September 12, 2025 • 30 mins
Seed Your Future started the movement to promote horticulture and inspire people to pursue careers working with plants. They hope to introduce students to vital horticultural, agricultural, and floriculture jobs - including STEM, business, design, logistics, marketing, and more. During Green Career Week in October, participating businesses and organizations will connect with local schools, colleges and universities to showcase the various career paths at their business. Let's learn more from Seed Your Future's Executive Director Jazmin Albarran.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Virginia Focus. I'm Rebecca Hughes of the Virginian
News Network. Seed Your Future started the movement to promote
horticulture and inspire people to pursue careers working with plants.
They hope to introduce students to vital horticultural, agricultural, and
floricultural jobs including stem business, design, logistics, marketing, and more.
(00:26):
During Green Career Week in October, participating businesses and organizations
will connect with local schools, colleges, and universities to showcase
the various career paths at their businesses. Let's learn more
from Seed Your Futures Executive director Jasmine Albaron. Welcome to
the show, Jasmine. I'm so glad to have you back
on today. It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here
and to continue sharing about Seed your Future and the
resources that we have for people that might want to
come into the plant world.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I love it. And let me ask you this very
first question. I know for me, I have noticed a
rather dramatic shift I'm gonna call it that in my
algorithms and on my timelines and all that kind of
stuff with people embracing a lot of home gardening and
(01:17):
canning and homesteading. Are you seeing that as well?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We are. It's one of those byproducts that came from COVID.
So many people up until that time really didn't know
where their food come from. And really that's still a thing.
And because of those shortages in the grocery stores, a
lot of them, you know, said hey, maybe I can
grow some, even if it's small amounts in my own backyard.
(01:46):
So between that, we've also seen a surge and people
growing flowers in their spaces as well, and then they
take them and sell them at farmers' markets on the weekend.
So people flowers, plants, outdoors, nature through COVID, and many
are still seeing the value of what that is for
(02:07):
us in their day to days, which is exciting. And
now the conversation is, well, did you know you can
work with these live, beautiful products right exactly?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Now, let me ask you personally, are you growing anything?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I travel four to five times a month, which
I'm really home to grow anything, So no, my poor yard.
It is a dream. I have sketches of what I
would want it to be, but I'm gone so much
and so often. Now I do have a lot of houseplants.
Every time I travel, somebody will give me a new plant,
and so that collection has grown.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Okay, so I'm going to tell on myself for a
minute here. I also have gotten the green bug. And
last year a coworker gave me a pepper plant from
their yard. And that plant is now probably closer to
a year and a half old, and I put it,
this is awful. I put it in my laundry room
(03:03):
and I bought a grow light, and so it produces
year round. And I've been able to take you know,
stuff off of that plant and build like sixteen other
pepper plants. And now I'm overwhelmed with peppers.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Oh that is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And that's you know, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And once you say you get the bug, you you're engaged.
You you become more passionate about it and you can
say you did that, you grew those peppers, and you're
feeding your family and you're sharing it with your neighbors.
It's so much science and fun that goes into it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
It really is, it really is. And like I said,
I mean, I've learned that my grandchildren love to eat
them as soon as we pluck them off the plant.
They're they're wanting to eat it, and they're the sweeter kind,
you know. And I've given some away. I've given plants away,
and you know, here it is September, and I've got
to figure out because I've moved them onto my my
(04:00):
little patio area and they've gotten huge, and I gotta
figure out what I'm gonna do with them for you know,
the wintertime.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Maybe you're gonna get into canny as well.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So that's a good idea.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, another project. But you know, I've heard from a
lot of industry professionals say that they found their passion
for plants and horticulture through their grandparents. So you might
be raising the next generation of industry professionals just by
making them see what it looks like to grow something
for yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah, I think you might be right. Because my oldest grandson,
who's four, wants to now grow pumpkins, and so we
may have to talk to his mommy and daddy into
letting him put a pumpkin or two in the yard.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I agree, and then capture that, right, take pictures of
him planting and growing and Karen and loving on, and
there'll be some great memories for him to have.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh, definitely, definitely. So we're talking about Green or yeah,
Green Career Week now that's in October.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Right, Yes, So we host screen Career Week twice a year,
once in the spring, once in the fall, because the
horticulture industry is so massive. When people hear the word horticulture,
they think of just gardening in their backyard, and that's
a part of it, but it's a very diverse and
complex and international industry, and so we prompt industry twice
(05:23):
a year. The one coming up is October sixth through
the tenth, and you're going to have business professionals within landscape,
public gardens, the floral industry, the ornamental plants that are
going to be reaching out to schools and bringing them
on site for field trips and a field trip on
a very career lens focus like these are the careers
(05:46):
that grow the plants, that market the plants, that sell
them and transport them and all the other careers that
are in that particular workplace. We want to make sure
that as many students and educators know these businesses are
in your backyard and we need to hire the next generation.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Definitely, most definitely. Now, I know, like we talked about
a lot of people are getting the green thumb bug,
but some people like my sweet mother, do not have
a green thumb. She can kill a silk plant like
it's pretty bad. So when we talk about green career,
we we're not just talking about being the one who's
(06:24):
in charge of growing things. Right. Let's it's more than that.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
There are so many careers working directly with the plants.
