Enhancing Pedagogy and
Landscape Horticulture Curriculum 

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There are two primary drivers for the need to enhance pedagogy and landscape horticulture curriculum in Canada.

First is the commitment from Canadian post-secondary universities and colleges and institutes to integrate the United Nations’ sustainable development goals into TVET. It’s widely known that TVET industries are leading contributors to carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming. Therefore, a central goal of the project is to target landscape horticulture, a subset of TVET, by providing tangible examples of how to reframe curriculum and pedagogy to include information and context on carbon emissions and adaptive mindsets, theories, and practices.

Video from UNESCO International Centre for Technical, Vocational Education and Training

Change is needed to Green (the already green) Landscape Horticulture

The horticulture industry is facing the challenge of adapting to the changing climate, and as such, the theory, skills, and practices taught in horticulture skilled trades programs need to evolve to present solutions that prepare students for a changing industry. In response, horticulture instructors can choose to adjust their pedagogies and enhance the existing curriculum to include theories and adaptive practices for addressing complex global issues. In doing so, it’s possible to reframe and shape the knowledge and skills shared with horticulture students, preparing them to effectively engage in current and future work in the horticulture industry.  Ultimately, instructors can serve students by equipping them with the necessary green mindset and skills to take on diverse and dynamic leadership roles within the horticulture industry.

Change is More than a Green Mindset and Skills

However, the change needed extends beyond adjusting pedagogy and horticultural practices to incorporate green mindsets and skills in response to climate change. Instigating meaningful change involves respectfully delving into the historical and cultural influences that contributed to the current situation, thereby shaping the need for change. Throughout Canada’s history, education systems have been moulded by the prevailing societal consensus, driven by political, economic, and societal beliefs that reflect the values of specific eras and trajectories. Consequently, “education systems reflect the values of societies, both through the knowledge they consider worth teaching and the skills they hope to develop through the study of those topics and themes” (Lucas & Claxton, 2009, p. 8).

Looking Back: Truth and Reconciliation

The second primary driver for the need to enhance the landscape horticulture curriculum in Canada is in response to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples the 94 Calls to Action recommended in the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As reported in Inspire’s research, Truth and Reconciliation in Post-Secondary Settings: Student Experience (2018), “nineteen of these Calls to Action have direct implications for post-secondary settings and those working within these settings” (p.6).

It is acknowledged that all of the Calls to Action are equally important; however, this module was developed to raise awareness and respond to the Calls to Action related to post-secondary, TVET, and landscape horticulture, specifically:

Number 57: Professional Development and Training for Public Servants “We call upon federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments to provide education to the public servants on the history of Aboriginal peoples, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, Indigenous law, and Aboriginal-Crown relations. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism (p.7)”.

and

Number 62: Education for Reconciliation: “We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial
governments, in consultation and collaboration with Survivors, Aboriginal peoples, and educators, to:
ii.“Provide the necessary funding to post-secondary institutions to educate teachers on how to integrate Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods into classrooms” (p.7).

Grounding in Truth before Reconciliation

Recognizing and addressing the injustices, marginalization, and cultural erasure experienced by Indigenous Peoples and communities throughout the history of Canada and the educational landscape is an integral part of fostering genuine Truth, understanding, and inclusivity.

Let’s take a deeper look at the history of Canada, the history of education in Canada, and the history of the development of landscape horticulture curricula. We can identify the voices that determined how the horticulture curriculum was developed, what was included in the curriculum, and who the curriculum was meant to serve. In doing so, it’s evident that Indigenous Knowledge, perceptions or world views, voice, and ways of learning and doing are missing, and this has a consequence for what has been historically taught and how it has been taught.

Speaker: Chief Robert Joseph shares his experience as a residential school survivor and the importance of truth and reconciliation in Canada.

By acknowledging the historical roots and the Truth that have shaped current societies and education systems, we can work towards a more equitable and reconciled educational system that respects and appropriately integrates Indigenous Knowledge, perceptions, and ways of learning where appropriate, contributing to a broader societal healing process in an attempt toward Reconciliation.

Feeling stuck

However, one of the hardest parts of change is knowing where to start. As noted by Sheila Cote-Meek, Associate Vice President of Academic and Indigenous Programs at Laurentian University, in the article by Universities Canada called Postsecondary Education and Reconciliation:

“I hear a desire to bring about change, but often people then get stuck and ask, “What specifically needs to change?” The issue is complex and requires dialogue that is followed up with action. Bringing about deeper systemic, transformative and reconciliatory change demands, at a minimum, that four intersecting aspects be considered: addressing the systemic under-representation of Indigenous peoples in the academy; providing sufficient resources to any program or change that is put in place; changing the structure by way of decision-making; and changing the culture of the institution” …

“As a result of the TRC’s Calls to Action, we are now witnessing increased attention to curricula at all levels of education. However, increasing Indigenous content and perspectives does not mean simply adding to existing curricula; it requires dialogue and a deep understanding of the history of this country, including the relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler society. I believe that Indigenous faculty must play a critical role in bringing about needed changes to curricula”.

Two-Eyed Seeing

Etuaptmumk is the Mi’kmaw word for Two-Eyed  Seeing.

“Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall from Eskasoni First Nation in Atlantic Canada uses the phrase “Two-Eyed Seeing” as a guiding principle for collaboration between mainstream and Indigenous Knowledges and ways of knowing. He emphasizes that we need to learn to see from one eye with the strengths (or best) in the Indigenous Knowledges and ways of knowing and learn to see from the other eye with the strengths (or best) in the mainstream … and, most importantly, we need to learn to see with both these eyes together for the benefit of all Peoples and others on Mother Earth” (Bartlett, 2012).

Video credit: Cheryl Bartlett

So, where does this leave us now?

This module intends to respectfully acknowledge the Truth of Canada’s history and the education system as related to landscape horticulture. In addition, the module intends to actively contribute to the work of Reconciliation through the lens of Etuaptmumk or Two-Eyed  Seeing by asking learners to reflect and reconsider the existing curriculum by appropriately and respectfully acknowledging or integrating Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing into the existing landscape horticulture curriculum (also known as pedagogy).

Ultimately, this module is calling on landscape horticulture instructors across Canada to consider the historical context and immediate need for change by reflecting on their personal beliefs and values and reflecting on how this influences their approach to teaching and learning in the field of landscape horticulture.