The Johns S. Knight Center has just wrapped up their 2012 Home and Garden Show, NEOhio garden.com was in attendance at the Ohio Landscape Association booth and we couldn’t help but notice something was missing.
I have been speaking with nursery owners, landscape operators and others present in the green industry and we are all noticing the same thing, where is generation “y”?
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of younger folks attending the Horticultural programs at Ohio State and Kent State extensions alike, but I am missing the gardeners, the soul who gardens for fun not work. Of course most of us who work in this industry enjoy our jobs tremendously, most of the time. Though, I am seeing a decline in the basic interest of gardening among the youth and all of my industry colleagues are asking why?
Has social media and the likes in technology taken the place of our outdoors? You can create your own garden on Farmville – but have you tried to eat one of those apples? You can create an oasis of luxury on your laptop, but have you tried to run your toes through that stream? I enjoy the leaps and bounds we have made in technology as much as the next person, will it be to our detriment? What about the real outdoors? Creating sustainable space for the next generation, where have they gone?
Generation “Y” Where are you? Has the technology for the outdoors just not been able to keep up to speed for your interest? What would interest you? What would cause you to put down the iPhone, let your computer rest and go out and get your hands dirty?
I am humbly asking you, generation “Y”, to respond to my plea? Send me an email at Ask Michelle at NEOhiogarden.com; let me know what we can do to get you involved. Let me know if you love gardening but do not have the time, let me know if you hate gardening because of X, Y, Z. Let me know what may cause you to venture into the nearest nursery.
The world is changing quickly, gardening not only encourages beautiful landscapes it promotes sustainable gardens, farmers markets, local produce, wildlife habitats and more. Where would we be without the outdoors? Where would we be without stewards who care for our environment?
I usually try to offer some good gardening advice in this post, I am asking for your input.
Where is generation “Y” and what can we do.
