The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) hosted an Access All Areas: Inclusion & Diversity panel event on Thursday 2nd December.
The 90-minute discussion was live-streamed and recorded in front of a small audience at The Auditorium, Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London, meaning everyone could be part of the event by registering to watch for free via Zoom. The recording will also be added to the BALI website following the occasion, therefore no one will have to miss out on the insightful conversation.
To find out more about the event, please click here
The panel explored how to make the gardening and landscape industry more accessible to all. Together, they openly discussed how to ensure the industry becomes more inclusive over the coming years, something which is particularly vital as people’s interest and desire to be involved in horticulture and landscaping continues to grow.
Hosted by Board Directors Adrian Wickham and Paul Downer, the panel talked about the barriers that people both within the landscaping industry, and those looking to enter it, face in relation to accessibility, attitudes, facilities and not being considered a suitable fit for a role.
The two posed questions to a fantastic, knowledgeable group of panellists, including Head Gardener of Horatio’s Garden London & South East, Ashley Edwards, who appeared alongside five other brilliant individuals:
Manoj Malde, award-winning garden designer, TV presenter, public speaker, blogger and RHS Judge
Mark Lane, BBC Gardening presenter and writer
Flo Headlam, designer and gardening presenter
Dr Ekua McMorris, artist and curator of Sowing Roots
Helen Waddington, Head of Casework at Perennial
Seeing Ashley and all the panellists uniting to have this thoughtful, powerful and overwhelmingly important conversation was truly inspiring and we sincerely hope it has a far-reaching impact on everyone who’s involved in the landscaping industry and in the world beyond.
