January 17, 2019 Patty Turner Center, Deerfeild and  January 23, 2019 Countryside Bank, Countryside

ACTHA was pleased to engage with The Pizzo Group to host two seminars entitled “Natural Areas Restoration for HOA Common Space” which were held on January 17, 2019 at the Patty Turner Center in Deerfield and on January 23, 2019 at the Countryside Bank in Countryside.

Seth Crackel of the Pizzo Group was the presenter. The unique feature of these seminars was the offering of two CAMBI credits by Pizzo Group to qualified participants.

Seth Crackel presented a powerpoint presentation that engaged the audience in learning the basic terminology of ponds, the "how" and "why's" of good maintenance, problem solving of overgrowth of invasive species and stewardship of ponds.

Managers and Association Board attendees, as well as home owners attending the seminar, learned the recognition of trouble signs of pond challenges and the ways to combat these issues.

Seth explained the principle of ”chemical burns” and the need to do this procedure for the health of the surrounding areas of a pond. He stressed the need for education of homeowners and Board in pond health and maintenance. Communication is the key. Once you educate, the scene is set for formulating a plan forward.

The plan forward then includes: identifying your goals, formulating your strategies, implementing your plan, then monitoring all your steps in proper sequence.

He stressed the need to connect the community to nature. This is done by nature signage and engaging your homeowners in the value of protection and maintenance of your ponds.

Value is added to your community site when successful long range planning is put in place. This is the opposite of “whim planning” which usually yields negative results and results in a confused state of wrong plants in the wrong places.

Education is the key to pond health and successful planning.