This week on the podcast, Joanne Shaw welcomes Jazmin Albarran, the Executive Director of Seed Your Future, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting horticulture and inspiring the next generation of green industry leaders.

About Jazmin

Jazmin has over 20 years experience in youth development, outreach, and mental health, and is passionate about creating opportunities that empower young people and showcase the diverse career paths within horticulture. Under her leadership, Seed Your Future has launched innovative programs like Seed to STEM and Green Career Week, which provides industries with a toolkit to connect students to horticulture employers.

Here are some of the topics covered in this episode:

• Joanne and Jazmin discussed the importance of promoting the industry to students, as it is often misunderstood as a hobby rather than a multi-billion-dollar business.
  • Over 900 individuals have downloaded their toolkit, which includes resources for setting up field trips and class presentations, as well as social media guidance.
  • The goal is to showcase the passion and commitment of the horticulture industry to the next generation.
• Seed Your Future aims to raise awareness of horticulture as a business and industry, particularly among middle school students and career changers.
  • Jazmin shared that Seed Your Future assists individuals in finding opportunities in the industry, even without formal education.
  • They also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the plant industry, with Jazmin citing a survey by the Garden Media Group that found 16-18 million people discovered plants for the first time during the pandemic.
  • Joanne shared her own experience of having a second career in horticulture and the challenges she faced in finding education opportunities.
• They announced the upcoming 5th Green Career Week from March 3rd to 7th, which aims to connect students with green careers and promote awareness of local businesses in the horticulture industry.
  • Jazmin also mentioned the availability of internships and apprenticeship programs, which are more prominent in the United States.
• The website is open to anyone interested in learning about horticulture careers, featuring 147 different career profiles.
  • Joanne shared her personal experience of transitioning to a landscape design career, and Jazmin confirmed that their program covers all aspects of the industry.
  • They also touched on the potential for careers that don't involve direct contact with plants but still offer immersion in the industry.

Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect via her website at down2earth.ca

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. 

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

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