Should I save the world, or should I be realistic?
By Daniel Fuller
I was born in 1990, and like many of my fellow millennials, I grew up being told that I could do anything I put my mind to. I believe that the world could be better than it is right now, and I reckon I’ve got some pretty good ideas on the direction we need to move as an industry. But, I also need to earn a living and I’ve never met an employer willing to pay me to follow through on my utopian ideas.
The struggle is real.
For many of us, the dream of entering the horticulture and landscape industry is fueled by a passion for nurturing natural systems and creating beautiful green spaces. However, reality often involves hard, physical work that may not align with the idyllic vision we initially had.
In the early years of your career, you are not the one making decisions. You are the boots on the ground, fulfilling the work decision makers assign. These decision makers have usually earned their positions through decades of hard work, often within the industry, though sometimes they bring transferable skills from other sectors.
Those decades of hard work have allowed them to see a bigger picture than they did when they started out their careers. Countless mistakes have stripped the rose coloured glasses from their eyes, and they no longer see the world as they did when they were younger. They probably still want to change the world for the better, but their expectations of their own abilities may have cooled down a little bit. They’ve become less idealistic, and more realistic.
Most people get into Natural Resource Management (NRM) and revegetation because they want to improve conditions for our locally endemic flora and fauna around the country, but a massive part of the job will involve spraying controversial chemicals. This can be distressing for ideological workers who feel that their beliefs should be adopted by the company, without realising the complexity of the situation.
We can’t even agree on which chemicals should be available to whom and under which circumstances, and intelligent people are on every side of the argument. What makes you and I think that everybody else should go along with our beliefs?
One of the strengths of the horticulture and landscape industry is the diversity of perspectives. This diversity safeguards against the pitfalls of unilateral decision-making. By having regular conversations and understanding the limits of our understanding, we challenge each other’s assumptions, leading to more robust and balanced solutions.
Change should happen slowly because hasty decisions can lead to unexpected consequences. For example, banning certain herbicides in the NRM sector would lead to an increase in invasive weeds, potentially leading to poorer ecological outcomes. We can’t hand-weed or mulch over massive land areas – who would pay for it?
It may be a good thing that it’s difficult to work your way into a position of power to enact change. Maybe we should accept our place in the world; begin working on a strong career foundation today, and then earn the right to change the world before we try to tinker too hard with the way the world works.
I’m not saying you should give up on your dreams of making the world a better place. You have a unique perspective, set of skills, and experiences, and it’s your duty to combine them into a cohesive world view and approach to life.
But if you’re just getting started, maybe you should cool your jets slightly. Spend a couple of decades working under wise people and learn from them. Find a mentor who can point you in the right direction, and become the person capable of making good decisions before you feel entitled to sit on the throne.
Daniel Fuller
M: 042 6169 708
E: hello@plantsgrowhere.com
W: hortpeople.com