But then you have some that will never touch a
plant because you're doing maybe the graphic design for the
magazines that sell the plants. There's so many layers of
things that you can do within logistics, within the breeding part,
within the soil management. Right. It's you know, one thing
(06:52):
that I had to learn when I first came on
with Seed your Future was that it's not just that plant,
the seed. You have to think about the soil, the water,
the lighting, the plant food, the container, and then you
think about, well, how does this go from point A
to point B to finally get into someone's yard or
into someone's office, right their house plan.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
For sure, Yes, there is hundreds of jobs, and on
the Seidure Future website we have a list of one
hundred and forty seven different career paths those working directly
with plants, but then also illustrator, and you can be
a lawyer. In this industry. There's so many things that
you can do and we have something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I love that. I just love it. Are we seeing
an increase in students choosing these green careers in general?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
We are so gen z and Alpha. They really want
to be a part of solutions, be a part of
problem solving. They want to help the planet, and a
lot of that is through nature, through outdoors, environmental justice,
and through horticulture. So when they discover that they can
do these things through plants and what are those careers,
(08:07):
it looks like they are getting excited about pursuing a career.
And we tell them, do you know major in horticulture,
minor in technology or in business or in art. Having
understanding of more than one field is just going to
help you even better. And we want innovation to come
into the horticulture industry. This industry wants to evolve, wants
to be more efficient and competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I agree with that. I know we've seen things like
vertical farming. I've met people who are doing hydroponic farming.
I am aware that we're now using drones, and a
lot of the tractors have GPS and things like that
that help you know, when the farmer's out in this field,
he can apply a straight line, you know, to.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Me, you can a lot of the times in the
greenhouses they're using iPads to turn on the lights, increase
humidity or make it a little bit darker. Same way
with the tractors. They're like playing a video game. They
are not the same tractor that we envisioned from the
nineteen forties, right.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Definitely, speaking of tractors, I gotta again telling myself. My
husband and I like said, we're getting into this pretty heavy,
and he wanted to go look at some tractors. So
we went to one of the little dealerships nearby. I
didn't know if you knew this or not. I went
in and of course, you know, as you expect, they
talked to my husband and they kind of ignored me,
(09:29):
and then I was like, excuse me, you can help me,
and they're like, okay, what do you want to you know,
how can we help you? The t shirts and the
hats are over there, and I was like, no, I
want to use one of your tractors, and I don't
want to dig a hole. And they're like, you want
to dig a hole? I said, I do. I've never
been on a tractor before, and I want to dig
a hole. They let me use a rent hole and
we went around behind the building and they had a
(09:49):
big polo dirt and I got to dig a hole
and it was fantastic. Oh I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah. Well, you know, as women, we are out there
where a lot of us are homeowners, a lot of
their single and so you have to find a way
to make that a part of your day to day.
And so yeah, you go ask and you demand right.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Right right, And so even things like a mechanic, I mean,
you know that's you can be a mechanic of all
kinds of things, but even that can be something that
supports the horticulture industry.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Right right, we have all of the different automation machinery.
So now there are the machines that can plant one
thousand seeds at the exact same time. Wow, we need
someone to develop the software. We need someone to then
make sure that those seeds are planted correctly by the machine.
(10:43):
And then we need someone that is able to, like
you said, the mechanic to maintain that machine if it ever,
you know, breaks or needs updates.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, for sure. And I know I saw something recently
where they're doing R and D to try to basically
come up with a bigger, better I think they were
specializing in bluebear with a blueberry picker, because you know,
like for nut trees like pecans, there's machines and they
grab the trunk and they shake it and then the
nuts fall down, but you don't know if you got
(11:10):
them all and unless you climb the tree, you know
what I'm saying. And blueberries and things like that. I mean,
like you don't think of are people out there hand picking,
like are their machines? How does it work? And they're
even working in that to make those bigger and better,
and we need those new ideas of how that could be.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Done exactly right. Efficiency grows to more profit and more
yield and where a lot of people think, oh, people
are gonna lose jobs, No, you just retrain them. You
retrain them for a new skill for a new machine. Right,
And that takes time, and it takes effort, and it
takes planning. But the industry is definitely trying to figure
out how can we become innovative and still maintain all
(11:50):
of these wonderful workers that are part of the industry.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I think the other thing that we don't think about
when it comes to these industries, the people that work
in them, generally speaking, have a potential to be way
healthier than the people sitting at a desk.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Well, can I tell you I go to I mentioned
earlier how much I travel, uh, and so I'm at
conferences in the horticulture industry every month, and anytime I
look around, they all look very fit. I mean, you know,
you can't know someone's cholesterol, but my goodness, you know
you're thinking about they're picking or carrying loads of plants
(12:27):
from point A to point B and the soil and
walking up and down these massive greenhouses, checking on the plants,
and watering the plants. And so no, I would love
to eventually with see your future and marry maybe the
American Heart Association to do some research, because I am
like ninety nine point nine percent sure that we can
(12:47):
say people working in this industry are much healthier and stronger.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I know my grandparents
were both from farming families, and like you said, grandparents,
you know, breed other gardeners, and I remember having them
having a garden in their backyard. They lived in midtown Atlanta,
and they had a garden in their backyard. Took up
almost the entire thing. But I remember, you know, helping
(13:14):
them pick beans and we did snap beans and so
my grandmother taught me how to snap the beans, and
you know, they did squash and all this other kind
of stuff. But they were the kind who could you know.
My grandfather had eggs and bacon and all that stuff
every morning, and he was in great shape, like he
you know, strong as an ox. And you know, he
was a carpenter also, so again not a desk job.
(13:37):
And I just I mean, they lived, you know, longer
than I think the average person's going to, you know,
with all of us coming up, and I think I
would love to see that study you're talking about, and
you know, not just the heart association, but all the
different ones, the cancer and all that other stuff. Like
I think that you're right. I think we would see
(13:58):
that those careers are probably some of the healthiest people.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I would also share that some of the happiest people.
