Diversity and inclusion in horticulture - with Adrian Wickham and Tessa Johnstone

Horticulture Week Podcast

This episode Glendale's director of corporate development Adrian Wickham and Tessa Johnstone of Johnstone's Landscapes return to the Horticulture Week Podcast to give us an update on their important work on improving diversity in horticulture industry.

Both members of the BALI board, they joined various industry associations to sign Equality Diversity and Inclustion (EDI) charter last year and they talk about the work and aspirations around the charter including the ever-present skills shortage.

They have expanded their work to reach out to all areas of horticulture and collaboration is a key way they hope to make progress which includes sharing work and good practice in EDI, setting benchmarking and helping organisations upskill in this area.

Adrian has created an industry standard questionnaire to gain an industry "baseline" to, as Tessa says, "not just be a tickbox exercise but something that guides us through and does actually achieve change in the industry".

They discuss progress achieved since we last spoke to them (in 2021 - listen here) which includes, and starts with, a greater awareness in the horticulture industry.

Adrian outlines improvements in Glendale including mental health training carried out in collaboration with horticulture charity Perennial. The company has also joined the Design Lab - a London-based initiative, to examine and encourage best practice.

A key area of improvement is how to improve recruitment practice - application forms, wording on job ads, approaches to interviews - to more effectively give opportunities to people to more diverse backgrounds. Adrian speaks about initiatives working with prison populations. And Tessa outlines ways to close the gender pay gap and measures she's taken in her own business to improve EDI - including signing up to the 'Disabilty Confident' scheme and taking on a new employee with autism.

In summary, businesses should be less afraid of 'doing it wrong' and look into small ways they can improve. "Everybody has unconscious bias" says Adrian, adding "don't be afraid of your thoughts".

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