Participants spent the first day visiting a number of forest sites around Waterford where they learned about working in the forestry sector. The forestry day was led by Tom Kent, programme director of SETU’s BSc in Forestry programme, and forest industry representatives Drue Dickinson, assistant forester with Lismore Castle Estate and Damien Raggett, forest manager with Veon Forestry Ltd. Participants spent a second day with Dr Cara Daly, the programme director of SETU’s BSc in Horticulture, in the horticulture unit in Teagasc's Kildalton College, where they visited the horticulture facilities and heard and watched demonstrations from Teagasc horticulture lecturers Grainne McMahon, Fred Townsend and Eamon Kealy.
The immersive and hands-on experiential days are designed to give the youth group members a first-hand look at the work, skills and opportunities available in the forestry and horticulture sectors.
According to Tom: “With these events, we aim to increase awareness of the employment opportunities available in these fields and encourage young people to consider careers in horticulture and forestry.
“Both horticulture and forestry offer diverse and interesting careers working in nature and both sectors are actively seeking new entrants at all levels.”
On both days, the youth group learned about jobs and skills necessary for the diverse range of jobs available in horticulture/gardening and forestry. Participants were enthusiastic and asked lots of questions of lecturers and SETU degree students who explained their thesis project work and experiences as SETU students.
Dr Cara Daly thanked Teagasc colleagues who gave interesting demonstrations of their top tier equipment, horticulture machinery and facilities. “It was great to hear that participants’ minds were opened to new work and study options in horticulture with both SETU and Teagasc,” she said.
Dr Daly went on to explain: “Experiential days can be beneficial for personal growth, skill-building, and team development. Actively participating in activities and experiences brings new insights and perspectives, it can improve problem-solving and communication skills, and can help develop a deeper understanding of yourself and others.
Declan O Driscoll, coordinator of the Pathways Youth EmployAbility Programme, said: “The young people really had their eyes opened by the experience of being out in the forests and fields, and seeing what forestry and horticulture are all about. They’ve never had these opportunities before to see what’s possible. The seeds have been planted, and now we’ll see what grows”.