July 27, 2023 | Issue-19

H-O-T



 Unfortunately the title reflects the recent weeks of above normal temperatures rather than a super-hot business environment! Even though some improved marketing practices might "heat-up" the amount of business for your company, we cannot do too much about the weather except working smartly each and every day until we once again have some more reasonable summertime temperatures.

One step to minimize exposure to the heat and humidity is to start and end the day a little earlier. Doing so helps to avoid that oppressive, late afternoon combination of heat and humidity that can take a toll on both your workers and productivity. Trust me, the vast majority of your clients will totally understand these summertime adjustments of hours, all they care about is getting the job completed. This also provides you with a great outreach opportunity - notifying them of a change of hours for the health and safety of your workforce. Showing empathy and caring about your employees goes a long way to retaining your customers and can lead to new clients for your business. Your summertime hours adjustment messaging can also mention the addition of new services or products and dates for any future outreach events featuring the company.

Even with an adjustment of working hours it is still going to be hot! Work in the shade when practical to do so. If needed, create your own shade my adding an umbrella or canopy to your work station. Reducing direct exposure to the sun goes a long way towards avoiding nasty things like heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and exposure of your skin to harmful solar radiation. Proper gear such as long sleeves, hats with brims, sunglasses and sunscreen can make the summertime work environment more tolerable and definitely safer for all the workers.

If the morning forecast predicts ridiculously high heat indices and outdoor heat warnings, then consider an inside shop work day if the facility is airconditioned or has plenty of large fans for air movement. Remember that high temperatures, humidity and direct sunlight are not the only factors that contribute to heat stress - so does limited air movement.

Besides....when was the last time the shop had a good cleaning, painting and organizing?

A combination of water and sports drinks are essential to maintaining good body health during the summertime heat. It is easy to become dehydrated and at the very least suffer debilitating muscle cramps when doing physical work on these hot days. Always remember that drinking only large quantities of water can also be very bad for your body by causing salt deficiencies in the blood, a condition known as hyponatremia. Even the U.S. Marine Corps endorses the combined use of these two hydration fluids for their recruits at Paris Island.

 Fall is on the way, but realistically we still have at least another 4-6 weeks of steamy days that lie in front of us. Be careful in the heat, take frequent breaks and stay hydrated. Wishing everyone a good end to the summer season and welcome to the nineteenth edition of the Virginia Urban Wood Group's newsletter!

Joe Lehnen

VA Dept of Forestry

Urban Wood Program Coordinator

joe.lehnen@dof.virginia.gov

Outdoor Classrooms

Back in the day, the highlight of any school day was going outside! Being able to escape the four walls of academia and math class was a time of pure pleasure, a way to expend pent-up boyhood energy after sitting still for hours and trying to pay attention to the teacher! For me growing up in a city, it was 20-30 minutes of outdoor recess, but how awesome would it have been if we could have exited the building even more than once a day, adjourning to an outdoor classroom! Thinking back about my school and surrounding property, we had the room to make it happen, but alas it was not the educational model of the time.

Since my youth we have learned volumes about how children learn and their need for being outdoors during the school day! Studies have found that children who spent more time in nature exploration had improved learning outcomes. Also, when kids are allowed time outdoors there are more positive classroom behaviors, they were less impulsive, resulting in less anger and aggression towards both fellow students and school staff.

Outdoor classrooms have several benefits for young learners:

• Provide a perfect setting for all subjects
• Reduced symptoms of ADHD
• Better test scores
• Higher grade point averages

Following are photos and brief summaries of two outdoor classrooms that have been installed in Virginia over the past couple of months. Locally-sourced, urban wood was used in the construction of both of these projects. The urban wood businesses that were involved were thrilled to help provide these students with outside learning opportunities.

The Virginia Department of Forestry provides funding for outdoor classroom design/build to schools, communities, and non-profit organizations. Additional information is available via email from the Urban & Community Forestry team > community@DOF.virginia.gov

Thanks!

Many thanks to Trees Virginia (Virginia's Urban Forest Council) for hosting this newsletter and allowing access to their Constant Contact platform!

Check out their brand new

website >>>

TreesVirginia



The Virginia Urban Wood Program is supported by the Virginia Department of Forestry with grants from the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Region.



The Marketing Corner

It's Camera Time!

 Recently on the Instagram feed was a video "commercial" for a local wood business in Pennsylvania. The person featured in the video was great - perfect focus on the camera, a great message that was not too long, awesome footage of the product, and most importantly, I sensed they were talking directly to me. I felt an instant connection with the product and the company due to two things: the person delivering the message and the message itself.

I think all of us will admit that some people have the ability to do well with "camera time" and then there are others that are truly challenged when trying to effectively deliver a message. Some of us are camera-comfortable, while other people would rather "run like the wind" whenever someone wants to take a video of what they are doing. In-between these two extremes are folks that do not mind being videotaped while doing something, just don't ask them to speak on cam.

The goal is to select the "right person" for camera time. You definitely do not want to force someone to do a video when they are totally uncomfortable being placed in that situation. More challenging is the business owner, or their family member, who thinks they are good at delivering a message when actually their presentation skills are difficult to watch - that is a hard situation to try to solve!

Your business promotional video needs to have a quality, but also brief, to-the-point message supported by good footage of what you are trying to sell, be that a product or a service.

So how important is all of this? It is very important! The commercial that you present for your company can either instantly draw customers to your products or leave them in a ho-hum state of being. As we have said time and time again, people in today's world are an impatient lot, and if your commercial is lacking in messaging or presentation, you may fall into the "one and done" recycling bin of videos that just never resonated with the audience. The bottom line is to develop a succinct, meaningful message with good imagery, selecting the right person to deliver that message for your company.