Kwantlen School of Horticulture is where B.C.’s green thumbs pick up their expertise
Last in a four-part series on gardening and professional horticulture.
The need for competent, educated professional gardeners is obvious to David Davidson whenever he walks around his neighbourhood.
“I see a lot of plants growing in gardens but they are kind of mediocre and struggling. They are growing, they are not dying, but they are not thriving either,” says Davidson, associate dean at Kwantlen’s School of Horticulture in Langley.
“The attitude of homeowners seems to be that if a plant is not dead, it is OK. But there is a big difference between a flourishing, healthy plant and one that is barely surviving.”
It is Davidson’s job to shape and promote and oversee the many horticulture courses at the school, which — since it was established in 1993 — has evolved to become the biggest horticultural training centre of its kind in B.C. and one of the most prestigious in Canada.
Davidson believes that not only home gardens and public landscapes would be better if more professionals were consulted and engaged to do the work, but the overall quality of life of the whole community would benefit from the positive impact of well designed, proficiently planted and professionally maintained green spaces.
“What typically happens is that when a new house is built, the top soil disappears early in construction. Then the ground is capped with mediocre soil and the site is over-planted, often with inappropriate trees and all sorts of plants in the wrong place.
“I see an awful lot of houses with southern exposure with rhododendrons and azaleas planted in them. They don’t die, but they don’t look great. They limp on for about three or four years and when they start to look very bad, the homeowner hires a professional. Finally, the work gets done properly and the homeowner ends up with an excellent product.”
At the Kwantlen campus, students are being trained for careers in horticulture — as landscapers, designers, turf managers for golf courses, pest control specialists, greenhouse production workers and plant experts.
Some graduates have gone on to start their own successful landscaping firms. Others have become superintendents at golf courses, overseeing the professional maintenance of the turf, trees and shrub areas.
At the school, courses fall into three main categories — diploma courses, apprenticeship training and citations.
The most popular is the two-year horticulture diploma course, which offers three areas of specialization — landscape design and installation, greenhouse and nursery production and turf management.
Graduates have the option to continue their studies by doing a degree in horticulture science, which has a strong emphasis on pest management, plant pathology and biological controls.
There is also a degree course offered in Urban Ecosystems, which is a more analytical program focused on the management of urban green spaces, especially how landscaping impacts quality of life.
But for many young people already working in the landscape and nursery industry, the college’s horticultural apprenticeship programs are tailor-made to help them get better qualifications and more professional know-how.
Apprentices are sent by their employers on a six-week training course in either landscaping or nursery production. There are four levels, each one taking about a year to complete. About 145 apprentices a year sign up.
The first two levels focus on fundamental horticultural skills and knowledge, covering topics such as plant health, soil chemistry, equipment maintenance and supervisory skills.
After completing these levels, students have the option of continuing to levels three and four in order to become a “journeyman” — a level of competence that is now recognized as a “Red Seal” trade all across Canada — or they can transfer into the second year of the diploma program.
As well as completing the four-levels of study, students are expected to clock at least 6,500 hours of practical on-the-job work time.
Citation courses are designed for people looking to enhance their skills or knowledge in a specific area of horticulture, such as lawn care, pest management, garden centre operation or landscape design or arboriculture.
“Citation courses are ideal for people who are working and want to gain credentials, but are not able to commit to a full-time diploma program,” Davidson says.
For information about courses and fees, go to kwantlen.ca
swhysall@vancouversun.com
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