CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REPORT
A Bright New Future!
A
little later than we would have liked due to the pandemic getting in the way of us physically coming together, the board have been busy resetting the Association strategy for the next three years - and there are some exciting times ahead. We plan to launch the new strategy to members once completed and signed off by the board, but you can expect to see more sustainable, diverse, inclusive, and policy-led initiatives moving forward. The new strategy will form a communications framework that we can use to update board and members alike. Watch this space for more.
My thanks go out to your board and staff members that have given their time up freely to ensure that the Association remains on a forward moving and innovative path.
50th Anniversary Celebrations
That’s right, 2022/23 will be the year that we will be celebrating 50 years of supporting our members and we will reflect across the years to look at how the Association has evolved and celebrate your, and our achievements. We look forward to sharing further detail soon on the exciting events and activities that we have planned.
6
LANDSCAPE NEWS SPRING 2022
Plant Health Week
Once again, the Association will be supporting Plant Health Week which will take place 9-15 May 2022. This will be promoted throughout RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a Defra Garden focussed on the ‘Don’t Risk It’ campaign. The emphasis will be on educating the public not to risk bringing cuttings and seeds into the UK from overseas countries due to the biosecurity risk of bringing in pests and diseases.
46th National Landscape Awards 2022
Entries are now open for the 46th National Landscape Awards, read more on page 10. I wanted to personally thank our loyal sponsors who have already signed up for this year’s event, in particular Green-tech as our headline sponsor. I would like to encourage all Accredited members to enter a scheme. For our smaller landscape contractors, garden designers and supplier members it may seem daunting, but I welcome one and all to share your experiences, passion, determination, and drive with fellow landscaping colleagues at the largest industry awards in Europe. You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. Visit baliawards. co.uk for more information.
Collaborative Projects
We continually look to work with likeminded organisations in our industry and I wanted to make you aware of just some of the projects that we are currently working on:
Sector Survey Working alongside partners Landscape Institute, Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Locri, Natural England, Natural Resource Wales, NatureScot, and the Northern Ireland Department for Communities, this pivotal project will produce a rich and informative evidence base, covering the landscape industry (and its neighbouring professions) across the UK, in both the public and private sectors.
Whether it’s understanding skills shortages, diversity issues, declining/ increasing areas of practice, the public sector workforce, or other market failures which hold back the landscape industry, we want to provide a knowledge base that will help us inform not only the Association’s forthcoming renewed corporate strategy, but crucially: a resource to support decision-making in the wider sector, and to make a case for renewed focus on landscape by national policymakers.
