Meet KPU: Jamie Lamont

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Jamie Lamont, instructor and co-chair of the horticulture program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s School of Horticulture, started his journey as a student at the institution. 

Since 2005, Lamont has been a fundamental part of the KPU community, both as an alumnus and a faculty member. Having a deep commitment to connecting students with opportunities in the industry and providing real-world experiences, his hands-on approach to teaching and active involvement in various networks in the horticulture industry have earned him the 2024 Educator of the Year award from the British Columbia Nursery and Landscape Association (BCLNA). 

The following interview transcript has been edited for clarity.  

When did you join the KPU community and why? 

I graduated from the horticulture program in 2005 with a diploma in landscape design and installation. I did the program part time while working in the field, which made things interesting. Then, I worked in the industry for a number of years. At an industry event, a faculty member at the time asked me if I knew anybody that would teach pruning to level-three apprentices in the apprentice program. At the time, I was considering a career change or something different within the industry and I offered my name for it. In 2017, I taught it and loved it.

Since then, for the last six years, I have been the co-chair of the horticulture department. I’ve learned and been exposed to a lot. I still stay very connected to thee industry. I’m the chair of the Landscape Awards of Excellence for the BCLNA, they are provincial industry representation. I am on their landscape advisory group with the educational perspective. I’m connecting students to not just get jobs but see what’s out there.

Everybody thinks horticulture is about cutting grass and digging holes, and that’s part of it, but it’s a very broad industry and it’s very hard to define, which can be intimidating to a lot of people. So anything I can do to promote horticulture, not just with students, but with other faculty and industries, helps. I enjoy it, and I run into graduates in the industry all the time who are very successful. 

What is your favourite story of your time at KPU? 

If we talk favourites, it’s more being part of and seeing students be successful. I find it quite inspiring running into students years after they’ve graduated and seeing the types of careers they’re having and positions they have. I get a kick out of that and realize we’re doing the right thing here. The fact that a lot of them want to stay connected with KPU says a lot about the experience they had at the university. 

About two years ago, I started what we call the “industry-networking social.” It’s sort of like a career fair but it’s not. It’s very small and more about practising networking and asking, “So how did you get into this position? What’s a day in your career like? What do you do every day?” When you apply to jobs, a lot of them are looking at those things as well. The second time we did it, I was speaking with the employers that had come, and we realized unexpectedly that all of them were KPU grads. Some of them knew each other, but a lot of them didn’t. So that was pretty neat.

What is something you’d like to say to people new to KPU? 

Our department is very different and unique in itself than the rest of the departments at the university. We have a trades element to it, since horticulture is a Red Seal trade. We also have apprentices on site in addition to a 18-to-20-acre field lab, where students have up to two hours of classroom time and then we go and work hands-on. We have nine greenhouses, all sorts of polyhouses, and lots of equipment. So we try really hard to get real-world experience, and I get a lot of feedback from both students and faculty about how much they appreciate that. 

People drive by the Langley bypass near the campus all the time and have no idea that there’s a three-hole golf course in the back. All of the plantings and everything else on that side of campus are actively in a working field lab. Most of it has been installed, maintained, and supported by the students. I like to joke that when you go to that side of the campus, the only thing that students haven’t done is build the buildings. Even within the administrative sector of the university, I encourage people quite often to come and visit. 

We have IPM — integrated pest management laboratory spaces — as well. We have graduates that get jobs in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We do science as well, which most people don’t realize. So we’re very unique, we’re not like a regular school on that campus. All of our faculty have industry experience and a lot to share in conjunction with the academic aspect. We can show them what it is like in the current landscape that we work in.

Since the Lower Mainland is very unique and there’s nothing like it, we don’t have to go far. Being close to the border makes us very unique, and being close to the mountains and the ocean changes the demographic. We have also got the changing climate to take into account. I joke with my students about how when I first got into industry, we used to put concrete in trees if there was a cavity because we used to believe that helped them heal quicker. So you need your schooling. You need to stay on top of it. We deal with living things, and you can’t just learn it and put it in your pocket and move on. It’s always evolving and ever changing. That’s what I find the most exciting — always learning. 

What are you working on or doing right now?  

I’m currently teaching Arboriculture 2 and Landscape Construction this spring. I also have the industry-networking social, scholarships and awards information lunch, the Trades Showcase Night and Hiring Fair, BCLNA Landscape Awards of Excellence Gala, and preparation for the Skills Canada Provincial Landscape Horticulture competition on my plate.

What is something you’d like people to know about you?

I have a great appreciation for giving back to the industry, because when I started in the industry, there were a number of people that did that for me. A lot of what we do in our craft isn’t really in a textbook anywhere, it’s real world applications. I found it very inspiring to be in front of people who are so passionate about what they do. As a student, that’s contagious. 

So I try to approach teaching from that perspective — being passionate and trying to be contagious to get them excited. It’s not like a normal learning environment. I want back and forth and I want students to tell me I’m wrong and why. I want them to justify their learning and beliefs. I’ve had students say to me, “Well, I’ve been doing it wrong all these years that have come out of the industry.” And I’m like, “Well, as long as you care, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re trying to do the right thing.” 

So for myself, I think more of a realistic approach to teaching as opposed to just learning from a textbook and keeping it fun.