Jazmin Albrarran, executive director of Seed Your Future, spoke to the industry at the Society of American Florists’ annual convention earlier this year. Albarran has connected with thousands of students in her role, inspiring them to pursue a career in horticulture.
Jazmin Albarran came to the horticulture industry in May 2021 when she stepped into the role of executive director for Seed Your Future, which works in partnership with the Society of American Florists to create a pipeline of talent by driving interest in careers in horticulture and floriculture. Since its founding 5 years ago, Seed Your Future has reached thousands of students—most recently those at the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo last month—to expose them to the wide array of career paths horticulture has to offer. Albarran shared her experiences and insights in a candid conversation that highlights the organization’s outreach and the benefits of working in the plant and flower industry.
SAF: In your first six months on the job, what have you learned about our industry?
Albarran: First of all, I’ve been incredibly taken aback by how happy, welcoming, passionate and supportive the people in this industry are. I’ve never been around so many nice people who have gone above and beyond to connect with me. Because you work with these beautiful, live products, it makes sense why you’re happy. It’s the living example of Seed Your Future —you’ll have a beautiful, satisfying career if you come into the industry.
SAF: What has surprised you about the industry?
Albarran: How many layers there are to it, the technology, marketing, design, business aspects. And I’m not unique – anyone who’s never worked in horticulture or floriculture likely doesn’t realize all of the careers that touch plants — all the families that touch a plant from conception of a seed to point of sale — the veil has been lifted for me. Now when I see flowers, I wonder, “Who bred it? Did they breed for color, texture or height?” It’s been fun to see plants in a new light. Closing that knowledge gap – making sure young people see and understand the rich possibilities in our industry – is the no. 1 purpose of Seed Your Future.
What has Seed Your Future done to close that gap? And what are the most impactful efforts towards reaching that goal to date?
So many efforts – the website is the first place to see what we’ve done. For instance, the website lists 147 careers with descriptions and salary expectation showing the depth and breadth of the industry. We provide information about industry scholarships and internships. We recently added an interactive “Where to Study” map with 2- and 4-year plant science degrees across the country and Canada.
Early on, we did focus groups with children and learned that they want their own space to access information about plants and careers, so we created the BLOOM! website just for them. The website includes a quiz that can help students determine the right plant job for them.
We create tools that will help teachers grow the passion of plants and flowers for next generation. Our WeAreBloom YouTube channel has 20+ videos that showcase horticulture in action and DIY videos to bring plants into the classroom.
The annual Plant Mash-Up contest hosted with Scholastic for middle schoolers has reached 12,000+ students to date. The 2022 contest is right around the corner, so be sure to share it with your friends, family and middle schools in your area.
We have been diligently working through paid social to increase our listserv which is now up to 87,000+ individuals all looking to learn more about careers in our industry. We have to continue developing new tools and resources to keep them engaged.
That’s a lot of progress – who’s behind all of that work?
We have an army of volunteers and funders that have been with Seed Your Future since the beginning. The volunteers have dedicated their time to research projects, outreach to schools, testing functionality of tools being developed, and helping establish the annual direction of the organization. The creation and maintenance of the websites, the annual plant mash-up contest and the YouTube videos would not be possible without ongoing financial support. In order to expand our reach we need to raise $500,000 in 2022.
What are your biggest initiatives for 2022 – and beyond?
In addition to continuing the initiatives mentioned earlier, I’ll be working with 15 colleges and universities across the country to develop outreach strategies and initiatives for middle and high schools in their local communities. We will use horticulture students as ambassadors to attend career days and talk to high school students about the potential careers with plants and flowers. Their enthusiasm can impact high school students.
I also want to increase diversity within our volunteers — we need more people with diversity in race, age, ethnicity, background, etc. A mixture of experience will bring a mixture of innovation into the work we’re doing. I need representation on the board and volunteer committees to help me come into different spaces like HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to talk about careers in plants and flowers.
In the coming year I want to find people of color who love the outdoors and have a passion for plants. We need those people educating young people about the work they’re doing and having them build that interest in young people.
SAF: What can individuals in the industry to help this movement?
Albarran: Help us spread the word about Seed your Future! This industry is the best kept secret. What can you do to help spread the word on all the career opportunities in horticulture and floriculture and how happy people are in this work. Flowers and plants impact physical, mental and emotional health – be a part of Seed Your Future’s effort to make sure young people know this. Help ensure the long-term success of this industry by partnering with us – as a donor, a volunteer or, better yet, both!
Editor’s note: Jazmin Albarran can be reached at jalbarran@seedyourfuture.org.
Julie Martens Forney is a contributing writer for SAF Now.
