Benjamin’s formative years were spent working the land on a lifestyle block. He says the green-thumbed bug has never left him.
“I helped shaped the land from the subsoil up, including contouring, installing drainage, spreading top soil and grass seed, raising native seedlings, planting gardens and building decks and bridges over ponds. I did all of that before I knew you could get paid to do this as a job!”
Benjamin found his way into the full-time landscaping life with Stewart Landscaping in 2018. He stayed in that role for a little over three years.
“I learned all aspects of soft landscaping and occasionally did some hard landscaping as well – before that, I didn’t even realise landscaping was split between those two fields,” he says.
Now, Benjamin has been with Humphreys Landscaping for three years and is entering the competition as part of a long-term ambition to make a difference to landscaping.
“I think this competition is important for fostering young people’s, and the general public’s, interest in the industry, and its very motivating to have a competition of this nature to work towards. I’m entering to get first-hand experience of what is required so I can mentor future entrants. We actually have a candidate who is still a bit fresh for this year but watch out for him next time!”