Giving young people a real say in horticulture
An invitation to comment is only the beginning of meaningful participation. Young people also want to know whether their ideas can influence a decision, and what happens after the conversation ends. That message ran through the Purpose Coalition’s Purpose Lab session with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which explored how young people could help shape its work.
One participant drew on experience of a youth council to describe the difference between contributing to an idea and being asked to approve something already developed. Bringing young people in early creates room for them to change the direction. Asking for feedback at the end leaves much less scope to act on it.
The discussion also recognised that listening does not mean accepting every suggestion. Participants wanted organisations to explain what they had taken forward, what they could not pursue and why. An honest response would show that a contribution had been considered. Silence could leave people wondering whether taking part had made any difference.
That expectation has practical implications for who gets involved. A group drawn only from confident speakers or people already connected to an organisation will offer a limited view. Participants raised the importance of reaching different backgrounds and interests, while considering the costs, language and processes that can make an invitation harder to accept.
A particularly useful example brought those barriers into focus. One participant had found an RHS creative workshop they wanted to attend, but the price had put them off. They had also looked at student membership without finding a clear answer about whether it would help with that activity. Their interest was already there. The question was whether the route into participation felt affordable and easy to understand.
The conversation explored university societies, welcome events, practical workshops and links between horticulture, sustainability and careers. Social media featured too, although participants did not see it as a complete answer. Choosing a platform matters, but so does giving people something relevant to join and a credible reason to stay involved.
There was also space to think about gardens as places for connection. Ideas included activities that could bring students together and opportunities to help design green spaces. These suggestions broadened the discussion beyond how to promote existing activities towards what young people might want to create themselves.
For the RHS, the session offered a clear set of questions to take into its work on youth engagement. How early can young people influence an idea? Who might an invitation miss? How will contributors hear what happened next? Those questions give participation a practical test: whether people can see their contribution reflected in the way an organisation works.