When I talk to employees and workers and owners of
this industry, I've asked them all, why have you been
here twenty thirty, forty years, and they all say the
same thing. The people and the product. They're like, it's
hard to be in a bad mood when you're surrounded
(14:24):
by trees, by flowers, by plants, and the people that
love those. And so that's a motivator that I have
to get these careers in front of teachers, students, career changers,
because I know they are going to be very fulfilled
in their career and they're going to love what they do.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, that's true, that's so true. And you know, for
a while there, we all thought that you had to
live out in the country to be a part of that,
and that's not true either.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Right, correct, you can be an urban setting, right. Think
of public gardens, arboretums. These are all places that have
horticulture careers, and again those supplemental careers that support the industry.
A lot of them have their own nursery. They're growing
their own trees and plants. Think about Ball Horticultural Company.
(15:13):
They are in West Chicago, in the middle of a neighborhood.
So you'd be surprised how many of these businesses are
not very far from you in urban settings as well.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I love that. So let's talk about Seed your Future.
What kind of services do you guys offer.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
See your Future is the nonprofit that is promoting horticulture
and inspiring people to pursue careers working with plants, and
so we provide resources for students, for educators, for industry
and information for parents. For educators, we have about fifty
lessons that incorporate a high school subject science, art, math, business,
(15:54):
English and connects it to a horticulture career. So it
makes it easy for them to see how they're so
can lead to a career in the industry. So the
our teacher, you can prepare students for careers and anything
related to graphic design, everything within the floral industry. So
it's sharing with them and helping them prepare how to
(16:15):
expose the students to the industry, but then how to
incorporate that into their curriculum. We also have again Green
Career Week that connects students to real jobs, real companies
in their backyard. We have a database of those career profiles.
We have a database of scholarships that will help pay
for two year or four year horticulture degrees across the country.
(16:38):
A database of internships. We have the listing of all
of the horticulture two year and four year programs across
the country. We have a quiz that students can take
to get a short list of careers they might be
interested in a variety of videos that talk about how
plans are impacting our economy, our mental health. You know what.
(17:02):
We eat to a new webinar series that we started
where we're bringing young professionals within the horticulture industry to
share what they are doing in their career to inspire
that next generation. So from in person to virtual, we
are trying to offer a variety of resources to help
anybody interested in horticulture and plans to find a career
(17:24):
with us.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
I love that. Let's talk about that webinar a little bit.
That's new. I didn't know y'all did that.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yes, we started those in October of twenty twenty four
because hearing from students saying, well, yes they want to
go into horticulture, but what can I do once I
graduate with a degree. What does this career path look like?
And so we just started, you know, inviting young professionals
within ten years of graduating to share what was their
(17:50):
trajectory within those first ten years, what did they try
that they liked and what did they try that they
did not like. We want students to weed that out
as well, and so we have a panel. We have
about four young professionals, and then we invite a company
an hr REP to share a little bit about how
their company is looking to hire, what kind of correct
characteristics are they're looking for in you hire, so that
(18:12):
we take the mystery out of the industry for people
that are considering what to come in. And then there's
a Q and a A. You can ask questions in the chat,
or you can come off camera and ask the young
professional a question about their career path or anything that
you just have in general about the industry.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Okay, and where do we find this webinar?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
You go to the seed your Future website seeddrerfuture dot
org resources tab. It's down towards the bottom of that
tab and it's called Growing Careers Webinar Series, So you
click on that and then you can register. These are
free webinars. They happen six times a year now. So
we did three in the spring, we'll do three in
(18:52):
the fall. We just had one September fourth. The next
one is October second, and the following one will be
November six. So you you register, you get a link
and then we'll see you there. We've had about twelve
hundred people register for these webinars since we started them
in October.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Oh wow, And when the webinar is over, do you
post them to YouTube?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Like?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Can we watch them after this?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
We do, and so right after we send them to
everybody that registered and couldn't make it, and then within
a month or so they go on to the YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I love that. I love that, so yeah that I'd
like you said that. That helps really kind of make
things a little more tangible for people who you know,
we're looking for more details. If a person wanted to
be involved in any of that, how do they get involved?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Oh, they can want. If anyone wants to be a panelist,
they can email me directly. My email is ja al
b As and boy A n at seezrfuture dot org.
We're always looking for young, charismatic professionals that love what
they do, that can translate to other young people, that curiosity,
that interest of the industry.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Okay, and are there any limits on that?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
We give everybody a seven minutes to share their career path.
I set up one on ones ahead of time to
talk and you know, learn a little bit about their
career path and then based on feedback, we tweak it.
But no, I'd love to connect with as many people
as possible to see who is willing to share their
story to engage the next generation.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Okay, great, that's good to know for anybody that's listening.
And I've interviewed a couple of farms and some of
them are, you know, more on the animal side of things,
although that still involves having to grow their hay and
you know, the different things that you feed them. And
then some have been more like there's a pullpoll pulpole
farm in Virginia and that was fascinating. They're actually in
(20:48):
their harvest season right now.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Wow. Yeah, send up the information. I love to hear
from anyone willing to share a little bit about the
industry and what they do, so that we can show,
oh that diverse in career paths within the horticulture industry.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That's awesome. Do you guys work with four.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
H We do for h f FA, So those advisors
and those agents, Okay, they are doing the work of
creating the passion and the love for plans, the outdoor
and nature. We have the resources to assist those educators
to have that conversation of and did you know you
(21:27):
can work in this industry and look at the different
career paths. They also use as lessons that we have
for teachers. Again, you can adapt any of that information
to make it work for you. And we also have
a couple of videos that are DIY projects and experiments
that can again just bring in a fun part of
(21:49):
plants into a classroom into an education setting.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, I love that. I definitely love that. I think
I hope that anybody in the education sphere that listens
would take advantage of that for sure, because, like we said,
or like you pointed out earlier, mental health is greatly
benefited when you're out in nature and doing things in
the dirt, you know, with your hands in it and
(22:13):
your feet in it, and you know all those things.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yes, it is a boost of happiness to be outdoors
and working with these beautiful plants.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Definitely, you got anything new coming up that we need
to know about anything you're working on the back burner.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
We are, actually we're working on a tool. We're calling
it the career Connector right now, and it's meant to
be a searchable database that a student, a teacher, a
career changer will be able to directly connect with an
HR representative from a company to ask questions, do you
(22:50):
have internships? Do you have part time? You know, what
do I need in order to get a position with you?
