We would like to welcome our newest team members and also let you know that a few of our familiar friendly faces have also now moved to different departments and positions within the organisation.
Welcome Suzanne Parsons – Nursery Customer Service Coordinator
Suzanne’s passion for Australian native plants and the bush sparked her change of career into horticulture 15 years ago. In 2017 Suzanne and her husband left Brisbane and kept driving north, looking for the perfect place to live a quiet country life, before finally settling on three acres with a beautiful view in Gympie.
Suzanne has previously managed retail and wholesale nurseries, with both exotic and native plants, and is keen to learn more about our native species so that she can educate others in this field.
“I believe in the conservation of our native flora and the benefits of its use in all landscaping environments. I am a firm advocate for soil health and have an organic approach to pest and disease management. When I am not gardening I am identifying plants, insects and birds with the overall goal of turning our grass paddock into a natural habitat for Australian fauna, as well as producing much of my own fruit and vegetables.”
Welcome Sam Heslin – Nursery Propagation Assistant
Sam and his family moved to Gympie from a small outback town, about one year ago. Living in a different area has allowed Sam to grow his knowledge and experience of caring for plants, as well as being able to start growing his own plants and vegetables.
Taking his interest in learning how to grow his own food, Sam became a volunteer with our organisation at the beginning of 2020, where he was able to experience what Landcare is truly all about.
Sam has now officially become our Nursery Propagation Assistant, helping volunteers and other staff with planting and seeding tube stock, while also keeping plants healthy and well presented for the store. He is also now working towards a Certificate II in Horticulture, under the supervision of Lucas Reid.
Lucas Reid – Stock Control Coordinator & WHS Representative
After working as a part of our CLS team as a supervisor, Lucas has now made the move to becoming our Nursery Stock Control Coordinator. This position now sees Lucas managing our plant stock with the aim of increasing the range, quality and availability of stock that we have in our nursery.
Lucas has completed qualifications in Horticulture, as well as a Conservation and Land Management Diploma and will be overseeing Sam in his role as the Propagation Assistant trainee.
Shane Litherland – CLS Supervisor
If you have ever called in to our nursery in the last 12 months, there is a good chance that you would have met Shane. His knowledge of various plant species and his ability to easily identify plants has made him a valuable team member to our organisation.
Shane is now taking his knowledge to the field, in order to assist our newest CLS members with their growth and development of this type of knowledge. Shane’s knowledge also stretches to identification and efficient management of invasive plant species.