LANDSCAPING CHALLENGE AT EASTER SHOW
16 Apr 2014
TAFE NSW Landscape Construction apprentices put their skills on show at this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Landscape Construction apprentices from a number of TAFE NSW Institutes have been hard at work, taking part in the 2014 TAFE NSW Landscaping Challenge.
Now in its fourth year, the state challenge has the apprentices building award-winning garden displays to showcase to the public at the annual Sydney Royal Easter Show.
A recent redevelopment of the Southee Pavilion at Sydney Olympic Park has seen the show gardens relocated and now showcased in the extremely busy corner of Showground Road and Grand Parade. The students will encompass working onsite during the build and bump‐in of the largest annual event in the Southern Hemisphere.
Following this year’s theme “Gardens of the Forest” the three competing teams are made up of students enrolled at each of the three participating TAFE NSW Institutes.
- Illawarra Institute – Yallah College
- South Western Sydney Institute – Padstow College
- Western Sydney Institute – Richmond College
This year’s event sees the teams using their creative imagination, design and construction skills to come up with some unique gardens to meet the theme of “Gardens of the Forest”.
The Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW is a great supporter and proud host of this challenge. The completed show gardens also provide a range of ideas, concepts, design trends and inspiration for the public on how they can create their very own show garden.
For the TAFE NSW Landscaping students, the challenge provides a valuable educational opportunity and real life on-site building scenario. It also provides the students with a unique insight into the challenges that professional landscapers face when working on large projects to tight deadlines.
Design skills, teamwork, networking with industry and suppliers, problem solving and project management are just some of the aspects that the students will learn from the challenge.
The garden displays were constructed pre‐show and judged by a panel of experts, including TV gardening personality Jody Rigby, on opening day of the Royal Easter Show, Thursday April 10.
Garden displays were judged on design, workmanship, construction complexity, construction materials, Green Skills, innovation and planting.
There will also be a “People’s Choice Award” providing the public with the opportunity to vote for their favourite garden prior to its announcement on Friday April 18.