NEXTGEN: DARCY UNDERWOOD
Interview with NextGen
DARCY UNDERWOOD Mansfields Propagation Nursery
Where do you work and what is your role? I work at Mansfields Propagation Nursery in Skye. I am currently training to be the 2IC Grower.
How long have you worked where you are and has your role progressed in the time you have been there? I have been at Mansfields for just over two years now. I started my job at Mansfields in the Mother Stock and Tree Pot areas. Over that two-year period, I have slowly transitioned into the Tubes area where I currently work. I have been fortunate to have worked in many different areas of the business even if only for short periods. Some of these other areas include Tissue Culture stock, Potting and Sorting.
What do you like most about the nursery industry?
Are any of your family members in the horticulture industry?
I find working with plants really enjoyable. Knowing that you’ve put in the time and effort into a plant and seeing it grow healthy and strong is rewarding. I also love that I can do indirect activity every day at work to stay healthy and fit.
Once finished with my studies I will be a fifth-generation horticulturalist. My mother and father had their own nursery/ landscaping business for years and they, along with my grandmother who is also a very experienced horticulturalist, encouraged me to pursue a job in the field. Ever since I could walk I was outside helping mum and dad in the nursery or garden and that played a major factor in my basic knowledge of horticulture before I even thought about studying or working in the field.
Where would you like your career to go to within the industry? Looking into the future I would like to eventually become a head grower/manager or own my own business. I’m really happy with how my career has progressed already and can’t wait to see what else the industry has to offer me.
How did you end up working in the nursery industry? My Mum and Dad used to own their own nursery, so I was surrounded by the industry from a very young age. My first paid job was with my Dad at a previous smaller nursery. I started by doing only two days a week, then three, then four, and I eventually started my apprenticeship just under a year after starting casual work. In my second year through a few good connections, I got the job at Mansfields where I currently work and I am loving it!
What is a typical day like for you? A typical day for me would be to start by checking the watering/irrigation to make sure the plants are not too dry or too wet. Next, I would start allocating where our newly produced plants are going in the nursery. Once they plants are on the ground, I would water them in and set the team and myself up for the rest of the day. Being a grower, these jobs include cutting back, feeding, moving, spraying and weeding primarily. 26
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Have you studied horticulture and where? I am currently studying at Chisholm TAFE in Cranbourne. I am completing my Certificate III in Production Nursery.
What level of study are you at presently and how much more do you plan on doing? I am currently in the last year of my apprenticeship and hope to be signed off very soon. I have considered doing my diploma or a degree in horticulture, but I think I will have a break from study after my apprenticeship is complete to focus on my career.
Where would you like your career to go within the industry? In my spare time I am usually doing something active like running, working in the garden (I live on 11 acres so there is plenty of it), or playing for my local football team.
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