13 / MACHINERY 12 / RETAIL
WHY CLIMATE CHANGE MIGHT NOT BE A CRISIS FOR THE HORTICULTURE SECTOR
TU Dublin student Aideen Loftus sees more opportunities than challenges facing the Horticulture retail sector as a result of climate change
T
here is no escaping the issue of the climate crisis in Ireland. Met Éireann statistics show that our weather, or what the WHO refers to as ‘the day-to-day face of the Climate Emergency’, is slowly changing. Our winters are getting wetter, summers are warmer and dryer. We constantly hear of new government initiatives to decrease carbon dioxide outputs,
cut down on plastic use, improve biodiversity and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Next to farmers, Irish gardeners are confronted with the reality of climate change more than most of the general public. Research undertaken in the UK has shown that gardening practices will have to be adjusted. As the direct link to the gardening public, the horticulture sector has the choice to lead the charge towards climate-adjusted gardening or to adopt the “not-until-we-have-to” approach. The All Ireland Pollinator Plan has captured the public’s imagination. Bug hotels, wildflower meadows, "No Mow May" – these are notions that would never have been considered proper gardening only a few years ago. Yet, sales of wildflower mixes are up, plants are being marketed as “pollinator-friendly” and even pesticides are being labelled “organic”. However, in my research, undertaken as part of the BSc Horticulture (Hons) at Technological University Dublin, I found a notable anomaly. 96% of gardeners in the survey said they actively grow plants to attract pollinators, yet almost a quarter of these use both herbicides and pesticides in the garden, missing the connection between chemical use, and its detrimental effects on pollinators and overall environmental damage. The research, conducted in spring of 2022, confirmed that garden centres are very aware of who their traditional customer is; predominantly female and over 50. This is borne out both by data from Bord Bia in Ireland and similar RHS figures in the UK. Gardening retail soared during the pandemic bringing in new customers. These are the “Gardeners of the Future” referred to in Bord Bia’s 2017 report; younger, more environmentally aware and
Summer 2022 / HC
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