Mad Love Monday | Alyssa Berger - Infinite Landscape & Design Ltd.
Combining forces and best-fit backgrounds to build a company founded in creativity and functionality.
We spent our summers performing landscaping jobs and quickly fell in love with the work.
Combining forces and best-fit backgrounds to build a company founded in creativity and functionality.
We spent our summers performing landscaping jobs and quickly fell in love with the work. After pursuing post-secondary education, we quickly recognized we both had not only complementary educational backgrounds and experience but also strengths.
Megan was the creative one; I was the functional one. We knew they had something unique to bring to clients: A realistic approach to landscaping that caters to our unique Alberta climate while providing visually appealing outdoor spaces. As the name implies, Infinite Landscape & Design gives clients a beautiful, usable outdoor space created for a northern climate and built to last a lifetime.
As young women in the construction industry, it often takes time to gain customers and trade partners confidence that we are able to design and construct as well as, if not better, than many men in our industry. As we complete more projects, we continue to impress and change the view people have about women in trades. We love the challenges that come with seasonal construction, it makes success all the more rewarding.
While the company is new & our family life isn’t demanding, we are able to put in long hours without worrying about work-life balance. Hopefully, putting in the hours early on in the company will provide us with the opportunity to take a step back once home life ramps up. Networking with like-minded women provides us with the opportunity to explore partnerships & create supportive friendships. YBB is a place where women don’t compete but lift one another up & we are happy to be a part of the community.
learn more about enhancing your landscape with all four seasons in Alberta
When planning for any landscape project in a northern climate, it is crucial to consider not only what the project will look like in the summer months, but also year-round aesthetic. Spending our warm summers outdoors is the obvious reason to have nice landscaping but what happens once the weather cools and the leaves start to change? We are still going to look outside and what better than to have a beautiful yard even once the snow starts to fall. Let’s flip through the calendar and provide insight on how to maximize your property all year long!
Spring
After a conceptual design of your property is complete, we need to consider which plants will compliment your design and vision. When selecting plants for a project we have to consider plant size, shape, texture, foliage and bloom times. Springtime brings on lots of new colours that we missed during the long winter. It is the time and most plants tend to bloom bringing birds and bees back to your yard. It is important to select these blooms to be diverse in size and colour to get the most out of your landscape. Blooms come in many different shapes and sizes from the large bunches found on hydrangeas to the tiny flowers of forget-me-nots. It is important to choose a variety of sizes to add varying textures to your yard in addition to the diverse colours.
Summer
Short and sweet, Albertans need to make the most of our summer months. Although many plants bloom in the spring there are also lots that will bring some colour to your summer landscape. It is equally as important to find plants that will have varying colour and texture throughout the summer months too.
Multiformity in your plants ensures balance amongst your project and creates more variance for the eye. We try to layer short pants in front of tall plants to create appealing depth. This practice allows you to use more plants in a design while also ensuring they don’t end up hidden from view. Height changes also translated into the winter months, but we will get to that later.
Autumn…
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Email Address info@infinitelandscape.ca
Website www.infinitelandscape.ca
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/infinitelandscapeanddesign/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/infinitelandscapeanddesign
Submission by Infinite Landscape Design
Improving Your Child's Mental Health & Emotional Well-Being
Parents play an important role in the healthy development of their children. In today’s world, there is a big focus on mental health and supporting children to boost their self-esteem and self-confidence, but the amount of information at our fingertips can be very overwhelming.
Tips to Help Improve your Child’s Mental Health & Emotional Well-Being
Parents play an important role in the healthy development of their children. In today’s world, there is a big focus on mental health and supporting children to boost their self-esteem and self-confidence, but the amount of information at our fingertips can be very overwhelming. The Zebra Centre has put together a few tips for parents to help identify when their child may be struggling, respond to their child’s behaviour and promote their child’s emotional well-being.
How can I tell if my child is struggling?
