June 6, 2025
The team from Algonquin College.
Young talent shines at 2025 Skills Ontario Competition
Canada’s largest skilled trades and technologies competition took place at the Toronto Congress Centre May 5-6, 2025. With over 20,000 visitors each year, the Skills Ontario Competition provides Landscape Ontario with its largest opportunity to connect with youth and promote the many viable and rewarding career opportunities in the landscape horticulture trades.
The competition offers a unique opportunity for top secondary and post-secondary students to demonstrate they are the best of the best in their field. Over two and a half days, they impress educators, family, friends and prospective employers. Winners are awarded with Gold, Silver or Bronze medals, plus the opportunity to compete at the Skills Canada National Competition.
Judges were very impressed by the students’ dedication and determination to complete their landscapes.
Congratulations to the secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Cole V and Grayden C (Durham District School Board)
Silver: Cameron C and Jonathan T (Trillium Lakelands District School Board)
Bronze: Matteo V and Jesse P (Niagara Catholic District School Board)
Congratulations to the post-secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Matthew L and Yike Y (Algonquin College)
Silver: Allyson M and Cody S(Mohawk College)
Bronze: Beth-Anne M and Olivia H (Mohawk College)
Best of luck to Matthew L and Yike Y of Algonquin College who qualified to compete at the Skills Canada National Competition in Regina, Sask., May 29-30.
Secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Alexis K (Niagara District School Board)
Silver: Maya B (Niagara District School Board)
Bronze: Mateo M (Halton Catholic District School Board)
Post-secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Monica L (Humber College)
Silver: Taylor C (Humber College)
The Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation (Foundation) provides monetary support totalling $6,600 to the gold, silver and bronze winners. The Foundation is the research and scholarship arm of Landscape Ontario with the mandate to ensure a healthy future for the horticultural industry. Each year, the Foundation awards a variety of scholarships to students enrolled in landscape and horticulture programs across Ontario.
Thank you to our volunteers and suppliers
The competitions would not be possible without our dedicated volunteers who give many long hours to support this event. Landscape Ontario would like to give an extra shout-out to our wonderful Tech Chairs, Rob Tester of TNT Property Maintenance and Beth Edney of Designs by the Yard, for their year-long commitment and passion for supporting youth in the trade.
Rob Tester (Tech Chair), Darren Murawski, Rob Bowers, Jason Falco, Thomas Blatter, Colin MacMillan, Eckhard Lutz, Michael LaPorte.
Landscape Design:
Beth Edney (Tech Chair), Jordan Weir, John Bright, Heather Jerrard, Rieley Mykytulk, Chris Tourney.
Materials/Supplier Sponsors:
Greenhorizons Sod Farms, NVK Nurseries, Techo-Bloc, Miller Compost, Dufferin Aggregates, Lockhart Excavation, Conestoga Roofing, Creative Landscape Depot, Dynascape.
The LO team also provided a Career Exploration Showcase booth to promote landscape horticulture careers. Staff and members were able to connect with students, parents, educators and employment service providers to share opportunities, programs and resources for youth considering our industry.
The competition offers a unique opportunity for top secondary and post-secondary students to demonstrate they are the best of the best in their field. Over two and a half days, they impress educators, family, friends and prospective employers. Winners are awarded with Gold, Silver or Bronze medals, plus the opportunity to compete at the Skills Canada National Competition.
Horticulture and Landscape Competition
In teams of two, students follow a prepared landscape design to construct a miniature landscape with both hard and softscape components. The secondary school competition is a fast-paced, one-day competition. The post-secondary school competition includes a larger, more complex design and takes place over two days.Judges were very impressed by the students’ dedication and determination to complete their landscapes.
Congratulations to the secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Cole V and Grayden C (Durham District School Board)
Silver: Cameron C and Jonathan T (Trillium Lakelands District School Board)
Bronze: Matteo V and Jesse P (Niagara Catholic District School Board)
Congratulations to the post-secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Matthew L and Yike Y (Algonquin College)
Silver: Allyson M and Cody S(Mohawk College)
Bronze: Beth-Anne M and Olivia H (Mohawk College)
Best of luck to Matthew L and Yike Y of Algonquin College who qualified to compete at the Skills Canada National Competition in Regina, Sask., May 29-30.
Landscape Design Competition
The secondary and post-secondary Landscape Design competitions are a one-day event where students receive a base plan, site photos and a list of requests from a client. They can complete their landscape design by hand or using Dynascape software.Secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Alexis K (Niagara District School Board)
Silver: Maya B (Niagara District School Board)
Bronze: Mateo M (Halton Catholic District School Board)
Post-secondary competition medallists:
Gold: Monica L (Humber College)
Silver: Taylor C (Humber College)
The Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation (Foundation) provides monetary support totalling $6,600 to the gold, silver and bronze winners. The Foundation is the research and scholarship arm of Landscape Ontario with the mandate to ensure a healthy future for the horticultural industry. Each year, the Foundation awards a variety of scholarships to students enrolled in landscape and horticulture programs across Ontario.
Thank you to our volunteers and suppliers
The competitions would not be possible without our dedicated volunteers who give many long hours to support this event. Landscape Ontario would like to give an extra shout-out to our wonderful Tech Chairs, Rob Tester of TNT Property Maintenance and Beth Edney of Designs by the Yard, for their year-long commitment and passion for supporting youth in the trade.
Competition volunteers
Horticulture and Landscape:Rob Tester (Tech Chair), Darren Murawski, Rob Bowers, Jason Falco, Thomas Blatter, Colin MacMillan, Eckhard Lutz, Michael LaPorte.
Landscape Design:
Beth Edney (Tech Chair), Jordan Weir, John Bright, Heather Jerrard, Rieley Mykytulk, Chris Tourney.
Materials/Supplier Sponsors:
Greenhorizons Sod Farms, NVK Nurseries, Techo-Bloc, Miller Compost, Dufferin Aggregates, Lockhart Excavation, Conestoga Roofing, Creative Landscape Depot, Dynascape.
Visitor engagement
Landscape Ontario’s Youth Engagement team also led a hands-on workshop for grades seven and eight students to introduce them to the landscape horticulture trade. Students learned about the benefits of urban trees, why planting native tree species is important and received hands-on experience scarifying, soaking and planting a Kentucky coffee tree seed. Students took their planted seeds back to their classrooms with instructions for care and eventual transplanting.The LO team also provided a Career Exploration Showcase booth to promote landscape horticulture careers. Staff and members were able to connect with students, parents, educators and employment service providers to share opportunities, programs and resources for youth considering our industry.