And for teachers to be able to email about field trips.
Similar from students, we've heard, you know, I don't know
what are the horticulture businesses in my city, or I
want to move to California and I don't know who
to work for. And so we have been reaching out
(23:12):
to our partners across the country and asking if they
would share their time by answering emails that they get
from these audiences. And so we've compiled a list of
companies and HR representatives that are going to be happy
to answer questions. Through the platform, the students, teachers, or
(23:32):
career changes will be able to directly email an HR
representative and ask questions about again the company, the company culture,
and how they might be a good fit for that.
So I'm excited we are in the beta process of
the tool. There's still a couple of things we have
to work on and we want to highlight maybe color
code different segments because as we mentioned, horticulture has the floral,
(23:57):
public horticulture, ornamental landscape, and so much more that we
wanted to be very user friendly. So right now we're
testing it out to see what are some enhancements that
we can make, and hopefully by the end of the
year that will be out and ready for use.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I love it. I'm going to be looking for it
for sure. And you don't have an official name yet right.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
We're just calling a career connector because the idea is
that this database will hopefully connect to people two future careers.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Okay, and I assume also that you work with the
USCA in some form or fashion, maybe through lobbying or
some other efforts. Would that be correct, So.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
To your future We don't do any lobbying because there's
so many other industry associations that that is their focus
as a part of what we do. They do. What
we do is we try to get them as speakers
for the Green Career Week events and then also the
Growing Career webinar series, which the one in September fourth,
we had one of the plant geneticists, one of the
(24:58):
scientists from the USDA Arboretom in DC share a little
bit about her career path.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Oh wow, but that was fascinating.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It was, it was, And again you can just see
how much passion is in just the bones and the
heart of people working in this industry. And most people
have no idea right that they're doing all kinds of
science stuff with plants and trees.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Right, And that's another area where we need new minds
and new ideas because my husband also is a carpenter
of sorts. He's been a master craftsman of furniture, and
he's like, you know, the stuff that they're selling home
depot and lows for wood to build stuff. There's no
(25:47):
wonder things aren't lasting. It's not good quality, it's not
cut wells. We have rushed trees to try to get
them stronger, and they're not. And so it would be
nice to have some new ideas on, you know, how
do we fix that problem. How do we get you know,
how do we allow trees to get to the old
(26:07):
growth stage like they did back in the day where
those houses and those flooring and everything they're still here
and they're gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Exactly, this this next generation you know, they're growing up
with iPhones and iPads and smart watches. There are the
digital natives and using that plus nature. I'm excited to
see what they can come up with.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be really interesting, I
think for sure. So it's Seed your Future dot com right,
dot org, dot org. Okay, see, I'm glad I asked
because I don't want anybody else making that mistake. So
we've got an app coming up we need to look
for and Green Career Week. How do we find out
(26:55):
in our different neighborhoods what kind of activities might be
going on for Green Career Week.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
So there is a Google sheet for teachers where they
can sign up, which you can access it through the
website seedourfeature dot org. You go to our work and
then you'll see the tap for Green Career Week. So
as a teacher, you can sign up to have someone
come and present to your classroom or set up a
field trip. And then as far as industry, they are
(27:23):
helping with that list. They're looking through and calling and
setting those up. If anyone is in a particular city
or state, they can just shoot as an email and
ask what businesses are looking to set up those field
trips or class presentations and we can help make some
connections for them.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I love that. I love that, and I always ask
you this, is there anything that the audience needs to
know that I didn't know I needed to ask you
about it.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
We really just want to make sure that everyone understands
that not only our career is working with plans rewarding financially,
personally and socially, they also provide those opportunities for people
to pursue their passions and do the things that they
enjoy in environments that are going to make them happy. Right,
And we just want people to know that horticulture is
(28:10):
a career path. It's innovative, it's changing, it's growing, and
we want as many people as possible to consider that
career path.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Right. And you don't have to be in the country
to do it.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
And you don't have to be in the country to
do it. The jobs are there as well, but they're
in all kinds of settings. Now.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I love that. I love that so much. Well, I'm
so glad that you made time to come on the
show and talk to me today and update me on everything.
And I hope this is early enough before Green Career
Week that maybe we'll get some people you know, involved
in some more field trips and kids learning more about it.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
I hope so, and thank you for having me and
sharing a little bit about Seed your Future with your audience.
Is right. We have to constantly remind them that horticulture
is here. There is something called plant blindness. People take
plans for granted and forget. They give us all oxygen
and they feed us because they're just there. But we
need the next generation of professionals that will grow the
trees and grow the plant so that as humans we
(29:10):
can survive.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
That's all right, that's right. So yeah, again, thank you
so much. I'm so glad you were here. And one
more time, Seedyourfuture dot org and if there's anything anybody needs,
they can email you or an email on that website.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Right correct, And the email for Seed your Future is
info at set your Future dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Wonderful. I hope you've enjoyed today's show. Thanks for tuning
into the show on your favorite local radio station. You
can now listen to this show or past shows through
the iheartapp or on iHeart dot com. Just search for
Virginia Focus under podcasts. I'm Rebecca Hughes with the Virginia
News Network, and I'll be here next week on Virginia Focus.
