EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
August 2021 - September 2022
August 2015 - June 2021
2001 - 2014
2000 - 2002
1993 - 2000
Water Sensitive SA
WSUD Asset Management Officer
Having worked at City of Port Adelaide Enfield (PAE), operating internally and collaborating with other councils and the national WSUD maintenance compliance network, it became clear that there are large knowledge and resource gaps in most councils around Australia when it comes to WSUD asset maintenance and management. I am now focusing on assisting multiple partner councils in SA, developing their WSUD asset management systems to allow for proactive maintenance. I am auditing existing assets and providing reports for rectification / renewals. I provide training in raingarden (biofilter) maintenance and condition assessment. I host industry workshops, and develop new planting guidelines. We have a dynamic team of professionals. For more information about Water Sensitive SA click here.
For an explanation of Water Sensitive Design, click here.
Oryx Property Pty Ltd
Project Officer
Oryx Property provide consulting and project management services to disability and affordable housing providers in the private sector and to Housing SA. They are specialists in the 'front end' of development projects, streamlining all the planning, designing, costing and stakeholder consultation necessary, well before anything is ready to be built. My role was to regularly update the programme for all projects, to assist with stakeholder consultation, site visits and to update agendas and minutes for meetings. I was able to apply my project management and construction knowledge at many levels and I found the work meaningful and fulfilling since the overarching objective for us and our clients was to provide housing for those most in need.
Career Break
Over the span of 6 years, following a family tragedy in 2014, I had the opportunity to apply my landscape design and construction knowledge to create various types of gardens on almost every square metre of the grounds of a mental health facility. I won two government grants to fund tools and materials, I trained the patients and the staff in the basics of landscape gardening and maintenance. We transformed the dull, weed infested gardens into diverse, interesting and stimulating gardens with multiple colours and textures. We made sensory gardens so every day for natural therapy the patients could see, touch, and smell the foliage, flowers and herbs. We created huge productive gardens to grow all sorts of vegetables for use in cooking groups and to substitute or boost some otherwise bland hospital meals. Delicious fruit was regularly harvested from the various trees, plants and vines. The best aspect of this was knowing that I was providing a means for working with soil and plants which is a proven anti-depressant, and was setting people up to have gardening skills so they could plant and tend to their own patch in their future homes
Neighbour Labour & New Landscapes Pty Ltd
Director, Designer, Project Manager
​From being a sole trader performing landscaping and gardening work, a company structure was adopted, involving significant growth with up to 10 full time staff and multiple contractors. We specialized in small to medium sized design and construction projects. We worked in the residential sector plus some light commercial and school projects. Our team were multi-skilled, they all were incredibly hard workers and took pride in delivering high quality outcomes. Our office staff were highly organised, efficient and always provided excellent quality of service. We had a depot and office for our landscaping operations and also stocked and supplied a range of premium synthetic turf products (Royal Grass) to trade and retail clients.​​ To see some of our inspirational projects click here.
Enviro-Active Pty Ltd
Founder, Director & Team Leader
After completing my Bachelor in Environmental Management, I wanted to put my newly acquired knowledge into action to see if I could have an impact at the grass roots level of environmental management. I had a team of 4 contractors and we worked with catchment management boards and local councils to carry-out works including woody weed removal near watercourses, trail building and revegetation.
Neighbour Labour
Sole Trader & Team Leader
I operated a part-time business while finishing school and university. Providing a wide range of home services in particular regular garden maintenance and our special "Outdoor Spruce-Up" service for real estate agents or home owners looking to sell or rent their property. I contracted over a hundred different workers over the years with varied levels of skills and experience - many of whom were school friends and university colleagues. We operated mostly in the eastern suburbs being close to where I lived in Glen Osmond - hence the name Neighbour Labour !