Landscaping safety meeting topics and OSHA training

• PPE: assess the hazards and provide the right PPE (29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)), including eye or face protection against flying particles (29 CFR 1910.133(a)(1)), and train the people who must use it (29 CFR 1910.132(f)(1)).
• Mowers: walk-behind, riding-rotary and reel power lawnmowers are guarded in line with the machine guarding rules (29 CFR 1910.243(e)(1)(i)).
• Noise: hearing protectors at no cost when exposures reach an 8-hour time-weighted average of 85 decibels (29 CFR 1910.95(i)(1)).
• Chemicals: fuel and other hazardous chemicals bring HazCom training at initial assignment (29 CFR 1910.1200(h)(1)).
• Digging: on construction work, a competent person inspects excavations daily (29 CFR 1926.651(k)(1)) and workers are protected from cave-ins unless an exception applies (29 CFR 1926.652(a)(1)). Where harmful plants or animals are present on a construction job site, exposed employees are instructed on the hazards and on first aid (29 CFR 1926.21(b)(4)).
• Heat: as of October 2026 there is no heat-specific standard in Parts 1910 or 1926, so heat talks are good practice: water, rest, shade, and knowing the warning signs.

Do the talk at the trailer or the truck before the first stop, with engines off. Keep it to 5 minutes. Pick the topic from the season: ticks and plants in spring, heat in summer, leaves and blowers in fall, snow removal in winter. Pass around the real thing: the trimmer head, the chaps, the earplugs. Ask who saw a close call this week. Record attendance with the sign-in sheet generator, then roll. The talk picker chooses a talk by trade and season.

Most landscaping crews include Spanish speakers, and many leads are bilingual. Give the talk in Spanish and English, or let the lead give it in Spanish from the same handout. Chemical labels stay in English, and you may add Spanish as long as the English is there too (29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(10)). Use the same equipment words every time in both languages (string trimmer and desbrozadora, blower and sopladora). Ask for a show-me: how do you check the mower guard before you start?

Start with landscaping safety, lawn mowers, string trimmers and blowers, heat stress, hydration, insects, ticks and stings, poisonous plants, sun protection, chainsaws and pesticides. For more field-crew ideas, see tailgate safety meeting topics. The talks are free; a printable talk kit is $4.99 and a full training kit with an editable PowerPoint is $9, no subscription.