Soft Landscape Workshop - Wed 16 September 2015

Strictly Sustainable!

The Workshop is a one day seminar and discussion forum on topics relating to the Landscape industry, but always with a distinct focus on plants and best practice examples of their use. Delegates are drawn from the interconnecting worlds of landscape architecture, garden design, landscape contracting and greenspace management. A stimulating line up of speakers has been arranged to discuss the topic of sustainability. It can mean different things to different people and we hope to be able to identify what is important and where, as an industry, we can embrace sustainability and sell its benefits appropriately.  Click here to see what our survey discovered about Landscape industry views on sustainability.

The event, with approximate timings of 09:00 to 16:30, is held at the Ashford International Hotel with a mini exhibition of hand-picked companies. The delegate fee including a buffet lunch and refreshments is £33 including VAT. For delegates travelling by rail there will be a shuttle bus meeting the fast train from London St Pancras to transfer you to the hotel and back.

Dusty Gedge

Biodiversity and green roof guru

Tim O'Hare

Leading soil scientist

Mary Reynolds

Top landscape designer

Sue Biggs

Director General of the RHS

Noel Farrer

President of the Landscape Institute (Photography by Tom Lee)

Guy Barter

Head of RHS Science and Advice

Ken Trew

Landscape architect

Brita von Schoenaich

Landscape architect

The Strictly Sustainable panel of speakers will look at the macro scale and micro scale of sustainability. The panel comprises:

Noel Farrer

President of the Landscape Institute and head of the Farrer Huxley Associates landscape practice; Noel’s passions are about making cities good places to live in and balancing the blue and green elements of urban design.

Check out Noel's blog here: www.fha.co.uk/noel-farrer-blog

Ken Trew

A landscape architect working with Argent, a major developer, and specifically working on the massive Kings Cross site. Argent's views on the landscape it provides (including much publicly accessible space at Kings Cross) has led to a change in its procurement methods and views on long term estate maintenance.
Click here to hear Ken's views from the clients perspective on sustainability from our recent interview. 

Learn more about Ken Trew, Argent and the Kings Cross project here: www.landscapethejournal.org/Kings-Cross-takes-shape

Mary Reynolds

A designer mainly working in Ireland but also a Chelsea Gold medal winner for her 2002 garden. The first Irish designer to win at Chelsea and she has subsequently won many followers within Ireland's garden design world. She appears in a number of "Top Landscape Designers you should know" lists. Permaculture and working with nature is key to her designs and she is also about to publish her autobiography “The Wild Way” which has already been made into a film “Dare to be Wild” by Irish director Vivienne de Courcey and will be released in Spring 2016.
Click here to hear Mary's interview, she designs with nature and sustainability as an instinctive process.

Visit Mary's fascinating website here: marymary.ie

Dr. Alistair Griffiths  

RHS Director of Science and Collections will speak as Sue Biggs Director General of the RHS is now unable to attend. Alistair will talk about Sustainable Horticulture and relate the the society's work with "Horticultural Matters" and growing people for the industry. The society's "Horticultural Matters" programme is a collaboration with the industry to attract more recruits to horticulture and landscaping and influence government.

Click here to read the RHS's perspective on sustainability. Read about "Horticultural Matters" here: www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/careers-horticulture/horticulture-matters

Dusty Gedge

Biodiversity and green roof guru; Dusty used to be a stage entertainer but has always been passionate about birdwatching and wildlife and is President of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations, with speaking engagements across Europe. He regularly features on social media and is bound to entertain and enlighten.
Click here to hear the results of our interview with Dusty and his views on sustainability from the ecologists perspective.

Visit Dusty's website here: dustygedge.co.uk

Tim O’Hare

Head of Tim O’Hare Associates, Tim is one of the country’s leading soil scientists. He has and is consulted on most large scale landscape projects and was the man behind all the soils used in the Olympic Park. He has written numerous papers and has worked with DEFRA and British Standards on soil issues. Tim will discuss if the topsoil industry is sustainable.

Tim's website can be found here: www.timohare-associates.com

Guy Barter

Head of RHS Science and Advice or one of his team will talk about Box Blight and give advice on treatment to feed or spray fungicides, prevention and discuss the pros and cons of the alternative plants being put forward. Many designers are becoming Box phobic but the nurseries’ record of blight on the nursery or after planting is very low. All growers are spraying as a preventative treatment and if this is not discussed openly it could become the elephant in the room.

Read about Guy on the RHS website here: www.rhs.org.uk/advice

Brita von Schoenaich

Landscape Architect and pioneer of the New Perennial Movement. Is passionate about urban trees and concerned about their long term future. She asks "are we planting the right trees for the future?" and will discuss her ideas. Click here to read Brita's views on getting more big trees in our cities. www.bhsla.co.uk  

There are a lot of speakers and views to hear plus there will be ample time for open discussion with Q&A and time to view the exhibition and network.