Elmira, Ontario - On Tuesday, March 10th several members of Landscape Ontario Waterloo Chapter will be donating supplies and volunteering their time to provide students of Waterloo Region and surrounding areas the opportunity to showcase their skills in a Landscape Gardening Competition.

“Landscaping has developed into a red seal trade,” states Rob Tester, Treasurer of Landscape Ontario Waterloo Chapter and co-chair of the Landscape Gardening Competition. “Even with the uncertainty of today’s economy, there are many companies that require landscape services. The industry needs to continue to attract quality people to provide this type of service. We are hopeful that by supporting events such as these, students will consider a career in this type of trade.”

As part of the competition, students are provided a blueprint and will be required to build a patio using interlocking pavers and dimensional wall stone. In addition to “hardscaping” skills, students must also demonstrate “softscaping” skills by adding plants to their project. The winners of the competition will be able to keep their landscape display to use at their school for instructional purposes.

The Landscape Gardening Competition will take place at Elmira Farm Service Ltd. in Elmira, from 9:00am – 2:00pm and is open to the public for viewing. Events such as the Landscape Gardening Competition are part of the Waterloo Region Technological Skills Competitions, coordinated by the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. A list of competition dates and locations can be found at www.skillswaterloo.ca.