PEP 2023: Renewed Support and Opportunities
The Theodore Payne Foundation is thrilled to announce that for a third consecutive year, we were awarded the Community Partnership Grant from LADWP. This generous support will go directly to delivering the CA Native Plant Landscaper Certificate (CNPLC) program to 300 LA-based landscaped professionals in 2023. In addition to our regular CNPLC programming, we will be offering several other FREE bi-lingual professional development opportunities for landscapers. These include advanced courses in Plant Identification and Irrigation Management, a CA Native Plant Horticulture Conference, and a late-season drought-oriented garden tour. These amazing educational events will be available to qualifying individuals on a first-come, first-serve basis, so check your emails regularly for our Professional Education Portal (PEP) newsletter, and be sure to set up your PEP account to access all of these upcoming opportunities. You can also reach out directly to our new Professional Education Coordinator, Paola Núñez (paola@theodorepayne.org), with any PEP-related questions. We are overjoyed to have her on board to help us sustain this program moving forward.
Beyond our educational content, PEP has also been buzzing with activity as hundreds of jobs have been posted to the job board over the past few months. We have seen a steady buildup of landscapers using it get hired for installs, design, and maintenance. Whether you’re looking for a professional or are a landscaper, be sure to take advantage of this resource soon. LADWP rebates are now up to $5 per square foot (up to $25,000!!!), incentivizing the conversion of lawns to native-based landscapes more than ever.
This renewed investment in both removing turf and advancing native plant care builds on the previous support of LADWP and the fantastic work put in by TPF staff. To date, we have awarded over 500 certificates to landscape professionals in our region, which is one of the keys to success in sustaining our landscape paradigm shift outside of just taking out lawns. The larger shift is evident by the fact that landscape crews at UCLA, USC, and Dodgers Stadium have all gone through our programming. I take this as a strong indicator of imminent change on a larger scale, and we are excited to be a part of that change. 2023 is going to be a great year for native gardens! Stay tuned, and keep planting.
Tim Becker
December 16, 2022
I’m very happy and grateful with this course and the tools that brings to us for a better understanding and development for ours jobs , green jobs and the positive impact in the environment , and it means a lot to the community, to us to do something for the planet , take care LA and protect and maintain the native plants , take care the water and nature