Many children who are struggling will express themselves with behaviours that are different from their “normal”. Some of these behaviour changes could look like:
Negative talk about themselves, blaming themselves for things beyond their control
Difficulty concentrating
Increased feelings of worry, guilt, fear, irritability, sadness, anger, helplessness, loneliness and rejection
Loss of interest in activities they enjoy
Changes in school performance
Overreacting or sudden outbursts of anger or tears
Changes in appetite and sleep patterns
Difficulty relaxing and sleeping
Every child is different and will express themselves in a different way. As parents, it is important to pay attention to your child’s behaviour. When you notice a change, talk to you children about what might be going on instead of reacting to the behaviour. This will help yourself and your child separate their feelings from their behaviour. These conversations can help teach children to work through their negative feelings and problem solve in the future. As one article states, “Feelings are like important road signs if we understand them and listen to them, they can teach us where to go next and what to look for,” (7 tips to improve your child’s mental health and emotional well-being).
How do I start building healthy emotional well-being?
Whether you believe it or not, you have a lot of power in helping your child develop healthy emotional well-being as a parent. Here are a few tips that you can incorporate into your parenting routine:
Encourage, don’t discourage
As a parent, it is likely that you have a vision of what you would like your child’s future to be. However, this vision may be different from what your child wants for themselves. It is important to encourage your child to be true to themselves, even if it is different from what you had hoped for. Pay attention to your child’s interests and allow them to try new things. Your child’s journey is complex and it is important to empower your child to make decisions and explore who they are. As a parent, your unconditional acceptance means a lot to your child.
Provide an emotionally and physically safe place for your child to grow
Creating a place where your child feels safe emotionally and physically is important. Disciplining with respect and not shame, normalizing feelings by talking about them, and demonstrating patience are a few strategies to consider. In today’s world, parents should set healthy boundaries with children, especially around internet safety. Explaining why a boundary is in place and including your child in the decision-making process can demonstrate to your child that their voice is important.
Model the behaviour you want to see
Kids pick up and model the behaviours they learn from the people around them. Parents can teach children healthy patterns by modelling the behaviours they want to see. For example: openly sharing feelings, practicing self-care, treating others with respect, disengaging from technology and using body-positive language, etc.
Stop and think before you react
Before reacting to a child’s behaviour, it is important to stop and think through your response. Instead of disciplining with shame, use respect. Instead of yelling and nagging, see the situation as a teaching opportunity. Again, model how you would like your child to manage conflict in their own lives.
Making changes can be challenging, however, helping your child improve their emotional wellbeing is worth it! For more information, check out the resources below.
Check out this great resource activity booklet by Jennifer Jorgensen, Recreation Therapist, CTRS. Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing!
Resources:
https://parentswithconfidence.com/everyday-ways-to-nourish-a-childs-mental-health/
https://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/mental_health
https://www.carizon.ca/7-tips-improve-childs-mental-health-emotional-well/
Resources to Report Child Abuse:
Edmonton Police Service: 780-423-4567
RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police): Your local detachment
Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-387-5437
Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or Text CONNECT to 686868
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477
Online exploitation tip line: cybertip.ca
Submission by Zebra Child Protection Centre
Mad Love Monday | Aisha Turna - Fairly Dental Staffing
My name is Aisha and I am the Founder of Fairly Dental Staffing. I was born in Toronto and my family and I moved to Montreal shortly after. I was raised there until the age of 9, and then moved to Edmonton. My family is from Tanzania, Africa and my roots are traced back to India.
My name is Aisha and I am the Founder of Fairly Dental Staffing. I was born in Toronto and my family and I moved to Montreal shortly after. I was raised there until the age of 9, and then moved to Edmonton. My family is from Tanzania, Africa and my roots are traced back to India.
My interests include travelling, picking up new skills, and getting creative. I love dental hygiene and how much value I bring to patients by keeping their teeth in their mouths!
