96 | Natural Habitats Sue Russell “Creativity, collaboration, excellence” LANDSCAPING Multi award-winning landscape design and construction company Natural Habitats has enjoyed a stellar year of success and industry recognition, culminating in being bestowed 23 awards at the coveted 2022 Landscape of Distinction Awards. CEO Gavin Riddle puts this success reflects the firm’s talent and commitment. “We have the most wonderful team of landscapers, gardeners, builders and project managers and support services, complimented by some exceptional designers, who collectively set very high standards for themselves and bind together in an amazing culture of creativity, collaboration and excellence.” Natural Habitats swept the floor at the awards, winning gold, silver and bronze medals across a broad pallet of projects spanning the residential, commercial, community and government/council realms, with Guillaume Chabbert also winning he highly prized Young Landscaper of the Year and Outstanding Achievement – Career Development in the Young Landscaper of the Year competition. “We’re especially thrilled for Gilly. He’s demonstrated a remarkable capability to deliver wonderfully engaging spaces across a wide range of contexts,” says Gavin. “He thoroughly deserves this recognition. As a company Natural Habitats has always nurtured young talent”. Natural Habitats grew from humble beginnings in 1978, when Graham Cleary, a young man possessing a keen interest in the natural world, a shovel and a wheelbarrow began digging holes with a friend. This two-man fledgling enterprise grew, as its experience and reputation grew. Undertaking work from restoring or revitalising backyards to creating bespoke modern natural elements in shopping malls and in business precincts the work expanded and increased and in August 1985 Natural Habitats was officially established. Today the business has grown year on year to its current size of 170-plus staff across centres in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown. “We’ve continued our geographical growth over the last few years; lately pushing into Queenstown and our Waikato team are currently delivering a few projects in the Bay of Plenty region too,” Gavin says. Prioritising the building of strong professional relationships with clients has driven growth as demand for their suite of services grew. One project, which received gold, silver and bronze awards is the PwC tower’s, Sky Terrace. Having to overcome the challenges that come with building on the site, and at height, and to create a landscape design that held meaning to its surrounds was just part of the complex build. Spanning over 700sqm Sky Terrace is home to a collection of rare and endangered native coastal planting, complimented with timber seating, a carbon fibre table as well as green screens. “This was a fine example about how thoughtfully planned and wonderfully executed landscaping contributed to the tower receiving a 5-star Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of New Zealand.” And it’s the sheer breadth of projects that engages the team on a daily basis, from large to very small, as is the case in the Ponsonby Pocket Garden, another multi-medal recipient at this year’s awards. “This project literally transformed a small inner-city suburban backyard into a living work of art, balancing striking design elements with functionality.” Oval-shaped corrugated iron planters feature seasonal herbs and vegetables , while the backyard is, in part, a mosaic of large flat stepping stones with long grass borders, covered louvre pagoda and mass boundary native plantings of shrubs, trees and flax species. Ponsonby Pocket Garden also received Gold, Silver and Bronze medals from the judges. Reflecting on the culture and values of the business Gavin puts it this way: “Seeds grow into trees and it is the same with our staff. If they want to have a career then we will do all we can to enable that. We have the depth of experience to offer serious mentoring to new team members and we also engage with industry training organisations.” Recently Natural Habitats took on a project for the Auckland City Library roof, transforming it into a green roof for those living and working in surrounding buildings to enjoy. “It sits in the heart of the city and all the buildings look down on it. “We need to see more of these sorts of projects happening. All of the plants on that project were sourced through Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei who were integral in the design and the selection of native plants.” “There is more to it than just aesthetics though, our sustainable green roofs use a light weight growing media comprised of recycled materials diverted from landfills, they actually cool a building down and play an important environmental role, encouraging the return of fauna, through the creation of green pathways across the city and a mental wellbeing lift for those looking upon it”. Natural Habitats has created a green roof at the Auckland City Library. Photo: Bryan Lowe, Auckland Council. Growing for landscapers & retailers for over 45 years Ardmore nurseries is a certified plant producer under the New zealand plant production biosecurity scheme Fair-trade and biodegradable hessian-balled plants available during planting season (Autumn-winter) sales@ardmorenurseries.co.nz ardmorenurseries.co.nz PH: 09 292 8661
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