Pro Landscaper October 2020
Not long after the first lockdown was announced, Johnstone Landscapes told us the measures it was putting in place to survive the pandemic as sites across the UK were temporarily closed. Six months later, we chatted to Tessa Johnstone about how these measures had panned out (pretty well, it turns out) and about her role as a BALI board member. Tessa backs BALI’s aim to attract new people to the industry, saying it’s important to ensure that the horticultural industry is inclusive too.
In our previous issue, we discussed how the industry could appeal to those from BAME backgrounds; this month, we looked at how it could draw in more women, with statistics identifying a gender gap in horticulture. We spoke to the horticultural associations, as well as Holly Youde of Urban Landscape Design (and vice-chair of the APL), Helen Ash of LUC and Claire Belderbos of Belderbos Landscapes about the action which could be taken to close the gap.
With the deadline mere weeks away, Brexit was a hot topic for our Nurture section this month. Lewis Normand spoke about the pros and cons of the new import rules coming into effect on 1 January, which could cause delays, whilst Nick Coslett discussed whether these new rules could put the pressure on nurseries to grow more in the UK rather than importing from the continent.
