Flower picking an outdoor lifestyle

Beautiful experiences make flower picking the job of choice for Jacquie Bailey-Rodick.

In early 2022, Jacquie was working at a yoga retreat in Northern NSW – when local flooding started, she picked up and made her way to Tasmania to pursue flower picking.

Life on the farm

Jacquie currently lives and works at a beautiful lily flower farm in Tasmania’s north. She heard about harvest work through her local community and then reached out to MADEC Harvest Trail Services, who found her the role locally. Her role involves bunching flowers, which she is paid hourly for. She learnt to do the bunching on the farm and says it’s a skill she’s glad to have picked up.

Rewarding work

Jacquie has experience in a range of industries, including some horticulture work in the past. Her previous experience had also included education.

She holds Certificates 2 and 3 in horticulture and has previously helped manage a small-scale farm. She says her experience contributes to her appreciation of working outdoors and enjoying the natural environment. “It’s nice to be close to the plants and to understand the different conditions and how different the outcomes can be.”

Jacquie has said the work can be very physical at times. “The work is hard and challenging but really worth it. You get to go to so many beautiful places and experience so much.”

MADEC a helping hand

The team at MADEC have been with Jacquie since day one. She says they’ve always gone above and beyond and are “super helpful”. The local team not only found her positions, they also helped her navigate government requirements and paperwork. This made it easy for her to get out and working straight away.