The world of agriculture or horticulture offers a vast degree of personal and professional enrichment, as there is no end to the benefits of working outdoors. Spending more time in nature has been proven to boost mood, productivity and overall mental and physical health. The NSW Government website writes about how nature affects us as humans, and how spending time in the natural world can have an extremely positive outcome.
Indeed, in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, we can forget to stop, take a breath, and look at the beautiful world around us: the sun that gives us warmth and vitamins, trees that help produce oxygen, as well as the abundance of beautiful flowers and creatures with which we share the world.Â
Earth has become pretty worse for wear with the rise of human inventions, and it is vital to remind ourselves of the importance of maintaining the natural world. Without it, we would cease to exist.
Mother Nature always does her best to look after and provide for us, it’s time we returned the favour.
Agriculture is described as ‘the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products (Oxford Languages).
Agricultural jobs are vital to maintaining our ecosystem, caring for land and animals alike to keep the Earth healthy and thriving. Popular work sectors in the agriculture industry include:
- Organic farming and sustainable agriculture – working with nature, rather than against it. Organic produce has become increasingly popular in recent years, with buyers placing importance on products that have had minimal human interference, with nature just being allowed to do its thing. Sustainability is vital in ensuring the safe future of our planet, farming methods that may be faster or more ‘productive’ can be cruel and damaging to both animals and land.
- Livestock management – learning how to correctly care for livestock animals such as cows, sheep, pigs and poultry. Roles in this sector will teach you yearly farming industry, livestock systems and how to deal with animal disease and health issues.
- Viticulture – get your glasses ready with the production of wine. But there is more to this grown-up grape juice than meets the eye. Wine-making is an intricate and extensive process, starting right from soil biology and ecology, pest control, vine management and growing grapes appropriate to their environment, all the way to vineyard management and culture.
Horticulture is described as ‘the art or practice of garden cultivation and management’ (Oxford Languages). With so much focus on the maintenance of food sources, it is easy to forget about the host of plants that may not fill your stomach, but which will fill your soul.
Nature is known for its vibrance of beauty, a place to escape to when life gets overwhelming. Natural spaces allow us to breathe and focus, grounding us and getting us back in touch with ourselves and the world we inhabit. We are animals, and we are a part of nature as the hares in the fields and the fishes in the ocean. We are a part of this big beautiful world – it feeds us and nourishes us, provides warmth and shelter and resources to build and innovate.
As we mentioned before, spending time in nature has proved to be extremely beneficial for mental health, with walking and outdoor therapies becoming more popular in recent years as research progresses. Some popular jobs in the horticulture industry include:
- Horticulturist – becoming a horticulturist is the perfect job for someone with green fingers! Avid gardeners and planet lovers will take to this career like a duck to water, and will introduce you to topics such as soil types, plant science, plant identification, as well as the management of weeds, pests and diseases that may threaten your garden.
- Landscaper – a job perfect for a budding artist with a big vision. Landscaping involves the aesthetic maintenance of gardens and natural spaces, keeping things neat and blooming brightly. If you have a wild imagination, this could just be the job for you – a career that allows you to innovate and push the boundaries of natural beauty. This job requires a high level of skill and technique, so you best get started!
- Nature Park Manager – where preservation reigns supreme. Nature parks strive to preserve nature in its purest form, keeping it safe from outside influence and ensuring it remains the wild oasis that it should be. Whilst training as a nature park manager you will learn how to maintain and preserve natural spaces such as national parks, reserves and zoos, equipping you with the skills and ability to work alongside nature, building paths and rockeries, pools, nature trails and maintaining an overall balanced ecosystem.
The truth is, there is no right answer to which is better. Both agriculture and horticulture are vital practices in ensuring the maintenance and vitality of the natural world and ecosystem.
Both industries are more intertwined than you think. Without plant maintenance, animals don’t have food and therefore cannot thrive and maintain natural order and harmony to both the animal kingdom and humans alike.
Agriculture feeds our physical needs, while horticulture aids in the health and restoration of our mental health – without either one, the other cannot truly function.
Whether you are team agriculture or team horticulture, here at My Learning Online we have a fruitful abundance of agriculture and horticulture courses online to gratify the green-fingered. We cater to agriculturists and horticulturists alike, offering professionally crafted courses in many unique industry avenues.
Our online agriculture courses:
Our online courses in horticulture:
Enrolling in any one of our online horticulture certificate programs or agriculture courses will give you a flying start in your nature-fuelled career. Studying agriculture or horticulture online gives you the freedom and flexibility to learn in a familiar environment, working to suit the demands of your schedule and lifestyle.
All of our courses come with a downloadable brochure, providing more information on course content and muddles, assessments, online learning and tutor support. Also, to make financing your studies that little bit more manageable, we offer course fee payment plans.
If you have any questions about studying online horticulture or agriculture, our course consultants are on hand to guide and advise you, getting you to where you need to be.
Say thank you to Mother Nature and enrol in one of our agriculture courses or gain an online horticulture certificate today.
