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| Galabau provides information on the green industry's latest trends  A varied programme is in store for visitors at GaLaBau from 17-20 September 2008, when the conferences on the agenda focus on knowledge transfer and information exchange. Knowledge that is essential for everyday work and business success. GaLaBau as a comprehensive product show is also a broad-based forum for the exchange of views among experts. The events accompanying the exhibition, like the federal Landscape Gardener Cup, the presentation of the GaLaBau Innovation Medal, the International Award for Ecological Construction & Landscaping and the conferences make a very decisive contribution to the attractiveness of GaLaBau.For example, more and more towns are setting attractive trends with shrubs in public areas. Residents and visitors enjoy the variety of shrubs, which offer a fascinating play of colours and shapes the whole year round and make monotonous areas of grass and cotoneasters a thing of the past. The first conference, BGL Conference I: "Shrubs in Public Areas" on Thursday, 18 September, includes a presentation on the Friedrich-Ebert Park project in Frankfurt. The planner, developer and contractors would like to encourage the green profession to support more shrubs in urban areas. The speakers include landscape architect Christine Orel, who will talk on "The Use of Shrubs in Urban Areas", Renate Friedrich from the Frankfurt Parks Department, who will discuss "From the Idea to Implementation and Residents' Acceptance", and Gerhard Roßkopf, Roßkopf Garten- und Landschaftsbau GmbH & Co. KG, who deals with "Construction and Development Maintenance". The conference is chaired by August Forster, BGL board member and chairman of the BGL "Landscape" Committee. BGL Conference II, also on Thursday, 18 September, deals with "Gardens for the Elderly". Old people want to take an active part in life and enjoy the best possible quality of life in their everyday routine and in their leisure activities. Like many other industries, the landscape industry is also adjusting to the requirements of increasingly older people, as this group of customers is gaining more and more importance in view of the demographic change. Experts discuss questions like: "What effect has the growth market for the elderly on private gardens?", "How can landscape contractors adjust to the changing market?" or "What is the relevance of gardens in an aging society?". The discussion is chaired by landscape gardener Bernd Franzen. The panel includes Andreas Niepel, gardener, garden therapist and book author, with the approach "Garden Therapy - A Market for the Landscape Sector"; Dipl.-Ing. Harms Wulf, freelance landscape architect, with papers on "Planning Requirements for Gardens for the Elderly", and Alfred Vollmer, responsible for in-patient elderly care at the Diocesan Caritas Association, who speaks on "The Requirements of Gardens for Elderly Care". Swimming ponds are still very popular in private gardens, hotel grounds, towns and communities. They impress with their aesthetics, naturalness and great benefit. The priority is obviously on good water quality and a functioning pond system. The design of private swimming ponds incorporates garden trends like light, stainless steel and wood and cater for every customer wish. At BGL Conference III: "Trends in Private Swimming Ponds", experts discuss the latest developments and trends on Friday, 19 September. The second event on Friday, 19 September, BGL Conference IV: "High Performance + Enjoyable Work", provides information on 'teamwork'. Teamwork is also of considerable importance for landscape contractors. Top teams produce outstanding achievements and the work is also enjoyable. The way to establishing top teams on a permanent basis is not always easy – but is worthwhile. The speaker Klaus Wolf, corporate landscape consultant and CEO of the WCG Wolf Consulting Group AG, gives practical suggestions and ideas. Interested visitors can obtain information about "Vegetation Techniques in Landscaping" on the day before GaLaBau. Participants at the international conference organized by Landschaftsbau Service Bayern GmbH will be welcomed by Antoine Berger, President of ELCA – European Landscape Contractors Association. This is followed by six presentations on issues like: "No Plant Life in the Ground without Mykorrhiza", "Green Concrete – A Change of Perspective for Gravel Grass?" and "Grassed Areas in Modern Sports Arenas". All talks are simultaneously translated into English and/or German. The Germany-wide competition for the Landscape Gardener Cup at GaLaBau 2008 takes place for the fourth time at the exhibition. At the seventh nationwide competition, young landscape gardeners meet to prove their professional skills in Nuremberg on Thursday and Friday, 18-19 September. The best landscape gardener teams from the states line up at this two-day competition to determine the “German Champion Team”. Each team consists of two prospective landscape gardeners, who will complete a landscape project on an area of 4 x 4 m in the two days. The winning team qualifies for the World Championship in Calgary (Canada) in 2009. A total of 12 teams – one from each state association – compete against each other in Nuremberg. The task: to convert a nondescript area of 4 x 4 m into a small garden. The instructions for the teams are: make a wooden deck, build a dry wall of sandstone, lay natural stone paving in a random pattern and plant shrubs and trees – all jobs that reflect the broad spectrum of training for a landscape gardener. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |