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Creating Beautiful Outdoor Environments
for You and Your Community
August 2015
School is Back in Session    
In addition to creating beautiful landscapes, Dixie and Peter have a passion for helping students in the Atlanta area learn about the career opportnities in the landscaping industry. Read below to find out more about Solterra's involvement in education.
As always, thanks for your support and referrals. 
 
Peter and Dixie
Peter and Dixie Speck
 
Dixie Elected for Second Term with the
Georgia Urban AG Council


UAC is Georgia's premier green industry association for professionals involved in all sectors of the urban agriculture industry.
Solterra's CEO Dixie Speck was elected to serve for a second term as President of the Georgia Urban Ag Council (UAC). Mary Kay Woodworth, UAC Executive Director says, "Dixie has brought new energy to the UAC board. The exciting initiatives the she has instituted, particularly regarding youth workforce development, will be moved further along in her second year as UAC president."

The Urban Ag Council represents one of the largest and most successful industries in Georgia, with more than $8 billion in sales, 7,000 companies, and more than 80,000 employees. As an industry leader, UAC advocates for the environmental and economic benefits of urban agriculture. They work closely with the Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture at the University of Georgia to educate members with best management practices for environmental and economic sustainability.

Dixie commented, "In my second term as president, my continuing goal is to help our UAC members focus on GROWING our future workforce. Not only is it necessary to introduce middle and high school students to the benefits of careers in the landscape, turf, and horticulture industry, we must educate parents and those who make decisions regarding school programs about the wide range of options available."

Contact Mary Kay Woodworth if your organization or school would like more information about the Urban Ag Council. http://urbanagcouncil.com/
   
Solterra Sponsors CEFGA Career Expo
 
Under Dixie's leadership, Solterra Landscape and the Urban AG Council sponsored the 2015 Construction Education Foundation of Georgia (CEFGA) Career Expo with over 5,000 middle school and high students in attendance. This was the first year that careers in urban agriculture were represented at the event.

Urban agriculture is the creation, growth, introduction, and management of constructed landscapes designed to support and enhance natural environmental systems-creating a sustainable quality of life-through mitigation of land-altering activity.

Watch Solterra's short YouTube video with photo highlights from the expo. (Less than 2 minutes.)

For more information on Construction Education Foundation of Georgia (CEFGA), visit http://www.cefga.org.
 
ACE Mentoring Program

Solterra and the Georgia Urban Ag Council will assist with the North Springs Charter High School's ACE, (Architecture, Construction and Engineering), mentoring program this year.

During the 2014-2015 school year, the ACE mentoring program partnered with North Spring's existing Architecture, Construction and Design Club (ACDC). The partnership provided an opportunity for students to learn about various skilled trades and careers in the construction industry through hands-on activities, guest speakers and field trips with ACE mentors, all of whom are volunteers and construction industry professionals.

Amy Tribo, a member of the school's ACDC Advisory board, is the ACE Atlanta board chair and program director helping coordinate the program at North Springs. In a February 2015 article she said, "What is so exciting about our partnership with North Springs is that this is our first team in Atlanta that is focused on the skilled trades."  

Dixie is looking forward to sharing her expertise with students and presenting career options in the landscaping industry. 
 
The ACE Mentor Program has a presence in more than two hundred cities in America. For more information on ACE, visit http://acementor.org. 

Thank you for your support and, as always, we're grateful for your referrals!
Solterra, Inc. | 404-236-7557 | info@solterralandscape.com | http://www.solterralandscape.com
308 Wallace Rd
Marietta, GA 30062