Welcome to Virginia Focus. I'm Rebecca Hughes of the Virginian
News Network. Seed Your Future started the movement to promote
horticulture and inspire people to pursue careers working with plants.
They hope to introduce students to vital horticultural, agricultural, and
floricultural jobs including stem business, design, logistics, marketing, and more.
(00:26):
During Green Career Week in October, participating businesses and organizations
will connect with local schools, colleges, and universities to showcase
the various career paths at their businesses. Let's learn more
from Seed Your Futures Executive director Jasmine Albaron. Welcome to
the show, Jasmine. I'm so glad to have you back
on today. It's been a while.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here
and to continue sharing about Seed your Future and the
resources that we have for people that might want to
come into the plant world.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I love it. And let me ask you this very
first question. I know for me, I have noticed a
rather dramatic shift I'm gonna call it that in my
algorithms and on my timelines and all that kind of
stuff with people embracing a lot of home gardening and
(01:17):
canning and homesteading. Are you seeing that as well?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
We are. It's one of those byproducts that came from COVID.
So many people up until that time really didn't know
where their food come from. And really that's still a thing.
And because of those shortages in the grocery stores, a
lot of them, you know, said hey, maybe I can
grow some, even if it's small amounts in my own backyard.
(01:46):
So between that, we've also seen a surge and people
growing flowers in their spaces as well, and then they
take them and sell them at farmers' markets on the weekend.
So people flowers, plants, outdoors, nature through COVID, and many
are still seeing the value of what that is for
(02:07):
us in their day to days, which is exciting. And
now the conversation is, well, did you know you can
work with these live, beautiful products right exactly?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Now, let me ask you personally, are you growing anything?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So I travel four to five times a month, which
I'm really home to grow anything, So no, my poor yard.
It is a dream. I have sketches of what I
would want it to be, but I'm gone so much
and so often. Now I do have a lot of houseplants.
Every time I travel, somebody will give me a new plant,
and so that collection has grown.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Okay, so I'm going to tell on myself for a
minute here. I also have gotten the green bug. And
last year a coworker gave me a pepper plant from
their yard. And that plant is now probably closer to
a year and a half old, and I put it,
this is awful. I put it in my laundry room
(03:03):
and I bought a grow light, and so it produces
year round. And I've been able to take you know,
stuff off of that plant and build like sixteen other
pepper plants. And now I'm overwhelmed with peppers.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Oh that is wonderful.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
And that's you know, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
And once you say you get the bug, you you're engaged.
You you become more passionate about it and you can
say you did that, you grew those peppers, and you're
feeding your family and you're sharing it with your neighbors.
It's so much science and fun that goes into it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
It really is, it really is. And like I said,
I mean, I've learned that my grandchildren love to eat
them as soon as we pluck them off the plant.
They're they're wanting to eat it, and they're the sweeter kind,
you know. And I've given some away. I've given plants away,
and you know, here it is September, and I've got
to figure out because I've moved them onto my my
(04:00):
little patio area and they've gotten huge, and I gotta
figure out what I'm gonna do with them for you know,
the wintertime.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Maybe you're gonna get into canny as well.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
So that's a good idea.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, another project. But you know, I've heard from a
lot of industry professionals say that they found their passion
for plants and horticulture through their grandparents. So you might
be raising the next generation of industry professionals just by
making them see what it looks like to grow something
for yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Yeah, I think you might be right. Because my oldest grandson,
who's four, wants to now grow pumpkins, and so we
may have to talk to his mommy and daddy into
letting him put a pumpkin or two in the yard.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
I agree, and then capture that, right, take pictures of
him planting and growing and Karen and loving on, and
there'll be some great memories for him to have.
Speaker 1 (04:52):
Oh, definitely, definitely. So we're talking about Green or yeah,
Green Career Week now that's in October.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Right, Yes, So we host screen Career Week twice a year,
once in the spring, once in the fall, because the
horticulture industry is so massive. When people hear the word horticulture,
they think of just gardening in their backyard, and that's
a part of it, but it's a very diverse and
complex and international industry, and so we prompt industry twice
(05:23):
a year. The one coming up is October sixth through
the tenth, and you're going to have business professionals within landscape,
public gardens, the floral industry, the ornamental plants that are
going to be reaching out to schools and bringing them
on site for field trips and a field trip on
a very career lens focus like these are the careers
(05:46):
that grow the plants, that market the plants, that sell
them and transport them and all the other careers that
are in that particular workplace. We want to make sure
that as many students and educators know these businesses are
in your backyard and we need to hire the next generation.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Definitely, most definitely. Now, I know, like we talked about
a lot of people are getting the green thumb bug,
but some people like my sweet mother, do not have
a green thumb. She can kill a silk plant like
it's pretty bad. So when we talk about green career,
we we're not just talking about being the one who's
(06:24):
in charge of growing things. Right. Let's it's more than that.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
There are so many careers working directly with the plants.
But then you have some that will never touch a
plant because you're doing maybe the graphic design for the
magazines that sell the plants. There's so many layers of
things that you can do within logistics, within the breeding part,
within the soil management. Right. It's you know, one thing
(06:52):
that I had to learn when I first came on
with Seed your Future was that it's not just that plant,
the seed. You have to think about the soil, the water,
the lighting, the plant food, the container, and then you
think about, well, how does this go from point A
to point B to finally get into someone's yard or
into someone's office, right their house plan.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
Right?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
For sure, Yes, there is hundreds of jobs, and on
the Seidure Future website we have a list of one
hundred and forty seven different career paths those working directly
with plants, but then also illustrator, and you can be
a lawyer. In this industry. There's so many things that
you can do and we have something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
I love that. I just love it. Are we seeing
an increase in students choosing these green careers in general?
