What most excites you about your future career in the green trades? Litterick: Definitely the public education piece. I love talking to people about plants. I’m also really passionate about accessibility and making landscapes that are not only eco-friendly, but friendly to all types of people and all types of bodies. I enjoy bringing people into a space and helping immerse them in the garden and helping them navigate through the physical barriers that exist in a landscape, and some of that [plant] knowledge as well. Prezio: With climate change being a really pressing issue, I’m very excited to be part of an industry that’s at the forefront of that topic. When people think of the climate, they think about the gardeners and landscapers, and I think we’re going to play a really important role in that issue. I’m excited about being able to make a change to that going forward. What concerns you about a future in this industry? Litterick: The accessibility issue is always a little challenging. Before I started Fanshawe, I got a really bad concussion and still have a bunch of symptoms that make it really hard for me to use a lot of gas- and diesel-powered equipment because of the noise and the vibration. But I’ve found that electrical tools are quite accessible for me — they don’t vibrate as much, and the noise is a lot less. I’m hoping as electric becomes more popular, some of the other parts of the trade that aren’t really possible for me become more accessible. I really do enjoy the equipment side of things — it’s quite confidence-boosting to hold a hedge trimmer in your hand. Prezio: Climate change, and how that’s going to look for us. Are we going to be
the one who has control over the garden scaping. And I’ve noticed in the industry that women are often overlooked or made to feel like they’re not going to do a good job in a certain role even though they’re completely qualified for it. Hopefully going forward into my generation, that is something that improves over time, but it’s definitely worrying to see. What do you think the trades should do to combat these issues? Litterick: I’m hoping that we can move towards creating landscapes that can welcome everyone into them. Accessible pavers, guided tours and having those resources available to people who maybe can’t move through a garden space because they have mobility issues — that is something that we should be doing. No one should be barred from having access to nature. At the same time, we need to make accessible options that are also sustainable. How do we make a pathway that someone can move down without hurting themselves without paving over our forests? I’m hoping to see more intersections between engineering and the trade to move forward there. Prezio: We need to focus more on planting native plants that belong in the landscape, and planting plants in the right spaces where they won’t need extra water or supplemental lighting. I think we need to focus on recycling — investing in pots that can be recycled. Right now, most of our pots end up in landfills, and I don’t think that’s right. Looking ahead to 2050, what is your vision for the future of the green trades? Litterick: I would like to see more diversity in the trade. It’s happening — there are people like me who have
Julissa Litterick
Nicolas Prezio
able to plant the same kind of plants that we’re planting now? Are we going to have to change our zones and plant more hot-hardy plants versus cold-hardy? There’s a lot of invasive plants coming in now because our zones are changing, so will our native plants be outcompeted and go extinct? I’m pretty worried about that. Another thing I’ve noticed is the industry has a lot of problems with sexism. One of my clients has expressed that she feels like when she’s dealing with people from our industry, they overlook her and go towards her husband for answers, even though she’s
48 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
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