September 10, 2024
Engaging youth is everything for Jay Terryberry
By Julia Harmsworth
Long-time Landscape Ontario volunteer Jay Terryberry has dedicated his many years with the Windsor Chapter to engaging and educating young people in the landscape and horticulture trades.
“One of the great things about horticulture that we explain to students is it’s hard work, but [it comes with] tremendous satisfaction. There are so many things you can get involved in. There’s landscape construction, there’s greenhouse growing, there’s golf course, there’s sod — it goes on and on and on,” Terryberry said.
After graduating from the Landscape Horticulture program at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont., in 1981, Terryberry worked in the garden centre at Orchard Farms doing turf maintenance, deliveries and landscape installations.
Terryberry returned to his alma mater in 1987, teaching courses in turf care, environmental sciences, construction, greenhouse growing and horticulture science before retiring in 2019. “There wasn’t much there that I didn’t teach,”
he said.
Terryberry first learned of LO as a student. His college instructors were members and encouraged students to attend meetings and to volunteer; the students often built gardens at local malls. Terryberry became a member himself partly to continue this legacy.
“When I was teaching, I wanted the students to make sure that they were involved as much as they possibly could be with LO,” Terryberry said. He brought his students to Congress to build gardens and encouraged them to participate in skill competitions at Canada Blooms.
During his early involvement with the Windsor Chapter Board — on which he was a director, St. Clair College liaison, vice-president, president and now past president — he worked on LO’s early education programs and student initiatives.
Terryberry also participated in meetings about getting younger people involved in the trades. He believes exposing students to LO is key to both their employment post-grad and the future of the industry. As the older generation retires from the profession and looks to pass on the torch, they’re finding there aren’t enough qualified people to carry it on.
“That’s still the big question now: how do you get more people in the trades, and how do you keep them there?” Terryberry said. As a positive step forward, a student representative from St. Clair College currently sits on the Windsor Chapter Board.
“We’ve always had a really good involvement with St. Clair College, and being a former staff member, that was my goal: to keep them involved. The more they get involved, the better it is for the industry,” he said.
When asked about his favourite volunteer projects he’s worked on, Terryberry named three: First, the chapter’s efforts designing, building and maintaining gardens at the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
Second, LO’s garden makeover initiative to give back to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter donated time and materials to make over the garden of Dan and Megan Monk — a firefighter and nurse — in Amherstburg, Ont.
“We did their front and back yard. We sodded it and put in all kinds of plants. It turned out great and they were so thankful,” Terryberry said. “It’s a good thing to set up and do, and I was really happy to be involved with that.”
Third, the chapter’s efforts sponsoring the Windsor Residence for Young Men, which aids 16- to 24-year-old men experiencing homelessness. Volunteers do landscape maintenance work on the organization’s property in Windsor, and the chapter supports it in annual charity golf tournaments.
“The chapter is very strong in our own small way. We’re trying to keep everybody engaged and keep the industry moving forward,” Terryberry said.
One of Terryberry’s favourite things about being involved with LO is the camaraderie and support between members. He enjoys sitting down with people, sharing insights about their businesses, learning from each other and collaborating to make everyone successful.
“You come together — sometimes it’s just over a beer — and you talk to people about the industry and where it’s been and where it’s going,” he said. “We’re helping each other out.”
In addition to seeing fellow members succeed, Terryberry finds great satisfaction in seeing his students succeed. For him, a lot of that success comes from involvement. He expressed thanks to those who gave him the push to get involved, and strives to pay this effort forward to young landscape and horticulture professionals.
“Seeing [my students] graduate and seeing how many of them have gone on to be successful — it’s very satisfying. It’s good to run into old students who say, ‘Hey, I’m still in the trades and I’m still very successful.’ That’s the best part of it."
Long-time Landscape Ontario volunteer Jay Terryberry has dedicated his many years with the Windsor Chapter to engaging and educating young people in the landscape and horticulture trades.
“One of the great things about horticulture that we explain to students is it’s hard work, but [it comes with] tremendous satisfaction. There are so many things you can get involved in. There’s landscape construction, there’s greenhouse growing, there’s golf course, there’s sod — it goes on and on and on,” Terryberry said.
After graduating from the Landscape Horticulture program at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont., in 1981, Terryberry worked in the garden centre at Orchard Farms doing turf maintenance, deliveries and landscape installations.
Terryberry returned to his alma mater in 1987, teaching courses in turf care, environmental sciences, construction, greenhouse growing and horticulture science before retiring in 2019. “There wasn’t much there that I didn’t teach,”
he said.
Terryberry first learned of LO as a student. His college instructors were members and encouraged students to attend meetings and to volunteer; the students often built gardens at local malls. Terryberry became a member himself partly to continue this legacy.
“When I was teaching, I wanted the students to make sure that they were involved as much as they possibly could be with LO,” Terryberry said. He brought his students to Congress to build gardens and encouraged them to participate in skill competitions at Canada Blooms.
During his early involvement with the Windsor Chapter Board — on which he was a director, St. Clair College liaison, vice-president, president and now past president — he worked on LO’s early education programs and student initiatives.
Terryberry also participated in meetings about getting younger people involved in the trades. He believes exposing students to LO is key to both their employment post-grad and the future of the industry. As the older generation retires from the profession and looks to pass on the torch, they’re finding there aren’t enough qualified people to carry it on.
“That’s still the big question now: how do you get more people in the trades, and how do you keep them there?” Terryberry said. As a positive step forward, a student representative from St. Clair College currently sits on the Windsor Chapter Board.
“We’ve always had a really good involvement with St. Clair College, and being a former staff member, that was my goal: to keep them involved. The more they get involved, the better it is for the industry,” he said.
When asked about his favourite volunteer projects he’s worked on, Terryberry named three: First, the chapter’s efforts designing, building and maintaining gardens at the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County.
Second, LO’s garden makeover initiative to give back to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter donated time and materials to make over the garden of Dan and Megan Monk — a firefighter and nurse — in Amherstburg, Ont.
“We did their front and back yard. We sodded it and put in all kinds of plants. It turned out great and they were so thankful,” Terryberry said. “It’s a good thing to set up and do, and I was really happy to be involved with that.”
Third, the chapter’s efforts sponsoring the Windsor Residence for Young Men, which aids 16- to 24-year-old men experiencing homelessness. Volunteers do landscape maintenance work on the organization’s property in Windsor, and the chapter supports it in annual charity golf tournaments.
“The chapter is very strong in our own small way. We’re trying to keep everybody engaged and keep the industry moving forward,” Terryberry said.
One of Terryberry’s favourite things about being involved with LO is the camaraderie and support between members. He enjoys sitting down with people, sharing insights about their businesses, learning from each other and collaborating to make everyone successful.
“You come together — sometimes it’s just over a beer — and you talk to people about the industry and where it’s been and where it’s going,” he said. “We’re helping each other out.”
In addition to seeing fellow members succeed, Terryberry finds great satisfaction in seeing his students succeed. For him, a lot of that success comes from involvement. He expressed thanks to those who gave him the push to get involved, and strives to pay this effort forward to young landscape and horticulture professionals.
“Seeing [my students] graduate and seeing how many of them have gone on to be successful — it’s very satisfying. It’s good to run into old students who say, ‘Hey, I’m still in the trades and I’m still very successful.’ That’s the best part of it."