Celebrating Hispanic Heritage in the Green Industry

We just marked the end of Hispanic Heritage Month, a 30-day celebration of our Hispanic and Latino communities and their contributions to the United States. And so I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on the enormous impact that these groups have made over the years, not only on Mariani Plants, but on the green industry as a whole. A 2021 survey from the Journal of Consumer Research found that over 60% of landscaping industry workers identified as Hispanic or Latino, despite making up less than 20% of the population. The 2019-2020 National Agricultural Workers Study reported that 78% of all agricultural workers were Hispanic.

I could cite statistics all day, but I think any one of us can simply step onto a local jobsite or into a nearby greenhouse or nursery, or take a walk outside the door of our own business, and immediately feel the influence of our Hispanic co-workers, employees, customers, peers, and industry partners. I have the privilege of being able to do this every day. And it only takes a few conversations to understand that the Hispanic demographic of our industry is incredibly diverse.

At Mariani Plants, our Hispanic team members run the gamut from supervisors who have worked with us for over 20 years and helped to build our company from the ground up, to crew members who only arrived in the U.S. this spring. We have employees who have traveled to us from Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Venezuela. Some have fled unrest and faced a lot of danger to get here, while others have a background reminiscent of my own, albeit in a different country. But, regardless of how different their experiences are, there is one thing that unites them: their stories are all resoundingly American. They’re the stories of people who want to work hard, pursue opportunities, provide for their families, and celebrate life.

The contributions of Hispanic populations have helped to build our industry into what it is today, and without them it wouldn’t be as strong or as vibrant. It’s encouraging to see a stronger presence of Hispanic and Latino professionals at industry events like iLandscape, and I think it’s crucial that we do what we can to promote opportunities and increase the representation of Hispanic employees in leadership positions. When we increase the diversity of voices involved in the decision-making process, we only make ourselves stronger. Our marketing efforts should also recognize the Hispanic market by generating content that inspires and appeals to this growing segment of our consumer base. We at Mariani Plants are especially grateful to the Hispanic members of our team as this Hispanic Heritage Month winds down. We have worked together, through the best of times and the most challenging of times, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their contributions.