I'm a total people person. I went into the field because I didn't know what to do after high school but for some reason I wanted to study in Toronto where my home town is! My mom is a dental assistant and she recommended a program in Toronto specifically for Dental Hygiene. I hadn't even researched properly what the job entailed, I just got excited to move to Toronto and agreed to go! I was 19 at the time and had finished high school 9 months prior to going. Oddly enough, I was one of the younger students in class at the private school I attended.
Toronto is like my second home, I visit the city frequently. The city is very lively and I love the vibes.
I was a Temporary Dental Hygienist most of my career because I cannot stay in one office as I feel my growth is limited. Exploring different offices, meeting fellow dental professionals from dental offices, and meeting patients from all walks of life is very rewarding. It made me very happy knowing that I was referred to as "gentle hands" from my patients!
I was working with Dental Temp Agencies and gradually became self employed and worked between a few offices. I loved being independent and having a flexible work schedule. I wanted the flexibility because I love travelling! I've traveled around Europe, USA, Canada, and Africa. My next ventures will be India and Thailand, hopefully when COVID-19 clears up.
I graduated dental hygiene in 2012 and have been working since. I can adjust well to my surroundings and work with alot of dental offices in Edmonton currently.
The idea of creating an app came to me one day when I was sitting down doing my year end paper work. I had been so use to getting texts and emails for shifts and having to fill out lots of paper work per shift just to get paid. There would be times where I would get 15-20 texts a day just regarding new shifts! A few times, the texts would get lost in translation between Temps/Temp Agencies and I would show up to offices with no shift or being double booked. Yikes! As I was putting together my year end paperwork, I thought to myself "wait a minute.. why isn't there an app for this?!" I began to write the idea down. I sat on this for a year and then one day it occurred to me that I wanted to take a chance at doing something I am passionate about before I leave this world! An invention of my own. And thus, Fairly began. Fairly was a random name I came up with. It made me think of the word FAIRY and FAIR. I love the idea of tooth fairies and I wanted to create a system in which the pricing is fair, the app is fairly easy to use; and I combined them and that's how FAIRLY was created. Random. But it seemed to work! Dental Offices have a Web App in which they create shifts. Temps pick up the shifts with a Mobile App.
Fairly has been successfully running for over a year now. I'm a one woman show bootstrapping my way through! I ran the business in Edmonton and now I am looking to expand to the rest of North America. I will start with major Canadian cities such as: Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto. If you are reading this and you are a dental professional, please join us by downloading "Fairly Staffing" on Google Play or the Apple Store.
It has been such an amazing journey going from being an employee to self contracted to a business owner helping people find work! I've built some amazing relationships in this past year and will continue to do so. I recently reduced the placement fees of the web app for Dental Offices from $35 to $25 a placement. In the dental field, everyone knows that getting a Temp can be quiet expensive and can take time. With the use of Fairlys technology, find coverage with a faster turnaround and let us do the work of finding the right Temp for your office. Using our built in review system, registration ID verification, and work experience - we will help you find the coverage you need at a low cost.
Save time and money and create a shift when you need coverage. Instantly, over hundreds of Temps will get notified at once and be able to pick up a shift quicker. Temps, get a peace of mind knowing that you will get paid much more than a typical Temp Agency because Fairly is a shift filling platform that does not take a significant chunk of your hard earned wages.
This has been such a lovely journey and I look forward to connecting with more amazing dental professionals and dental offices in the near future!
Email Address support@fairlystaffing.com
Website www.fairlystaffing.com
Instagram instagram.com/fairlystaffing
Facebook facebook.com/fairlystaffing
Epicexperiences.ca is the online platform that specializes in unique experience gifts and adventure tours that bring excitement, fun and a “Wow!” emotions to any special occasion. We are on a mission to simplify gift shopping and provide a convenient gift-giving solution. And my goal is to bring those positive emotions and precious moments to as many people as possible in Canada and beyond through Epic Experiences.