Forward thinking by a growing industry

‘We're introducing technologies that are making working safer and utilising our resources better,’ said Michael Bednarz, CEO of Powerplants, which displayed some of their greenhouse products at the showcase.

With the horticulture industry directly employing more than 24,000 people across Victoria, there is a strong emphasis on occupational health and safety, Mr Bednarz noted, including through use of automation and logistics systems that assist with any laborious tasks that may involve injury or repetition.

‘We're introducing new people into the industry that have manufacturing or mechanical experience,’ he said.

‘The work we're removing through technologies is often work that people don't want to do.’

There's a lot of interest from young people, he said, as the industry is now dealing with electronics, mechanisation, artifical intelligence, as well as drone and other emergent technologies.

‘We need to not only teach people how to grow plants, but we need to teach them how to grow plants with technology,’ he said, noting the need for training facilities where people can learn with the latest technology.

Minimising the use of fertiliser and pesticides is also ensuring a smaller ecological footprint.

‘We're able to grow better plants in a healthier and more sustainable way,’ he said.

The value of horticulture was emphasised by a range of people participating in the showcase.

’It's not just growing plants, it's people designing, it's people constructing, it's people maintaining. It gives great mental health benefits and physical health benefits, so it's an industry that is a must, not just for the people in it, but for everyone else,’ said landscape designer Charlie Albone.

‘Plants are the solution for vibrant communities and for mitigating climate change, and it's such a vibrant and beautiful industry to be part of. It's important that we support it,’ said Jac Semmler, plant designer at Super Bloom.

The showcase was organised by Nursery & Garden Industry Victoria, the peak body for the state’s horticultural industry.

'We're worth about two and a half billion dollars as an industry to Victoria and we're the pathway to a greener Victoria to get us back to being the Garden State,’ said NGIV President Carl Soderlund.