Meet the Speaker: Ron Alexander Presents at COAM Workshop in St. Louis
The Composting and Organics Association of Missouri (COAM) recently received grant funding from the St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management District and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to hold an upcoming free workshop: Soil Specifications and Management with a Changing Climate. COAM is a non-profit corporation of public and private organizations and individuals dedicated to increasing the quality, value and usage of recycled organics in Missouri by providing education, information and resources and promoting activities and legislation that build healthy soils, benefit people and minimize negative environmental impacts.
I am a horticulturist with over 30 years of experience working with compost in a variety of applications; all over the United States (and the world). I have also been involved in developing the national compost testing program (the US Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance Program), and many state and national compost use specifications. I am looking forward to attending and speaking at the COAM workshop. I will discuss in detail how to best specify topsoil and compost and how to specify their usage in future projects. Key parameters to include in topsoil and compost specifications will be reviewed as well as practical applications of both. Additionally, this workshop will also review regional and other specifications for the use of compost in bioretention soils and rooftop garden media. Finally, the workshop will illustrate how recycled organic products - compost and mulch - can be used to create and manage soils and improve plant growth.
The workshop will be held November 15 at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Missouri and registration is limited. Register today and I hope to see you all there!
Ron Alexander has over 30 years experience in composting and organics recycling. He was instrumental in drafting AASHTO specs for compost blankets, berms and socks and working with state DOT’s on the adoption of AASHTO specs across the US. Ron has also helped to secure funding and coordinate university research and project implementation for compost blanket, sock performance and flood control applications with WRAP in the UK. Ron is the nation’s most experienced compost marketing consultant, completed over 400 related consulting projects, worked with over 200 composting and organics recycling facilities throughout North America and the World and has written over 300 papers and presentations.