North Carolina School Update We Want You!

By Jodi Songer, NCSU Department of Horticultural Science, Senior Lecturer

Uncle Sam said it, and so does the North Carolina State University Horticulture Wolfpack: “We Want You!” NCNLA members, hear our battle cry: Let’s partner. N.C. State Horticulture Department professors want to ensure that today’s graduates are meeting the needs of the industry, and one crucial way we can ensure that type of success is by teaming up with industry professionals and leveraging their expertise in our curriculum.

Many of our landscape and nursery courses incorporate opportunities to collaborate with professionals through field trips, guest speakers and events. As a landscape maintenance instructor, I continually partner with industry members to enrich students’ learning experiences. This fall in the Landscape Maintenance course, for example, students:

• climbed trees with Bartlett Tree Care

• explored irrigation system components with Ruppert Landscape

• analyzed commercial irrigation timers and systems with LandCare

• designed and assembled a portable irrigation system with SiteOne

• operated various landscape equipment and examined safety with Bland Landscaping

• examined business opportunities with Currin Outdoor Living Industry professionals interact with students during these experiential labs, which last two to three hours each, teaching important skills, making important connections and introducing students (as potential future interns and employees) to career opportunities. So, these collaborations are often mutually beneficial for both students and employers in the green industry — and they are so much more impactful than a quick hello at a career fair.

If you feel you could provide value to the N.C. State Horticulture program or would consider working with students in some capacity that could benefit your company and the future workforce, please contact me at jssonger@ncsu.edu. With courses in landscape design, maintenance, construction, nursery management, arboriculture, floriculture, business, and many other landscape and nursery specialties, there are numerous topics in which to lend your expertise. So please consider nourishing your relationships with N.C. horticulture students and making a positive impact on future nursery and landscape industry professionals — these partnerships are truly a win-win!