District of North Vancouver testimonia

We received this testimonial today from Brad Snelling, Park Designer at District of North Vancouver:

Playground distributors are notorious for overcharging us for engineered wood fibre surfacing and refusing to give us their supplier name when we ask to order separately.  You folks have broken this monopoly and have been kind enough to allow us to order for other uses and to stockpile when necessary.

Your staff are excellent – everyone from the installers to the sales rep have been great to deal with; they are fast and efficient and are interested in our projects. We appreciate the reliable and prompt service and working with nice people.

Thank you!

Brad Snelling

Park Designer

District of North Vancouver

 

Thank you, Brad – our pleasure to serve you!

Below is a time-lapse video of one of our projects with District of North Vancouver:

Winter Air Miles promotion!

2013/11/28

Denbow is offering a Winter Air Miles promotion this season on all your purchases!

Earn DOUBLE rewards – that’s TWO Air Miles for every $50 spent!

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Keeping it Green – Sustainable Landscaping

Today we share with you an article about sustainable landscaping, soil and compost quality and Terraseeding™ from Island Farm and Garden Magazine right here on BC’s coast. 

“Sustainable landscaping is the practice of creating gardens and green spaces that are in balance with the natural local climate, environmentally friendly and help preserve resources. This includes a focus on composting, pest control measures that rely on natural solutions plus an awareness of how shade trees and the use of native species can create energy efficient landscapes.

Sheri DeBoer of EasyLiving Landscapes notes “It’s very important to start with a good assessment of the site. Awareness of the naturally occurring growing conditions like soil type, wind flow, sunlight saturation and direction allow us to create a landscape that will not only be beautiful, but thrive in this climate.”

As DeBoer works primarily with EasyLiving’s environmental and blower truck division, ESCCO Soil + Erosion, she is passionate about the positive impact that good soil can have on even the smallest scale. “A single shovel full of rich soil contains more species of organisms than can be found above ground in the entire Amazon rain forest. These organisms have developed over the millennia to work in tandem with local natural flora and fauna to create the most optimum growing medium for our ecosystem. Those microbes also help break down pollutants that exist in our urban environment. Good compost is everything.”

Terraseeding™ is a new system designed to ‘seed with soil’ in a cost effective and low-impact manner. A compost blend is filled into a blower truck and blown into the desired areas while being amended with grass seed as it is blown. In one application, without raking, wheelbarrows or graders working over your yard, the seed is being planted in an even coat – and can even be applied over existing grass that needs topdressing.

Denbow seeding services

We are happy to assist you with specifying Terraseeding™ on upcoming projects!

 

Because this Terraseeding process keeps areas vegetated and permeable, stormwater is able to be slowed and treated prior to reaching the stormwater infrastructure. This is beneficial because as it hits the stormwater pipes, the water is fast tracked to the closest stream, river or ocean. The more we can keep water onsite, the better; because otherwise whatever was on the road or in the lawn could be instantly transported to sensitive fish habitat. Through the use of the blower truck, ESCCO Soil + Erosion can even build structural vegetated retaining which conforms to the contours of the land, continues the cooling effect that vegetation provides and keeps the area naturalized while achieving the desired affect of retaining the earth, not to mention keeping it beautiful.

 

EasyLiving is a proponent of low impact development in urban areas, and their commercial projects make use of bioswales, permeable paving stones and rain gardens. A bioswale is a depression created to act as a man-made stream bed around a heavily paved area, like a parking lot. The bioswale allows for run-off water to gather in the in the depression and filter through gravel and vegetative matter, this process cleans the run-off before it enters nearby natural streams or storm sewers. Similarly, permeable paving stones are laid on the ground while allowing water to pass into the media beneath to be treated and infiltrate into the groundwater rather than flow offsite.

A rain garden allows this same run-off to enter a sunken garden area planted with native wetland species like rushes, ferns and wildflowers, which eliminates the need for fertilizers or chemicals. The resulting root system not only reduces erosion that can occur in urban developments, it also enhances the filtration of run-off water. Rain gardens and bioswales can reduce pollution by up to 30%. These vegetative features also serve as habitats for birds, frogs and bees.

As DeBoer says, “Humans need nature. We absorb the negative ions released by the grass we walk through barefoot, we love the smell after a thunderstorm as negative ions were released in the atmosphere. Negative ions boost a metabolism and alkalize the body, it’s just plain healthy to be in a green environment!”

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The Story of Solutions

Today we continue our series featuring the Story of Stuff videos.  See our previous posts about the Story of Stuff and the Story of Change.

