The 2024 Prebble Young Landscaper of the Year competition was a “true test of skill
and character”, says winner Jarod Anderson
This year’s event was held in Wellington’s Botanic Gardens under a clear blue sky and 29-year-old Jarod, competing for the first time, nearly didn’t make the trip up from Christchurch.
“I was having second thoughts, as my wife was due to have our second baby any day, but I’m so glad I did,” says Jarod, who owns Anderson Landscapes.
“It was an incredible experience. Normally you do one type of task for days or weeks at a time, whereas here we did every task a landscaper might be asked to do – plus a speech and interview – in less than 48 hours, so it was a true test of skill and character!”
Close contest
This year’s competition included the new Softscape Practitioner Outstanding Achievement Award for the finalist with the highest combined score from the softscape skill stations, which Jarod also claimed – but, with 1400 points available and only 13 separating first and second place (and 200 between all contestants), it was a tight contest.
There were additional bragging rights for Christchurch as Sean Pearless from Sculptural Landscapes (who competed alongside workmate Kristen Gill) lived up to his name, winning the Leadership Outstanding Achievement Award.
“It was such a great experience and to come away with the Leadership Award was really awesome,” says Sean. “Sculptural Landscapes is a lot smaller than most of the other companies who put forward contestants, so it was great to put us on display and show the quality of people on our team.”
The North Island wasn’t to be outdone in the awards, with Ryan Harris from Second Nature winning the Hardscape Practitioner Award, and finishing second overall. Taumata O Te Ra Lowe from Auckland-based Luijten Landscapes took home the Communication Award.
Investing in future
“Every year it seems the calibre of participants gets higher and higher, which is testament to the increasing professionalism of the sector and the commitment of our members to developing the young talent in their companies,” says RML chair Janet Clarke.
“Supporting a contestant requires an investment in time and effort from the company putting forward a candidate and we are so pleased to see RML members investing in the future of the industry.”