Winning Young Amenity Horticulturist of the Year 2017

Winning the Farmlands Young Amenity Horticulturist of the Year competition 2017 was an exhilarating experience and a huge boost for me. I really enjoyed the competition and taking part in it has given me a lot more confidence in myself, and revealed new skills. As I continue to push myself out of my comfort zone, which this competition certainly does, I know I’ll be able to grow within the industry, and use this to make the most of my career.

One of my favourite parts of the competition is meeting young people in the industry. But with only nine contestants from right across the country, it is also an indication of how we need to do more to attract young people to the industry. Amenity horticulture is a career I see myself in for a long time. I plan to continue to contribute by helping to attract and train passionate young gardeners. This is a topic I will be working on a lot in the lead up to the competition final in November.

I am looking forward to my continuing relationship with NZRA. One of the prizes is the opportunity to attend the NZRA Green Pavlova conference in 2018. I am really looking forward to meeting many more of the people in the industry, and making connections. At Green Pavlova I will be presenting my speech from the competition, along with Kim Wood (who won second place in the amenity competition). My speech covers a topic that I am very interested in, specifically the promotion of horticulture careers to youth.

Having the support of the NZRA, the Auckland Botanic Gardens and my original training organisation (the Dunedin Botanic Garden) sets me up well to know I will be able to achieve great things at the competition final in November.

Pippa Lucas

Young Amenity Horticulturist of the Year 2017



Comments

MoST Content Management V3.0.8837