Kevin Wasylenko has the ability to reach into the future through his life’s work.

The Winnipeg-based landscape horticulturalist has turned his lifelong passion for plants and trees into a rewarding – one might even say blossoming – career with the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis.

“In the realm of horticulture, and with positions in the green industry, you get this really profound chance to leave a legacy,” Wasylenko explained, seated in a trendy coffee shop.

“As long as you’re planting things and following the right systems or protocol to make sure those plants are able to succeed, you can leave a mark that may last hundreds of years. I think that’s powerful for the entire green industry, and anyone who works with plants,” he said.

“Trees aren’t going out of style anytime soon,” he said with a smile.

Wasylenko is a 2019 graduate of RRC Polytech’s Landscape Horticulturalist apprenticeship program. He earned his Red Seal designation with Apprenticeship Manitoba the following year.

Today, as Green Initiatives Coordinator for the Energy, Infrastructure, and Resource Management Department of MMF, he is leading the Métis government’s ambitious pledge to plant 2 million trees and shrubs across the Red River Métis national homeland. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association, and even teaches horticulture workshops.

In November of 2024, Apprenticeship Manitoba recognized Wasylenko as Rural Journeyperson of the Year at its 18^th annual Awards of Distinction at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg, celebrating the work he has done to educate and develop Manitoba’s skilled trades workforce.

Red Seal apprenticeship appealing

Wasylenko grew up near Richer and Ste-Geneviève, southeast of Winnipeg.

“I’ve always had a close connection to nature,” he said. He remembers many daytrips berry-picking with family and neighbours, many of whom were also Métis.

In his youth, Wasylenko grew up in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets program and had plans to join the Royal Canadian Navy. “But, at 18, I wanted to take some time to see what was out there,” he remembered.

He picked up a landscaping job and worked it for a year or so. “A family member reached out and told me the landscape work I was doing actually qualified me for the Apprenticeship Manitoba Landscape Horticulturist trade. My hours could be put towards eligibility for technical training,” he said.

At first, he saw the skilled trade as a handy fall back. “The trades program functioned as a nice foundation, because once you have that Red Seal, you have tangible skills,” he recalled.

Soon after, he found himself in class at RRC Polytech in Winnipeg. At the time, the College had recently built a new greenhouse building at the Notre Dame Campus. He quickly recognized the state-of-the-art facility was ideal for the training necessary for Apprenticeship Manitoba’s rigorous program.

“The greenhouses RRC Polytech built give students in the program an excellent understanding of how to grow and maintain plants,” he said. “It’s one thing learning it from a textbook, but once you have the facilities and means to learn it by actually planting and observing the growth of these plants, it helps students get a knack for it.”

Planting a veritable forest of trees

The Manitoba Métis Federation created its tree planting initiative in 2021, a year before Wasylenko joined the government. The goal of the program he leads is to put 2 million trees and shrubs in the ground across the Red River Métis homeland, which covers Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Northern Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

The initiative comes down to providing trees and shrubs to Red River Métis citizens, with instructions on growing. “We assist in giving our citizens information for what will grow best on their property,” said Wasylenko. “We focus on native trees; we don’t want to disturb the ecosystems in the province.”

Planting trees and shrubs is also an effort to solve food insecurity, especially in remote northern communities. “With fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, the MMF is providing food to citizens in need and to communities that are struggling,” he continued.

“Our citizens want to increase their food sovereignty and be able to grow food on their own properties. In return for our help doing that, they provide us with metrics on growth, which we use to track the survival of the trees and the carbon sequestration from those trees and shrubs.”

“We have planted apples and plums, they’re heartier for the climate. We have also planted sea buckthorn – it’s a really cool plant. It has pronounced thorns, and it covers itself in orange berries that are incredibly potent in vitamin C: per 100 grams, the berries contain about eight times the amount of an orange. You cook them down and use them in jams. And we have planted haskaps, which are also known as honeyberries. They are an interesting fruit-bearing shrub that are incredibly cold-tolerant and low-maintenance to grow.”

Green professionals “in high demand”

Wasylenko often urges landscape horticulture students at RRC Polytech to broaden their views of the skilled trade.

“When people think of landscape horticulturalists, they think hard scaping and grass cutting; when nowadays, green professionals are in high demand,” he said. “Individuals who understand the proper techniques of plant installation, care, and maintenance – they can get good jobs.”

“It’s a mistake to look at landscape horticulture as only a construction trade, rather than something that bleeds into a much larger industry. I find we’re almost pigeonholing ourselves, when in fact there is a lot of demand for landscape horticulturalists,” said Wasylenko.

A proud RRC Polytech graduate, Wasylenko was one of 41 outstanding graduates featured in the Polytechnic Proud campaign. You can learn more about the campaign here.

Profile by Nigel Moore (Creative Communications, 1998).