Speaker 2 (07:45):
We are so gen z and Alpha. They really want
to be a part of solutions, be a part of
problem solving. They want to help the planet, and a
lot of that is through nature, through outdoors, environmental justice,
and through horticulture. So when they discover that they can
do these things through plants and what are those careers,
(08:07):
it looks like they are getting excited about pursuing a career.
And we tell them, do you know major in horticulture,
minor in technology or in business or in art. Having
understanding of more than one field is just going to
help you even better. And we want innovation to come
into the horticulture industry. This industry wants to evolve, wants
to be more efficient and competitive.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
I agree with that. I know we've seen things like
vertical farming. I've met people who are doing hydroponic farming.
I am aware that we're now using drones, and a
lot of the tractors have GPS and things like that
that help you know, when the farmer's out in this field,
he can apply a straight line, you know, to.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Me, you can a lot of the times in the
greenhouses they're using iPads to turn on the lights, increase
humidity or make it a little bit darker. Same way
with the tractors. They're like playing a video game. They
are not the same tractor that we envisioned from the
nineteen forties, right.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Definitely, speaking of tractors, I gotta again telling myself. My
husband and I like said, we're getting into this pretty heavy,
and he wanted to go look at some tractors. So
we went to one of the little dealerships nearby. I
didn't know if you knew this or not. I went
in and of course, you know, as you expect, they
talked to my husband and they kind of ignored me,
(09:29):
and then I was like, excuse me, you can help me,
and they're like, okay, what do you want to you know,
how can we help you? The t shirts and the
hats are over there, and I was like, no, I
want to use one of your tractors, and I don't
want to dig a hole. And they're like, you want
to dig a hole? I said, I do. I've never
been on a tractor before, and I want to dig
a hole. They let me use a rent hole and
we went around behind the building and they had a
(09:49):
big polo dirt and I got to dig a hole
and it was fantastic. Oh I love that. I love that.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Yeah. Well, you know, as women, we are out there
where a lot of us are homeowners, a lot of
their single and so you have to find a way
to make that a part of your day to day.
And so yeah, you go ask and you demand right.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
Right right, And so even things like a mechanic, I mean,
you know that's you can be a mechanic of all
kinds of things, but even that can be something that
supports the horticulture industry.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Right right, we have all of the different automation machinery.
So now there are the machines that can plant one
thousand seeds at the exact same time. Wow, we need
someone to develop the software. We need someone to then
make sure that those seeds are planted correctly by the machine.
(10:43):
And then we need someone that is able to, like
you said, the mechanic to maintain that machine if it ever,
you know, breaks or needs updates.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, for sure. And I know I saw something recently
where they're doing R and D to try to basically
come up with a bigger, better I think they were
specializing in bluebear with a blueberry picker, because you know,
like for nut trees like pecans, there's machines and they
grab the trunk and they shake it and then the
nuts fall down, but you don't know if you got
(11:10):
them all and unless you climb the tree, you know
what I'm saying. And blueberries and things like that. I mean,
like you don't think of are people out there hand picking,
like are their machines? How does it work? And they're
even working in that to make those bigger and better,
and we need those new ideas of how that could be.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Done exactly right. Efficiency grows to more profit and more
yield and where a lot of people think, oh, people
are gonna lose jobs, No, you just retrain them. You
retrain them for a new skill for a new machine. Right,
And that takes time, and it takes effort, and it
takes planning. But the industry is definitely trying to figure
out how can we become innovative and still maintain all
(11:50):
of these wonderful workers that are part of the industry.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
I think the other thing that we don't think about
when it comes to these industries, the people that work
in them, generally speaking, have a potential to be way
healthier than the people sitting at a desk.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Well, can I tell you I go to I mentioned
earlier how much I travel, uh, and so I'm at
conferences in the horticulture industry every month, and anytime I
look around, they all look very fit. I mean, you know,
you can't know someone's cholesterol, but my goodness, you know
you're thinking about they're picking or carrying loads of plants
(12:27):
from point A to point B and the soil and
walking up and down these massive greenhouses, checking on the plants,
and watering the plants. And so no, I would love
to eventually with see your future and marry maybe the
American Heart Association to do some research, because I am
like ninety nine point nine percent sure that we can
(12:47):
say people working in this industry are much healthier and stronger.
Speaker 1 (12:52):
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I know my grandparents
were both from farming families, and like you said, grandparents,
you know, breed other gardeners, and I remember having them
having a garden in their backyard. They lived in midtown Atlanta,
and they had a garden in their backyard. Took up
almost the entire thing. But I remember, you know, helping
(13:14):
them pick beans and we did snap beans and so
my grandmother taught me how to snap the beans, and
you know, they did squash and all this other kind
of stuff. But they were the kind who could you know.
My grandfather had eggs and bacon and all that stuff
every morning, and he was in great shape, like he
you know, strong as an ox. And you know, he
was a carpenter also, so again not a desk job.
(13:37):
And I just I mean, they lived, you know, longer
than I think the average person's going to, you know,
with all of us coming up, and I think I
would love to see that study you're talking about, and
you know, not just the heart association, but all the
different ones, the cancer and all that other stuff. Like
I think that you're right. I think we would see
(13:58):
that those careers are probably some of the healthiest people.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
I would also share that some of the happiest people.
When I talk to employees and workers and owners of
this industry, I've asked them all, why have you been
here twenty thirty, forty years, and they all say the
same thing. The people and the product. They're like, it's
hard to be in a bad mood when you're surrounded
(14:24):
by trees, by flowers, by plants, and the people that
love those. And so that's a motivator that I have
to get these careers in front of teachers, students, career changers,
because I know they are going to be very fulfilled
in their career and they're going to love what they do.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Yeah, that's true, that's so true. And you know, for
a while there, we all thought that you had to
live out in the country to be a part of that,
and that's not true either.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Right, correct, you can be an urban setting, right. Think
of public gardens, arboretums. These are all places that have
horticulture careers, and again those supplemental careers that support the industry.
