Green Industry Professional Development Courses
Improve the quality of your landscape workforce with Penn State Extension’s suite of online courses. Developed with the support of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, these courses were designed specifically for long-term employees, managers and crew leaders for professional development, but also include training for entry-level employees to support businesses onboarding new crew members. Training is offered in the areas of plant identification, pruning trees and shrubs, plant biology and taxonomy, pest and disease management as well as other topics. Get started today!
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Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Vehicle and Transporting Equipment
Sections 5Length 1 hourLearn how to load, secure, and inspect equipment on a trailer. Follow safety guidelines when plowing snow or when a vehicle breaks down. -
Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Pruning and Tree Work
Sections 3Length 1 hourLearn to identify and control potential hazards when pruning or felling trees. Learn to use ladders, lifts, and personal protective equipment. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Basic Worksite Safety
Sections 5Length 1 hourLearn safety guidelines for working outside, moving heavy objects, and with ladders. Prepare for hazards like heat, cold, and insects. -
Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Basic Power Equipment
Sections 3Length 1 hourLearn basic safety for power equipment including augers, saws, skidsteers, backhoes, and tractors. Learn how to create a maintenance schedule. -
Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Pesticides
Sections 6Length 4 hoursLearn about pesticide labels, regulations, and application. Follow procedures for storage, spills, emergencies, and safety precautions. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$19.00
Landscaping Safety: Emergency Preparedness and First Aid Basics
Sections 3Length 1 hourLearn how to plan and prepare for signs of and basic responses to common medical emergencies on landscape job sites. -
Online Courses$59.00
Design Basics for Residential Landscapes
Sections 8Length 6 hoursLearn about landscape design, elements, planning, site assessment, cost estimates, regulatory requirements, sustainable practices, and plan execution. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Bulbs and Other Geophytes
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLearn identification features of 35 bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes of the Northeast and their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Plants for Green Infrastructure
Sections 3Length 3 hoursLearn about plants to use in rain gardens and green roofs in Pennsylvania and mid-Atlantic states. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Ornamental Grasses
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of ornamental grasses of the Northeast and understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Native Plants
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLearn identification features of native plants of Pennsylvania and surrounding regions. Understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Groundcovers
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of groundcovers of the Northeast and understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Vines
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of climbing vines of the Northeast and understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Coniferous Shrubs and Groundcovers
Sections 5Length 3 hoursLearn identification features of 20 coniferous shrubs and groundcovers of the Northeast and understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs and Groundcovers
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLearn identification features of 30 broadleaf evergreen shrubs and groundcovers of the Northeast and their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Deciduous Shrubs
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of 43 common deciduous shrubs of the Northeast and how to understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$59.00
Weed Management for Ornamental Landscapes
Sections 6Length 8 hoursLearn how to identify and manage weeds in the northern United States using integrated pest management and herbicides. Earn PDA core and category credits. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Coniferous Trees
Sections 5Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of 35 common coniferous trees of the Northeast and how to understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Biology, Taxonomy, and Morphology
Sections 4Length 2 hoursLearn about plant classification, parts, names, cultivars, processes, and development. This course is presented with a focus on managing plants in a landscape. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Flowering Trees
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of 34 common flowering trees of the Northeast and how to understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$39.00
Plant Identification and Usage: Shade Trees
Sections 4Length 3 hoursLandscapers learn identification features of 35 common deciduous shade trees of the Northeast and how to understand their botanical names and landscape usage. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$59.00
Pruning Small Trees and Shrubs for Landscapers
Sections 6Length 4 hoursLandscape professionals learn timing, tools, and techniques for successful pruning of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Reading Landscape Plans
Sections 4Length 2 hoursThis course helps businesses train beginner and seasonal employees to read landscape plans in order to place hardscapes and plants in a landscape. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: Pruning Basics
Sections 6Length 2 hours, 30 minutesThis course helps landscape businesses train beginner and seasonal employees in pruning trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants, and apply the skills at work. Earn PCH credits. -
Online Courses$19.00
Employee Landscape Training: New Lawn Establishment
Sections 1Length 30 minutesThis course helps landscape businesses train beginner and seasonal employees to prepare, till, grade, fertilize, seed, mow and water new lawns and turfgrass. Earn PCH credits.