The Story of Solutions, released in October 2013, explores how we can move our economy in a more sustainable and just direction, starting with orienting ourselves toward a new goal. In the current ‘Game of More’…

EMPLOYEE PROFILE: David Slykerman

employee profile

Dave Slykerman

Dave has worked at Denbow for just over nine years.  He started his career at Denbow as a truck driver, mainly hauling forest-by-products from the BC’s interior to the coast.  Dave proved that he is capable to take on many new challenges along the way.  He has become very versatile and can do almost any operations job within Denbow with ease.  Dave has the ability to run excavator, walking floor, grinders, loaders, blower trucks and the list goes on…

To his fellow employees, Dave is known to be a very good equipment operator as well as very reliable.  He is genuine and also calm under pressure. If you have any idea of the type of work Denbow does, you would understand that it is a very good quality to have.

Outside work, Dave is busy spending time with his wife Kristy and his kids, Mikkaela, Keigan and Cameron.  As a family they enjoy motor biking by the river as well as camping in his faithful and restored classic Winnebago.  Most of Dave’s spare time is spent working on these projects in his new shop (which he hopes to complete soon!).  When he gets out of the shop, he enjoys hunting and fishing.

Thank you, Dave, for your willingness to always help everyone at Denbow!

2013 11 20 Slykerman

Refreshing our Equipment

You might have noticed that Denbow’s trucks are sporting a new look these days!

We’ve been working on new paint and decals on our trucks with our new logo and colours.  What a difference that makes!

Truck #807 before and after new paint and decals!

Truck #807 before and after new paint and decals!

Soon we will start with new wraps on our trailers – check back soon to see the design… or see us on the road!

Cascadia Green Wall Installation Video

Curious about how we build a Cascadia Green Wall System?  Check out our latest time-lapse video of our installation of a Cascadia wall at the Good Luck Truck stop in Abbotsford:

Equestrian Bedding

2013/11/13

Ask us about bonus AIR MILES for new equestrian bedding clients on your first order delivered in the month of November and you will earn 100 bonus AIR MILES reward miles!

We supply a variety of sawdust types to meet our customer’s unique needs.  Cypress Sawdust is preferred sawdust/shavings for horse bedding. It is produced locally at our coastal sawmills.   Spruce Pine Fir (SPF) is another option. It is drier sawdust from the interior; is white in colour and a different cut.

We also supply wood chips, ground cover and hog fuel for a variety of applications.  Delivery is available in various quantities and in bulk push-out delivery or blown directly into barns, paddocks and other areas.

View our informational Horse Bedding PDF:

horse bedding one pager

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Marketplace Chaplains

One of Denbow’s company values is ‘Community’.  This encompasses the community in which we do business in, as well as the community of Denbow employees.  Owner Bill Boesterd places a high value on people and because of this, he has enlisted Marketplace Chaplains Canada to help provide ‘Exceptional Employee Care’.

Marketplace Chaplains Canada provides care for Denbow employees and their families.   Our chaplains visit Denbow once a week, checking in with employees and making themselves available.  Employees are encouraged to utilize the chaplains if they need to talk about anything – issues at work, in their personal life, or if a crisis situation arises.  The professionally trained and experienced Chaplains build relationships of trust and confidence and are on call at all hours to help out with any life issues.  Bill tells his employees “I hope this provides an opportunity for you to be heard around concerns or suggested improvements, for you and your family to be cared for during a tough time, and a host of other care opportunities.”

If you are interested in learning more about Marketplace Chaplains, please visit  www.mchap.ca.

Marketplace Chaplains Canada

 

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day… What does it mean to you?

Do you have a connection with a soldier who has fought for our freedom?

arnhem oosterbeek war cemetary

Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, the Netherlands

This year, Remembrance Day is especially meaningful to me.  I recently travelled to Europe and while there I visited some World War II sites.  My small glimpse into the devastation and destruction of war has given me a little more understanding of the terrible experiences soldiers faced.  My appreciation of the sacrifices that the Allied troops made for our freedom is much greater now.

I visited a number of sites significant in World War 2 in various places (museums, cemeteries, concentration camp & memorials) as well as learned about a family member who was involved in the Dutch Resistance.  A great-uncle who I never had the privilege of knowing because he was captured & killed by the Germans.

Lest we forget the sacrifice of all those who have died for our freedom - a freedom that we too often take for granted.

Lest we forget the sacrifice of all those who have died for our freedom.

By Willetta Les

Denbow Office Manager