Whitehorse News - May 2022

‘Resilience’ is a team effort.

Whitehorse residents are fortunate enough to see the skilled handiwork of Council’s Parks and Natural Environment Team every day in our streets, parks and gardens. This is possible through great learning and development opportunities for staff.

In early April, the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show again presented an unmissable learning opportunity for relevant staff to hone existing and develop new skills. Council has been involved with the show through its membership of the Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria (NGIV) for over 10 years.

In collaboration with the Tree & Shrub Growers Victoria Group, Council won a Silver medal for their show garden called ‘Resilience’, which was designed by Acting Parks and Natural Environment Manager Steve Day.

“People who are exposed to plants on a daily basis have improved resilience and ability to cope with day-to-day stress, which results in higher levels of general health and wellbeing.

Although having exposure to green spaces in an urban environment can be difficult, ‘Resilience’ demonstrates how an urban garden can be attractive, inviting and easy to maintain,” said Steve.

“It aims to inspire people to surround themselves with nature where possible to improve their health, mindset and ability to bounce back. The garden also demonstrates how using a variety of complementary plant species in your home can make your garden more resilient to pest and disease attacks, drought and the effects of climate change.”

Constructing the show garden was a big effort, led by Whitehorse’s landscape and nursery team.

Peter Roggenbucke – Nursery Team Member

Peter started working at the Whitehorse nursery 20 years ago. He is involved in all aspects of the nursery operations, with a focus on plant maintenance, dispatching orders, integrated pest management and plant potting.

“I started as a volunteer and loved it from the moment I began. Our team is like a family,” said Peter.

Peter has been involved in constructing every show garden since Whitehorse began collaborating with Tree Shrubs and Growers Victoria. “The exhibition features plants from a range of nurseries with the NGIV,” said Peter.

“My role this year was to help organise the plants that arrived from all the different nurseries into the correct locations where they were designed in the show garden. It was important to make sure you couldn’t see any pots to make it look like everything was planted in the ground!”

Alex Penso - Acting Open Space Team Leader

Alex is the Acting Team Leader for the Horticulture and Landscape Team. He has been working for Council in various capacities since 2008.

“I supervise the nursery and help organise the work for the landscape team, writing up jobs. For example, there might be a park where we’re doing a landscaping job – I’ll measure up the garden bed and see what plants we need,” said Alex.

While Alex worked on other show gardens during his apprenticeship, ‘Resilience’ is his first show garden since 2013.

“Steve organised and designed everything and we went off his plan, setting up and building the whole site. There were long hours and it was full on, but the guys did a great job and it turned out really well.”