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BOMI, the education arm of the Building Owners & Managers Association, is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education institute that serves as training resource for corporations, government agencies, property management firms, unions and trade associations. BOMI works across industry sectors to improve the skills of professionals at many levels with property, facility and building systems responsibilities. Initial Tropical Plants holds the distinction as the only interior landscaping company to be approved by BOMI as an official CPD provider.
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“Education at this level isn’t new for the company,” says Jeff Mariola, president of Initial Tropical Plants. “The idea started with our research and development department in the United Kingdom by registering for the Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA) and offering accreditation through that organization. At that time, we sat down to determine where we could add education value to the industry in the United States. We contacted other organizations as well and BOMI had a very positive response to our proposal.”
To maintain active status of their professional designations, such as Real Property Administrator (RPA), Facilities Management Administrator (FMA) and System Maintenance Administrator (SMA), BOMI graduates must earn 18 CPD credits every three years through various industry training and activities. Mariola says Initial’s CPD program will focus on design, horticulture and health and safety related to plants in the workplace.
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“The program we’re offering was approved by BOMI and RIBA and is a solid overview of several aspects of interior landscape design,” he explains. “The goal is that as this educational program proves successful, we would be prepared to launch other modules that address different needs and information.” Mariola adds that the workshops will run 45 minutes to an hour and their frequency will be determined based on the initial response to the program. “In the U.K., they’re offering two to three workshops a month and it’s a relatively smaller market in that country,” he says. “Once we make announcements among the memberships of association throughout the industry that we’re doing this, we envision four to six workshops a month.”
Initial’s CPD program is not expected to bring in money for the company, as Mariola points out that the company has spent money on the time and training of more than 30 staff members on how to present the workshop. However, he sees the program as a win for both Initial and the industry overall.
“We’ve been the largest contributor to the Plants-At-Work initiative and have invested in other education opportunities in the industry, but we wanted to take a more aggressive stance,” he says. “This appointment by BOMI solidifies Initial Tropical Plants' position as the world leader at improving the quality of life in the workplace by bringing people and plants together.
“Over the last 15 to 20 years, I think the industry has lost touch with the design and architecture community, and you’ve seen that reflected in a lower use of plants in office buildings and other interior settings,” Mariola continues. “Our industry is small and we may not have the funds or the access or the clout to politically make a statement about the validity and benefits of plants; there are so many studies on the psychological and physiological benefits of plants and it’s been a challenge for our industry to get that message out. We really hope to create a whole industry buzz through education. If we can educate the architects and designers, we hope that will bring more knowledge to the end-users and property managers as well.”
Additional information on Initial’s CPD program is forthcoming. Learn more about the company and the benefits of interiorscaping at the Initial Tropical Plants Web site and it’s sister site, Plants-in-Buildings, sponsored by Initial.