Learn About Green Schools in California

Sheinina West: Hello and welcome to Mom Lounge, I am your host Sheinina West. Today I am at the home garden of Shirley Bovshow. She is an in demand landscape designer of Los Angeles and the co-host and designer of the television show, Garden Police, which recently aired on Discovery Channel. Hello Shirley, how are you? Shirley Bovshow: I am doing great. Sheinina West: Thank you so much for having me today. As you are a professional in the field of landscape design, I thought you would be the perfect person to speak with about green curriculum throughout Los Angeles. I would love to ask for your advice on green curriculum and your support for the programs that do currently exist. Shirley Bovshow: Being a landscape designer here in Los Angeles and being a part of the LA Unified School District here in California, I really benefited from being a part of horticulture in many ways in my career. Sheinina West: Wow! Can you explain what the many different aspects of horticulture are for the viewers? Shirley Bovshow: Well, there are many ways you can learn horticulture, and many of the schools now are trying to implement curriculum that is green. It has to do with nature and the environment. For me, I have really benefited being a part of this whole industry because I function as a landscape designer in residential projects. As you mentioned before, I am also on television as a landscape designer for a makeover show, and also as a host of that show. I also write, I am a blogger, so I am bringing that talent in. I also work as a gardening coach, where I do one-to-one training for people who are interested in learning how to garden. So I think -- and that itself is exhausting and that's a lot of stuff. Sheinina West: Yes, exactly. Just hearing you say it, it almost seems overwhelming to know that there are so many different aspects that do exist in horticulture, and to know that the students are being given the opportunity to learn about this, is really a great thing that's being offered by the LA USC. That definitely as the Green School California Summit, we hope to show our support for those programs and encourage all the facility planners to not only increase funds, but to support the programs that do currently exist. Shirley Bovshow: Right. Sheinina, you made a good point, because right now, the climate, the thirst for knowledge for things that are environmentally conscious is at an all time high, and it's only going to get greater. I think that for students to be immersed in green curriculum, where they learn about horticulture, this will prepare them for lots of different careers in the future, and not necessarily just the careers that I am involved in, but also areas like, for instance, vintaculture; if any of the kids are interested in going on into food and wine, there is production, there is farming, there is research. Sheinina West: Right. Shirley Bovshow: Also, producing cosmetics, producing all types of pharmaceuticals that are natural and open. All of this comes from a horticultural background, and so for me, with all the technology that's going on, with all the concentration on, everybody learn about computers. That's beautiful, that's fine and dandy, but the reality is, doesn't it feel nice here? Sheinina West: Exactly, it feels nice, it looks nice, it smells nice. Shirley Bovshow: Well, I think that people as they stare into that computer, eight to ten hours a day, our kids are going to have to come up for air, and they are going to have to ground themselves in reality, and this is reality. This is where the plants are, where the soil is, where the air is, the sunshine. I think people are going to crave that. I like to call it Eden Making Creating Garden, and I consider myself an Eden Maker, but I am not the only one. Anyone who has their hand to the plow or their feet firmly grounded and have something to do with nature, I think those are the jobs that are going to be in demand, because when we do come up for air, we are going to need someone to design an area like this. We are going to need someone to maintain it. We are going to call that our public spaces. Have you noticed Sheinina that there is a lot of -- in the cities, a lot of the public squares are being developed with beautiful beautiful, beautiful landscaping? Sheinina West: Exactly. Of course, we are going to need people to build those and what better future to offer the students of Los Angeles than to build their own city, and give them the tools that they would need to do that. Shirley Bovshow: Right. I think that that's going to be so important. The role of the Eden Maker in our society, a lot of the young people, they are going to have great and increasing opportunities for work when they have something to do with nature. It doesn't mean that they are going to be ground sweepers or they are going to be growers. Well, there is nothing wrong with that, but something that's shifting too in my industry is that a lot of the people who are professional gardeners, now they have to be a lot more educated. They need to know about organic principles, chemicals, fertilizing, integrated pest management; its a fancy word for getting rid of the bugs, all of that kind of stuff, and so I think a solid education in green nature is just a well rounded education for all. Sheinina West: Thank you so much Shirley for inviting me to your garden today and really expressing your views and your support for green curriculum throughout Los Angeles, California and nationally of course. We support all schools throughout the country to have garden programs, green curriculum for the students, not only for the youth of today but for the youth for tomorrow.