PR ES I DEN T’S COLUM N
MARIE MCCONNELL Lake County Nursery
OUR FUTURE... Is it really June already? I swear, the older my kids get the quicker the year seems to fly by – though I myself refuse to age! But alas, the sun is shining, summer is in full swing, and I think we can all agree that it is a welcome sight, in comparison to the crazy spring we just endured. To that end, it is also the time of year when many of us will be preparing to celebrate the graduations of friends and family members from high schools and colleges. It’s an exciting time, during which we will undoubtedly listen to their aspirations and goals for what they plan to achieve in the years to come; future pharmacists, engineers, educators, aspiring sports professionals – just to name a few. But wait… I feel like something’s missing. Where are the landscape architects, nursery professionals, turf management and greenhouse managers? Why is no one talking about our profession? As I’ve mentioned before, I had the good fortune of being born into the green profession. And while many of my siblings chose other career paths, I decided to stick in this industry for life! As it applies to my girls, I am 100% proud of what they are doing, but couldn’t help asking why they didn’t follow in their father’s, or mother’s footsteps. They replied that while they loved growing up in a “green” family, they chose other career paths based on what they thought would provide success for them.
The more I talk to others in our great profession, the more I find this story to be true for many families. Kids are choosing to go in other directions, and the family business is not as much “in-the-family” as it used to be. So what do we do to attract the younger generation to be more active and look towards the green profession? For me, there are a few things that come to mind. First off, we need to ask ourselves just how engaged we are with the youth in our lives. I’m a firm believer that we can’t start talking to kids early enough. Take my four-year-old granddaughter, for example. She loves to explore the outdoors and I can’t help but think that part of that is due to the fact that she visits me at work often. We talk about the cute flowers, adorable bugs and the pretty mud pies. And while this may seem like crazy talk, she understands and interacts with me like an adult, as we discuss what’s in front of us at the moment. She is four and completely understands the concept of recycling as a means of not causing harm to our environment. And the best part about these conversations, they continue at home with her continued on page 6 The Growing Concern | June 2018 | 3