Q&A with a Sustainable Horticulture Alumni
From garden designer to business owner, Amy Poff shares how CCBC helped her grow her knowledge, confidence and career in sustainable horticulture.
CCBC’s Sustainable Horticulture program provides students with an entry into the field, as well as opportunities to dig deeper into their careers. Amy Poff, a program graduate, is now the owner and designer of Hallowed Ground. We caught up with her to talk about her experience at CCBC and where it has taken her.
A: I began as a garden designer, and I just really wanted my own thing. I felt like I lacked the science background. I had the design background, and I loved plants, but I didn’t have the basic botany or all of the plant identification skills.
I wanted to feel really confident going out into the world and talking to people about plants, giving them the right information and making the right choices for their gardens.
A: A big piece of the CCBC program that influenced me was the emphasis on sustainability, striking a balance between native and non-native plants, being able to recognize and avoid invasive plants and making sure that we were providing garden designs that were resilient, beautiful and eco-beneficial at the same time.
A: Whether you go in as a certificate student, a degree-seeking student or someone taking a class to improve your skill set, you go through with a cohort of students who are learning at the same time you are and are all bringing something different to the table.
That opportunity for hands-on learning in a classroom with professionals in the field is unmatched.
A: We know psychologically that nature is calming; it leads to better outcomes in terms of resilience as a human. Being able to have that interaction with green spaces is a really important way of connecting to ourselves and therefore connecting to our larger community.
A: I really love having a job that I am passionate about. I think that now is really the moment to be moving into sustainable horticulture as an industry. Sustainability, understanding plants and understanding ecosystem relationships really are the direction that the landscape is moving toward.