A lot of them have their own nursery. They're growing
their own trees and plants. Think about Ball Horticultural Company.
(15:13):
They are in West Chicago, in the middle of a neighborhood.
So you'd be surprised how many of these businesses are
not very far from you in urban settings as well.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
I love that. So let's talk about Seed your Future.
What kind of services do you guys offer.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
See your Future is the nonprofit that is promoting horticulture
and inspiring people to pursue careers working with plants, and
so we provide resources for students, for educators, for industry
and information for parents. For educators, we have about fifty
lessons that incorporate a high school subject science, art, math, business,
(15:54):
English and connects it to a horticulture career. So it
makes it easy for them to see how they're so
can lead to a career in the industry. So the
our teacher, you can prepare students for careers and anything
related to graphic design, everything within the floral industry. So
it's sharing with them and helping them prepare how to
(16:15):
expose the students to the industry, but then how to
incorporate that into their curriculum. We also have again Green
Career Week that connects students to real jobs, real companies
in their backyard. We have a database of those career profiles.
We have a database of scholarships that will help pay
for two year or four year horticulture degrees across the country.
(16:38):
A database of internships. We have the listing of all
of the horticulture two year and four year programs across
the country. We have a quiz that students can take
to get a short list of careers they might be
interested in a variety of videos that talk about how
plans are impacting our economy, our mental health. You know what.
(17:02):
We eat to a new webinar series that we started
where we're bringing young professionals within the horticulture industry to
share what they are doing in their career to inspire
that next generation. So from in person to virtual, we
are trying to offer a variety of resources to help
anybody interested in horticulture and plans to find a career
(17:24):
with us.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
I love that. Let's talk about that webinar a little bit.
That's new. I didn't know y'all did that.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Yes, we started those in October of twenty twenty four
because hearing from students saying, well, yes they want to
go into horticulture, but what can I do once I
graduate with a degree. What does this career path look like?
And so we just started, you know, inviting young professionals
within ten years of graduating to share what was their
(17:50):
trajectory within those first ten years, what did they try
that they liked and what did they try that they
did not like. We want students to weed that out
as well, and so we have a panel. We have
about four young professionals, and then we invite a company
an hr REP to share a little bit about how
their company is looking to hire, what kind of correct
characteristics are they're looking for in you hire, so that
(18:12):
we take the mystery out of the industry for people
that are considering what to come in. And then there's
a Q and a A. You can ask questions in the chat,
or you can come off camera and ask the young
professional a question about their career path or anything that
you just have in general about the industry.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Okay, and where do we find this webinar?
Speaker 2 (18:32):
You go to the seed your Future website seeddrerfuture dot
org resources tab. It's down towards the bottom of that
tab and it's called Growing Careers Webinar Series, So you
click on that and then you can register. These are
free webinars. They happen six times a year now. So
we did three in the spring, we'll do three in
(18:52):
the fall. We just had one September fourth. The next
one is October second, and the following one will be
November six. So you you register, you get a link
and then we'll see you there. We've had about twelve
hundred people register for these webinars since we started them
in October.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Oh wow, And when the webinar is over, do you
post them to YouTube?
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Like?
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Can we watch them after this?
Speaker 2 (19:13):
We do, and so right after we send them to
everybody that registered and couldn't make it, and then within
a month or so they go on to the YouTube channel.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
I love that. I love that, so yeah that I'd
like you said that. That helps really kind of make
things a little more tangible for people who you know,
we're looking for more details. If a person wanted to
be involved in any of that, how do they get involved?
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Oh, they can want. If anyone wants to be a panelist,
they can email me directly. My email is ja al
b As and boy A n at seezrfuture dot org.
We're always looking for young, charismatic professionals that love what
they do, that can translate to other young people, that curiosity,
that interest of the industry.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Okay, and are there any limits on that?
Speaker 2 (20:05):
We give everybody a seven minutes to share their career path.
I set up one on ones ahead of time to
talk and you know, learn a little bit about their
career path and then based on feedback, we tweak it.
But no, I'd love to connect with as many people
as possible to see who is willing to share their
story to engage the next generation.
Speaker 1 (20:24):
Okay, great, that's good to know for anybody that's listening.
And I've interviewed a couple of farms and some of
them are, you know, more on the animal side of things,
although that still involves having to grow their hay and
you know, the different things that you feed them. And
then some have been more like there's a pullpoll pulpole
farm in Virginia and that was fascinating. They're actually in
(20:48):
their harvest season right now.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Wow. Yeah, send up the information. I love to hear
from anyone willing to share a little bit about the
industry and what they do, so that we can show,
oh that diverse in career paths within the horticulture industry.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
That's awesome. Do you guys work with four.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
H We do for h f FA, So those advisors
and those agents, Okay, they are doing the work of
creating the passion and the love for plans, the outdoor
and nature. We have the resources to assist those educators
to have that conversation of and did you know you
(21:27):
can work in this industry and look at the different
career paths. They also use as lessons that we have
for teachers. Again, you can adapt any of that information
to make it work for you. And we also have
a couple of videos that are DIY projects and experiments
that can again just bring in a fun part of
(21:49):
plants into a classroom into an education setting.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, I love that. I definitely love that. I think
I hope that anybody in the education sphere that listens
would take advantage of that for sure, because, like we said,
or like you pointed out earlier, mental health is greatly
benefited when you're out in nature and doing things in
the dirt, you know, with your hands in it and
(22:13):
your feet in it, and you know all those things.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yes, it is a boost of happiness to be outdoors
and working with these beautiful plants.
