BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — There is a program aimed at helping employ Buffalo neighbors while also maintaining and beautifying the city.
Pre-registration for the landscape maintenance technicians program is now open and runs through January 29.
7 News' Pheben Kassahun spoke with the director of the program who explained why this fairly new program is perfect for Buffalonians, the Western New York Land Conservancy Riverline director, and two products of the landscaping program who are now higher up in their respective roles.
Buffalo Center for the Arts and Technology (BCAT) director, Gina Burkhardt said, "It's really a path forward, and to be a productive community member in Buffalo."
Now in its third year, the 2024 Landscape Maintenance Technicians Program continues to create skilled workers in Buffalo's landscaping industry.
The program has become a pipeline for people to get trained and get paid family-sustaining wages.
Burkhardt said, "Look at the city. It's an amazing park-based city. There was a lot of work that needed to be done and not a lot of qualified applicants. So, we decided to build a training program based on the National Association of Landscape Practitioners to offer a course."
The program is free but seats are limited to 25 people.
The program includes 30 hours on a field site and 30 hours of online classes.
This year, participants will get paid training up to $1,500.
Applicants must have at least a high school diploma to qualify.
Participants will also get the following:
● a free pair of steel-toe boots
● a resume writing workshop to help them prepare for getting jobs
● a Landscape Maintenance certificate after completion of the class
● an opportunity to attend a post-training job fair in March
Burkhardt said, "You learn about turf maintenance, you learn about fertilization, you learn about all of the safety procedures that go into being a landscape technician. Each class covers a specific topic to prepare you for the working field."
Rickey Kearny and Patrick McIntyre are products of the program.
They work as a supervisor for Delaware Park and as a golf course superintendent, respectively, after starting as seasonal employees in those jobs within the Buffalo Olmstead Park Conservancy.
"The program for me was invaluable. I had no training in turf management. I went from no training to working on a golf course where it's a very high level of turf care management and without the BCAT program, in all honesty it sounds like a cliché, but I probably wouldn't be doing this," Patrick McIntyre, a product of the Landscape Maintenance Technician Program said.
Ricket Kearney, also a product of the Landscape Maintenance Technician Program said, "I had experience with landscaping because I had a landscaping and plowing business but I came to the BCAT program to get more of an understanding for what I was doing and what I was working with and different chemicals that we come across so it was a really great experience just to get that extra knowledge."
Jeffrey Lebsack said this is the perfect time to tap into the landscaping industry because the Queen City is on track to expand its landscape.
"In a couple of years, the Riverline will be completed. It will be a 40-acre public space in South Buffalo between Downtown and the Buffalo River. We'll need multiple people to maintain the landscape. We are anticipating a pretty complex landscape of native plants and other special features to create community gateways to enter the Riverline," Western New York Land Conservancy Riverline director, Jeffrey Lebsack said.
The final day to register is January 29. The course begins February 5. Click here to register.
For questions about the program, contact Krista Berry, BCAT Landscape Program Coordinator, at (716) 259-1680 ext. 117 or email at kberry@bufcat.org.
