MENTORMOMENT
Passion for plants INTERVIEW BY RITA WEERDENBURG
You are well known by industry PEGGY WALSH CRAIG is well known in the industry — especially within the nursery sector friends and colleagues as being a true for her many contributions to the ornamental plant person. What led you to choose sector as the Managing Director of the Canadian a career in horticulture and how did Ornamental Plant Foundation (COPF), a position your choices lead you to COPF? I have always been an environmental activist she held for 21 years from 1990 to her retirement and after a summer working at a wholesale in 2011. nursery, I saw horticulture aligning with doing COPF was founded in 1964 to compensate good things for the planet. After completing for Canada’s lack of Plant Breeders’ Rights the University of Guelph’s diploma program, I regulations; however, even after the introduction worked at Sheridan Nurseries and then Braun of PBR in the early 1990s under Peggy’s Nurseries. I also served on a horticulture guidance, COPF continued its vital role as an therapy project and in plant records at agency charged with the orderly collection Royal Botanical Gardens, but it was while and redistribution of royalties on new plant PEGGY WALSH CRAIG interviewing Tony Huber for a Horticulture introductions. Review article that I became aware of and The management of intellectual property rights on plants is exceptionally complex, and over the years Peggy applied for the position of Managing Director of COPF. became Canada’s go-to person to provide expert advice to the Regular readers of LT will be aware that you have ornamental sector in the management of intricate IP issues. She received two prestigious awards from the International represented Canada at the international level, meeting with IP Plant Propagator’s Society. What inspired your managers of major breeding companies around the world and at involvement with that organization? CIOPORA, the international agency representing plant breeders’ You could say that from my first IPPS meeting, I felt I’d found my rights on behalf of the ornamental sector. tribe. Members of IPPS talk passionately about plants from early What do you consider to be your major contributions morning to late night. The organization’s motto is: “To seek and to to the industry as Managing Director of COPF? share,” and even the most successful nursery people openly share Throughout my career I worked with many far-sighted and their knowledge with industry newbies at the annual conference. dedicated board volunteers who appreciated getting to know the Eventually, I served on the board, helped organize a conference differences between the floriculture and nursery sectors, who in Ontario and in 2017, took a position as Executive Secretary of were both represented in COPF. It was challenging to balance the the IPPS-Eastern Region Foundation. The Foundation aims to grow needs of growers seeking liberal access to new varieties for low future horticulturists through small research grants, scholarships royalties with breeders wanting to limit access and receive the and internships. highest royalties possible for their new plants. And I like to think I How have you fulfilled your quest to be an helped bridge those differences in many instances. environmental activist? Also, with the board’s guidance and cooperation, all grower Locally in North Bay, Ontario, I advocate on stormwater and breeder agreements were rewritten to work with the management issues, water quality and active transportation. In Plant Breeders’ Rights Act passed in the early 1990s. We also 2015, I started working with the local conservation authority, to set implemented a propagation monitoring program which greatly up a shoreline restoration program called Restore Your Shore. LT improved compliance among growers and raised confidence with foreign and domestic breeders releasing new plants in the Canadian marketplace. With these improvements, we were able to If you have a mentor to recommend, or a question to suggest, please write increase royalties collected four times higher than previous levels. to editor@landscapetrades.com.
38 | OCTOBER 2020 | LANDSCAPE TRADES
