BALI reveals its top 10 highlights of the year so far before Awards 2018

As the year draws to a close and on the eve of the BALI National Landscape Awards 2018, BALI rewinds the clock to pick out its top 10 highlights from December 2017. This year's Awards will feature in a special edition of our members-only newsletter, and extensively on our website, from next Monday 10 December 2018.

In no particular order then, our current top 10 includes;

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2018 – BALI GoLandscape's Best of Both World Show Garden

BALI, through its education and careers initiative GoLandscape, worked closely with the RHS, GoLandscape Ambassadors and members to design and build a show garden and fly the proverbial flag to promote both students studying horticulture and landscape courses and those undertaking work-based apprenticeships to the tens of thousands of visitors who visited the show in July 2018. The garden, Best of Both Worlds, went on to win a prestigious RHS Gold medal. Definitely one of this year's highlights for the association and a candidate for our top moment of the year. 

BALI shows its might at Malvern with ‘Five Star’ garden trade stand

On Thursday 10 May 2018, BALI was awarded Five Stars for its ‘The Secret Garden’ in the trade stand category at this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Flower Show. Kicking off the year in style, the 20msq plot impressed judges with the quality of its design, construction, rich planting and attention to detail. Celebrating a quintessential English garden, BALI’s ‘The Secret Garden’ was designed and planted by both BALI and Associate Designer member Jane Bingham of The Cheshire Garden and built by BALI Registered Contractor Isola Garden Design. It is the intention that BALI will not be returning to RHS Malvern Spring Flower Show in 2019, instead opting to support the Harrogate Spring Flower Show 2019 whilst giving the popular Three Counties event a rest whilst it works out plans for a return in the future.

BALI events go online with three unique webinars; two designer-focussed & one on GDPR

BALI launched its first-ever series of webinars in 2018, with great success. This included two designer webinars and a GDPR special. Held on Thursday 15 November, BALI's most recent webinar, and the second designer-focussed webinar, saw a record number of online participants join in, with over 80 designers having tuned-in, in total, since it was first broadcast. BALI's Marketing and Communications Manager, Darren Taylor, and panellists Marian Boswall, Rosemary Coldstream, John Wyer, Kate Gould, Emma Mazzullo, Adam White and Andree Davies presented for 90 minutes, focusing on making your design practice profitable. More webinars are planned next year, some sole BALI, others in collaboration with Landscape Institute and the Society of Garden Designers. Keep an eye on the BALI website event pages and the members-only newsletter for details.

GoLandscape helps develop new qualification

BALI, through its nationwide GoLandscape initiative, has supported BALI Training Provider member Capel Manor College in developing and launching a brand new Advanced Diploma in Landscape Construction (Level 3). Endorsed by employers within the industry, a crucial element of this new Diploma, the course offers a unique opportunity for students to develop both technical and business skills. Capel Manor College developed the course based on the recent GoLandscape skills survey that was circulated to all BALI members earlier this year. The course is now underway and is at full capacity for its first year, with students commenting on the range and diversity of its included modules. For more information, you can read more here.

GoLandscape launches nationwide and website relaunches

Earlier this year, BALI's GoLandscape left its pilot phase to launch nationwide at an event at RHS Garden Wisley. Since then, BALI's Education Officer, Stephen Ensell, has worked tirelessly on the development of the next phase of the BALI GoLandscape website, which also launched at the end of October. The website is more interactive, more immersive, more user-friendly and provides helpful career advice and information for school leavers, career changers, parents, teachers, employers and career advisors. Following several months of construction, working alongside industry colleges, employers and GoLandscape Ambassadors, the new website now provides a real home for the work and activity being undertaken by Stephen and the Ambassadors to promote career opportunities across the wider landscaping sector.

Lest not forget LISS/CSCS

We’ve had an amazing year working on the development of our LISS/CSCS SmartCard Scheme. With a grand total of 3,107 SmartCard applications individually processed by the team at Landscape House since January, it's been a busy year. This number is a significant boost up from last year’s total of 2,781. The Land based Industry Skills Scheme (LISS) and Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is a jointly managed Scheme - LISS/CSCS - where industry works with CSCS to develop a framework for skills development and progression in the workplace through a structured card scheme. LISS/CSCS is administered by BALI. It is a stand-alone scheme but is also a requirement of National Highways Sector Schemes 18 (Land based). You can find out more about LISS/CSCS, including what the SmartCards are used for, on our LISS/CSCS pages on our website here.

New measures for water companies proposed by BALI

BALI proposed new measures to water authorities earlier this year, in the wake of the three-month-long drought experienced in the UK over the summer, which will ensure professional landscapers continue to get access to water regardless of project and client.

The proposed measures included;

• Offering recycled water to landscape professionals where non-potable water can be used
• Working more closely with manufacturers of landscaping and horticulture equipment which can help save water
• Giving landscape professionals the opportunity to apply to water companies to request an exemption from temporary use bans for specific projects

£11.6bn Landscape Services industry must be taken seriously says BALI

A new industry report, commissioned by the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Group (OHRG), to establish the total size, breadth and contribution of the UK’s ornamental horticulture and landscaping sector, has revealed that landscape services generated a total of £11.6bn GDP contributions in 2017, 47.9% of the total GDP footprint of the sector (55% of which were direct contributions worth £6.8bn). BALI, a member of the commissioning group, is now calling on government officials to give meaningful support to landscaping in the UK and has been working closely with the RHS, HTA and AHDB, as well as Landscape, Landscape Institute and the APPGHG, to remind MP's why our sector, and our Landscape Services industry, must be taken seriously, appropriately funded and supported at the highest level. A major milestone for BALI and its partner organisations who have worked collectively to get that all-important 'foot in the door'.

BALI National Landscape Awards 2017 was a sell-out, and 2018 will also welcome almost 1,000 members, guests and VIP's

The BALI National Landscape Awards are designed to showcase the highest levels of professionalism attained by BALI members each year. The event was in its 41st year in 2017 and is still the largest landscaping awards scheme in Europe. 2017 saw the event as a sell out and was a BALI highlight of the year. A member of the independent judging panel of leading landscaping experts visits each award entry and the judges convene for final panel adjudication in late August. There are several categories covering domestic, commercial, grounds maintenance and interior projects, plus an International Award, and awards for Affiliate Exceptional Service and Employer Excellence. The 2018 event takes place on Friday 7 December at Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London and is set to be just as big as last year's spectacular. The schemes up for a Principal, Special or Grand Award this year are world class and a true testament to the hard work, professionalism, skill and determination deployed by our members all-year-round. A full list of the 2018 winners will be published on the BALI website and on social media following the ceremony.

BALI supports the Land-based industry’s recognition of Environmental Maintenance Operative and Green Roof Installer roles within the workplace

Two new technical courses have been developed by LANTRA to enable individuals to work towards the Environmental Maintenance Operative and Green Roof Installer Blue Skilled Worker LISS/CSCS SmartCards. BALI continue supporting new developments going forward to replace the Construction-Related Operations (CRO) LISS/CSCS SmartCards that were withdrawn in September 2016 to meet the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) specification that all cards bearing the CSCS logo should be based on the achievement of a recognised industry qualification.