Celebrating Women in Charlotte’s Landscape Industry

Meet the Women Behind Charlotte’s Landscape

Published on March 14, 2024

By Kayla Chadwick-Schultz

The City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management Division

The first thing I noticed after parking outside of the City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management offices off Tuckaseegee Road was the landscaping. Seems obvious, I know, but there was something so unique about it. It was creative and bright and diverse. I found myself wanting to learn more, but I wasn’t actually there to talk about landscaping—not entirely, anyway. I was there for Women’s History Month.

Now, the world of landscaping has not always been a woman’s domain. Historically, it has positioned men as its primary participants. Men knew the science, men did the math, and men performed the manual labor. It was a man’s world, but when I looked out across the large conference room table on the first floor of the Landscape Management offices, all I saw were women. Five women, to be exact: Landscape Management Division Manager Erin Oliverio, City Arborist Laurie Reid, Assistant City Arborist Victoria Aguilar, City Arborist Group Program Manager Natasha Warren, and Capital Investment Plan (CIP) Program Manager Kourtnie Vincent.

The City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management Division

Before we jump into those stories, we should probably talk a little bit about what the City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management division is and does. This division is part of our General Services department, which is among the most diverse departments in the entire City of Charlotte organization. It employs around 400 people and delivers a broad set of services to the residents of Charlotte and other municipal agencies. The goal of General Services is to help build a better community for everyone who lives and works in Charlotte. So, naturally, maintaining the city’s landscape and renowned tree canopy would fall under the mission of building a better community.

Here’s how they do it. The Landscape Management division is responsible for planning, designing, operating, and maintaining city-owned green spaces and vegetation. It is made up of four distinct teams: Capital Investment Plan (CIP), Cemeteries, Landscape Operations, and Tree Management.

The CIP team reviews plans for the City of Charlotte’s CIP Projects and suggests appropriate measures to protect and sustain the tree canopy through construction. It designs and installs creative, sustainable landscapes using appropriate plant material and green industry best management practices. The Cemetery team perpetually cares for seven city-owned cemeteries, which totals 200 acres of landscape maintenance. Landscape Operations maintains more than 1,500 acres of landscaping across more than 200 city properties, including designated facilities, vacant parcels, nearly 1,000 medians, and six public spaces. The Tree Management team protects, maintains, and grows the city’s famed tree canopy. It also dedicates time and resources to providing residents with valuable tree care resources and education. It plays a significant role in Charlotte retaining its nickname as the City of Trees year in and year out.

The Ups and Downs of Being a Woman in Landscaping

When Natasha Warren began her journey into this line of work, there was a clear and obvious lack of diversity. “When I looked around the room, there were usually very few women,” she explained, in reference to her education at NC State University in the 1990s. “And I can’t remember a single other Black person that was there, in any of my classes that were specifically related to the green industry.” Warren first joined the City of Charlotte’s Landscape Management team in 1998. At the time, there were only two other women in the entire building, and both held administrative roles—”one handled budget and one handled human resources.”

As Warren shared her story, nearly every woman in the room nodded in agreement. Their experiences, while unique to them as individuals, frequently mirrored one another. Kourtnie Vincent was one of two women in her college program. All of her internship supervisors and teammates were men. Laurie Reid was the only female undergraduate student in Clemson’s entomology program. She’s now the City of Charlotte’s first-ever female City Arborist. Erin Oliverio’s role as Division Manager had been occupied exclusively by men for the last 30+ years. “I’ve had some experiences, too, of people not wanting to hire women, because ‘they won’t fit,’” Victoria Aguilar added. “It’s hard for women just to even get their foot in the door a lot of times in a male-dominated industry like this.”

In particular, Aguilar has dealt with several instances where the men around her automatically assumed she didn’t know what she was doing. It had nothing to do with her credentials or her experience; it was simply a result of her gender. “Just, like, assuming that you don’t know how to use the equipment or don’t know how to back the trailer up,” she explained. On the contrary, Aguilar can maneuver equipment and perform the necessary manual labor better than most, regardless of gender.

In fact, all five of these women are incredibly skilled at what they do. They’ve earned advanced degrees, they’ve gained years of valuable work experience, and they’ve proven themselves capable in the face of every new challenge or opportunity. Even so, they frequently deal with incorrect assumptions. Reid was once mistaken for a high school intern when meeting with a male landowner, despite having a master’s degree and being the project lead. “They don’t expect a woman to come up and talk to them about these things,” she added.

Following Their Passion: “I Just Like Being Outside”

After hearing their stories, I had to know more about what drew them to this work in the first place. It is not an easy career path for a woman, so why do it? What makes it worth it? In a way, these are more than just jobs to each of these women; these are their callings.

Reid loved being outside, loved trees, and loved bugs. So, naturally, she studied entomology and forestry. “For me, I just kind of followed my passion—what I love to do,” she noted.

“Personally, for me, I just like being outside and I love plants,” Aguilar contributed. Her grandmother was an avid gardener and taught her about vegetable gardening at a young age. “I don’t think there was ever another option for me,” she claimed. “You know? I just wanted to work outside.”

Meet the Women Behind Charlotte’s Landscape

Author: HERE News