During the 2024–25 fiscal year, Landscape Ontario’s membership team focused on sustaining engagement, strengthening recruitment and retention and supporting chapters and sector groups.
Informed by direct outreach, member feedback and close engagement with volunteers, our team’s work centred on maintaining a strong membership base, strengthening how members and volunteers are supported across the association, and building capacity for effective recruitment initiatives. This focus reflected a challenging business environment across the landscape sector, where retention, stability and clear member value were critical.
Engagement and retention
Member retention was a primary focus throughout the year. Amidst a difficult business environment for many landscape companies, the department prioritized proactive renewal outreach, direct follow-up and consistent communication with members.
As of August 31, 2025, 83 per cent of members renewed (representing 2,185 members), compared with 88 per cent (representing 2,288 members) at the end of the previous fiscal year. While renewal rates softened year over year, these results reflect stability in the core membership base despite continued pressure across the industry.
By fiscal year-end, renewal efforts were in a stronger position as the association moved beyond a transitional year and resolved early implementation challenges related to the transition to a new association management system.
Membership growth and recruitment
Alongside retention efforts, the team focused on strengthening recruitment to offset economic pressures and support overall membership stability.
LO saw encouraging momentum in new membership applications, including unusually high volumes of business memberships reviewed at several points during the fiscal year. In one period, more than 150 business applications were reviewed across two application review periods, signalling continued interest in membership.
Recruitment initiatives included direct outreach, in-person engagement and a targeted direct mail campaign. Feedback gathered from new members also provided insight into motivations for joining and informed recruitment messaging and onboarding approaches.
Recruitment efforts during the fiscal year resulted in 437 new paying members. This activity supported a modest year-over-year increase in total membership, from 2,603 members in 2024 to 2,622 members as of Aug. 31, 2025.
Membership at fiscal year-end reflected a diverse mix of business and individual members across multiple segments of the sector, including:
| a | 2024 | 2025 |
| Green Trade Member | 1,567 | 1,496 |
| Green Trade Sole Proprietor | 122 | 149 |
| Green Trade Intro | 22 | 72 |
| Green Trade Supplier | 462 | 450 |
| Green Trade Chapter Supplier | 353 | 379 |
| Green Trade Individual | 76 | 76 |
| Total | 2,602 | 2,622 |
Chapter and sector engagement
Strong chapter and sector engagement remains essential to delivering real value to members, supporting advocacy efforts and maintaining a connected provincial network. Supporting chapters and sector groups remained a core responsibility of the Membership team, with staff working closely with volunteer leaders to support local engagement, coordination and governance across the province.
In the fall, we brought together more than 40 chapter board volunteers – with every chapter represented – for a chapter leadership summit to share what’s working, identify common challenges and inform ongoing refinements to how chapters are supported and engaged.
Aligning systems and roles to support members
Throughout the year, the team continued efforts to strengthen its operations to provide the best possible support to members. Work continued on upgrading the member management system and developing an enhanced member portal. These improvements were designed to streamline renewals, improve service delivery and provide members with direct access to account information and benefits, enhancing their overall member experience.
While the initial portal launched in August 2024, many enhancements were made throughout the fiscal year. As of early January 2026, the portal had recorded more than 1,000 member logins, reflecting growing adoption and use.
Late in the fiscal year, LO undertook a strategic realignment of internal responsibilities to better align staff expertise with organizational priorities. As part of this change, responsibility for coordinating chapter and sector group events moved outside of the membership department.
At the same time, a dedicated Chapter and Sector Group Administrator role was established to provide consistent, focused support to volunteer leaders across the association. Serving as a central point of contact, this position was created to strengthen communication, coordination and day-to-day support for LO Chapters and Sector Groups.
The realignment also brought communications and membership under shared leadership, allowing the association to take a more integrated and cohesive approach to how members, partners and prospects experience Landscape Ontario — from messaging and outreach to engagement and recruitment.
Foundations for the year ahead
By the end of the fiscal year, stronger foundations were in place. With this, the team was well positioned to take a fresh look at member engagement – from thinking strategically about member recruitment to creatively exploring ways to strengthen connections with members and volunteers at the heart of LO.
Respectfully submitted,
Penny Tantakis
LO Membership and Communications Director
