Landscape Trades December 2024 Issue

A GREEN

YOUTH WEIGH IN ON THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

BY JULIA HARMSWORTH

illennials and Gen Z are essential to the continuation of the landscape and horticulture trades. Not only are they welcome additions to an industry that needs to grow its workforce, but they also bring new ideas, new skills and a new way of looking at the future. Landscape Trades spoke to two recent graduates of Fanshawe College’s Horticulture Technician program in London, Ont., to discover what their visions are for the future of the landscape industry and their place within it. Julissa Litterick is the assistant curator at Fanshawe’s botanic garden. She looks forward to a career in horticulture therapy, drawing on her undergraduate degree in neuroscience, psychology, and nutrition and nutraceutical sciences. After graduating alongside Litterick, Nicolas Prezio started Prezio Plant Art, an exterior maintenance business. He’s also working with Nicola’s Garden Art to launch an interior gardening business focused on tropical planters. Neither had landscaping or horticulture in their life plans, but a love of the outdoors and a desire to help others brought them to the trades.

continued >

46 | LANDSCAPE TRADES

Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker