In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Home & Garden (H&G) Team has developed safety protocols to adapt interactions with property owners, residents, and members of the community (referred to as residents) during the 2020 field season. The intention of this document is to align our work with the direction provided from the Ministry of Health (www.gov.bc.ca) in order to work safely within the COVID-19 crisis.
The H&G team provides a range of services and may include the following activities: obtaining access consent, on-site planning, delivery of supplies, soil testing, soil excavation, landscaping, and lawn care treatment. H&G staff and our contractors will be abiding by the following safety protocols to minimize the risks of COVID-19 transmission:
- Property access consents will be submitted online at www.thep.ca or emailed to programs@thep.ca.
- H&G staff and contractors will NOT enter residences unless pre-planned. Residents will be contacted to determine the preferred way to interact (e.g., text, video call, phone).
- Documents that require review or approval will be sent electronically.
- When H&G staff and contractors are on the property to complete field activities (i.e. ground-cover evaluation, property walk-throughs, excavation monitoring, soil testing, etc. they will take the following precautions:
- Text or call the resident to note their arrival (instead of knocking on the door).
- Avoid physical contact such as handshakes when greeting people.
- Maintain a distance of 2 metres (m) apart from residents while on site.
- Whenever possible, reduce in-person meetings to virtual meetings and hold site meetings outside while maintaining physical distancing requirements.
- Provide a scheduled daily phone or email check-in with the resident at active sites.
- H&G staff and contractors always follow rigorous health and safety protocols and have adapted work practices to include COVID-19 hygiene best practices including daily personal health monitoring, frequent hand washing, and disinfecting high touch surfaces.
- H&G staff will wear a face covering for any visits that need to take place indoors, practice physical distancing and good hand hygiene before during and after the visit, as well as residents will be asked to answer verbal health monitoring questions prior to an indoor interaction.
Note that because of this situation, delays in providing services may be experienced. Please help us by abiding by the following guidelines to help keep our community safe. Without these measures, we will not be able to provide yard and garden programs.