Speaker 1 (22:22):
Definitely, you got anything new coming up that we need
to know about anything you're working on the back burner.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
We are, actually we're working on a tool. We're calling
it the career Connector right now, and it's meant to
be a searchable database that a student, a teacher, a
career changer will be able to directly connect with an
HR representative from a company to ask questions, do you
(22:50):
have internships? Do you have part time? You know, what
do I need in order to get a position with you?
And for teachers to be able to email about field trips.
Similar from students, we've heard, you know, I don't know
what are the horticulture businesses in my city, or I
want to move to California and I don't know who
to work for. And so we have been reaching out
(23:12):
to our partners across the country and asking if they
would share their time by answering emails that they get
from these audiences. And so we've compiled a list of
companies and HR representatives that are going to be happy
to answer questions. Through the platform, the students, teachers, or
(23:32):
career changes will be able to directly email an HR
representative and ask questions about again the company, the company culture,
and how they might be a good fit for that.
So I'm excited we are in the beta process of
the tool. There's still a couple of things we have
to work on and we want to highlight maybe color
code different segments because as we mentioned, horticulture has the floral,
(23:57):
public horticulture, ornamental landscape, and so much more that we
wanted to be very user friendly. So right now we're
testing it out to see what are some enhancements that
we can make, and hopefully by the end of the
year that will be out and ready for use.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
I love it. I'm going to be looking for it
for sure. And you don't have an official name yet right.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
We're just calling a career connector because the idea is
that this database will hopefully connect to people two future careers.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Okay, and I assume also that you work with the
USCA in some form or fashion, maybe through lobbying or
some other efforts. Would that be correct, So.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
To your future We don't do any lobbying because there's
so many other industry associations that that is their focus
as a part of what we do. They do. What
we do is we try to get them as speakers
for the Green Career Week events and then also the
Growing Career webinar series, which the one in September fourth,
we had one of the plant geneticists, one of the
(24:58):
scientists from the USDA Arboretom in DC share a little
bit about her career path.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Oh wow, but that was fascinating.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
It was, it was, And again you can just see
how much passion is in just the bones and the
heart of people working in this industry. And most people
have no idea right that they're doing all kinds of
science stuff with plants and trees.
Speaker 1 (25:27):
Right, And that's another area where we need new minds
and new ideas because my husband also is a carpenter
of sorts. He's been a master craftsman of furniture, and
he's like, you know, the stuff that they're selling home
depot and lows for wood to build stuff. There's no
(25:47):
wonder things aren't lasting. It's not good quality, it's not
cut wells. We have rushed trees to try to get
them stronger, and they're not. And so it would be
nice to have some new ideas on, you know, how
do we fix that problem. How do we get you know,
how do we allow trees to get to the old
(26:07):
growth stage like they did back in the day where
those houses and those flooring and everything they're still here
and they're gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
Exactly, this this next generation you know, they're growing up
with iPhones and iPads and smart watches. There are the
digital natives and using that plus nature. I'm excited to
see what they can come up with.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Yeah, it's gonna be it's gonna be really interesting, I
think for sure. So it's Seed your Future dot com right,
dot org, dot org. Okay, see, I'm glad I asked
because I don't want anybody else making that mistake. So
we've got an app coming up we need to look
for and Green Career Week. How do we find out
(26:55):
in our different neighborhoods what kind of activities might be
going on for Green Career Week.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
So there is a Google sheet for teachers where they
can sign up, which you can access it through the
website seedourfeature dot org. You go to our work and
then you'll see the tap for Green Career Week. So
as a teacher, you can sign up to have someone
come and present to your classroom or set up a
field trip. And then as far as industry, they are
(27:23):
helping with that list. They're looking through and calling and
setting those up. If anyone is in a particular city
or state, they can just shoot as an email and
ask what businesses are looking to set up those field
trips or class presentations and we can help make some
connections for them.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I love that. I love that, and I always ask
you this, is there anything that the audience needs to
know that I didn't know I needed to ask you
about it.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
We really just want to make sure that everyone understands
that not only our career is working with plans rewarding financially,
personally and socially, they also provide those opportunities for people
to pursue their passions and do the things that they
enjoy in environments that are going to make them happy. Right,
And we just want people to know that horticulture is
(28:10):
a career path. It's innovative, it's changing, it's growing, and
we want as many people as possible to consider that
career path.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Right. And you don't have to be in the country
to do it.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
And you don't have to be in the country to
do it. The jobs are there as well, but they're
in all kinds of settings. Now.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
I love that. I love that so much. Well, I'm
so glad that you made time to come on the
show and talk to me today and update me on everything.
And I hope this is early enough before Green Career
Week that maybe we'll get some people you know, involved
in some more field trips and kids learning more about it.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
I hope so, and thank you for having me and
sharing a little bit about Seed your Future with your audience.
Is right. We have to constantly remind them that horticulture
is here. There is something called plant blindness. People take
plans for granted and forget. They give us all oxygen
and they feed us because they're just there. But we
need the next generation of professionals that will grow the
trees and grow the plant so that as humans we
(29:10):
can survive.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
That's all right, that's right. So yeah, again, thank you
so much. I'm so glad you were here. And one
more time, Seedyourfuture dot org and if there's anything anybody needs,
they can email you or an email on that website.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
Right correct, And the email for Seed your Future is
info at set your Future dot org.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Wonderful. I hope you've enjoyed today's show. Thanks for tuning
into the show on your favorite local radio station. You
can now listen to this show or past shows through
the iheartapp or on iHeart dot com. Just search for
Virginia Focus under podcasts. I'm Rebecca Hughes with the Virginia
News Network, and I'll be here next week on Virginia Focus.
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