Bilingual training builds nursery worker skills

Photo: Melissa Lujan, Oregon Department of Agriculture. Luisa Santamaria, far right, teaches a group of Spanish-speaking employees at Blooming Nursery as part of a pilot program she's leading on plant health.

Past sprawling rows of vibrant blooms, Luisa Santamaria found the cramped makeshift classroom.

Men and women in rimmed gardening hats, worn jeans and an air of uncertainty entered the room and settled into chairs. Santamaria flashed them a warm smile as she pulled open her presentation on her iPad, then dimmed the lights.

Only eight people attended her workshop in Canby that day – a disappointing start for someone with such lofty goals.

The 48-year-old plant pathologist was hired by Oregon State University's North Willamette Research and Extension Center to tackle a major challenge in the nursery business, Oregon's leading agricultural industry: educating Spanish-speaking workers in plant care, sanitation and the science behind irrigation.

If she is successful, Oregon's nursery workers will become more skilled, and the nurseries will become more efficient and productive.

A native of Ecuador with a Ph.D. in plant pathology, Santamaria knows the cost of losing plants to disease. And she has the teaching skills to explain to Latino workers how to prevent the sickness that chokes their plants.

Click here to read the rest of the article.