduce the potential for conflict with

those neighbours.”

The tool kit provides a series of fact sheets designed to help users understand the planning process and equip them to

become involved in the land use debate at a local level.

1 A peri-urban area is commonly understood to be land adjacent to the edge of an urban area, extending from the built up edge of the city to

the rural hinterland.

Ph: 08 8983 3233 | Fax: 08 8983 3244 | Email: ngint@ntha.com.au ABN: 98 438 929 847

The following topics are featured:

Understanding the land use planning system – a quick guide to the Australian planning system which outlines the various

levels of legislation and how it affects peri-urban stakeholders.

Zoning – helps those seeking to develop their land or preserve it for agricultural use to understand how governments use

zoning controls and the limitations of the current system.

Land use conflict –an outline of some of the sources of disputes between neighbours in peri-urban areas and some possible

practical approaches to address them.

Buffers – examines the pros and cons of using land buffers between neighbours to reduce conflict.

Urban growth boundaries – looks at the urban containment policy designed to protect peri-urban horticulture.

Transfer of development rights – examines the system by which landowners can transfer the right to develop one parcel of

land to another parcel of land in order to protect both investment opportunities and horticultural production.

‘Right to farm’ – outlines a legislative approach that’s used in the US and Tasmania to deal with land use conflicts.

The report and tool kit can be accessed at

http://www.horticulture.com.au/industries/across_industry_final_reports.asp?src=side

This across industry project was funded by HAL using industry levies and voluntary contributions with matched funds from

the Federal Government.

Customer Service, What Happened To It? – John Stanley

The latest research shows a 74.5% drop in the level of customer service in the consumers mind around the world in the last

five years.

This is part of the findings revealed in the latest research by John Stanley Associates and revealed on their live Webinar to

retailers recently.

Recent research carried out reveals the following:

Where do you go for accurate information on products?

40% rely on the salesperson

34.5% rely on the internet

23.6% rely on friends

1.8% use magazines

In the last five years in your view on salespeople is that they are -

More Knowledgeable - 9.1%

Less Knowledgeable - 61.8%

Same Knowledge 29.1%

In your view has customer service over the as five years

Improved 7.3%

Deteriorated 74.5%

Stayed the same 18.2%

As John Stanley mentioned after the research in his Webinar, this indicates a huge opportunity for many retailers. Customer

service can become your market edge when it comes to ensuring your business stands out from the crowd.

The survey was conducted over a three week period. Survey Monkey polled readers of John Stanley Associates newsletter

from 25 countries. Fifty five responses were received from around the world.

Details on John’s Webinars are available from info@johnstanley.cc or visit www.johnstanleyretailguru.com.au

Water Conservation in the Garden This Dry Season

NGINT is pleased to be promoting water conservation messages with Power & Water this dry season. We will be

providing and distributing information at various events and garden outlets over the coming months.