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ISSUE 18 | APRIL 2016
nurturenews
Welcome
Welcome to the latest edition of
Nurture News. With the busy
Winter gritting season behind us
we enjoy the first changes in the
landscape as the Spring buds
begin to blossom.
As Nurture continues to evolve,
with new staff and premises
integrated into the business, we
still retain the culture, the family
atmosphere and the passion for
horticulture that has always been
at the heart of our company. With
over 185 mobile teams spread
across the country, we allow
ourselves a greater geographical
reach giving us the ability to
provide a truly national service.
I am looking forward to seeing
many of you at our annual
Management/Office companywide
meeting in April, giving us a
chance to reflect on our past
year’s achievements and to look
forward to the year ahead. It’s
always a pleasure to hear about
the achievements our teams
have accomplished with our
clients. Each goal is a stepping
stone on the road of continuous
improvement, and we will be
building on our success with even
more ambitious targets.
Peter Fane Managing Director
With 23 colonies in 11 apiaries
right across the country Nurture is
responsible for the welfare of over
one million bees. And rising.
The expansion in apiaries spans
varied locations from the lakeside in
Theale Business Park and Birmingham
Business Park to the roof of the
Capital One Building in Nottingham
City Centre. Five hives are shortly to
be installed at Cranfield University
for observation and analysis by
PhD students.
On each site Nurture and its clients
take a range of practical measures
to protect pollinators by reducing
the amount of pesticides used and
planting wild flower areas.
Customers not only benefit from
having the hives in visible locations,
harvesting honey and helping
pollinators but also from the range
of beekeeping events, providing
an insight into the magical and
mysterious world of bees.
Bee Popularity
Soars to New Heights
Nurture Targets Gold following
IIP SILVER SUCCESS
Nurture has achieved the coveted
Silver accreditation at the first
attempt from Investors in People (IIP)
after spending the past four months
working with Grant Thornton and
their assessor Claire Myerscough.
The assessment involved a detailed
planning session followed by
interviews with Nurture staff to
gather a thorough impression of the
business from Gardeners to Directors.
Interviews with 55 staff were
conducted at Windlesham (head
office), Rishton and Kilmarnock
during December and January.
The results revealed that people
feel that there is strong leadership
with excellent role models at the
top and that they take a personal
interest in everyone. People also feel
empowered: they can contribute
ideas to improving performance and
take pride in their work. Good work
is always recognised. People also
feel that there is a clear purpose and
vision within Nurture, which is widely
known internally with a set of values
which underpins the business goals.
Silver standard accreditation is
achieved by only 6% of IIP accredited
organisations and by relatively few
landscape maintenance companies.
The IIP Standard creates a roadmap
for continuous improvement so
that the potential of each and
every one of Nurture’s employees
can be maximised.
Following the assessment, the
feedback from the IIP assessor has
been evaluated and to promote
continuous improvement within
HAVE YOUR SAY WITH OUR FIRST EMPLOYEE SURVEY
As part of our IIP plans for improvement, an employee survey has been
implemented and the first survey is available to complete either in paper
format or via Survey Monkey using the link
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/esurvey16
The paper copy is enclosed along with a pre-paid envelope for its return.
Your feedback is really appreciated and you can provide information
anonymously or named whichever you prefer. The survey closes on
20th May. Feedback will take place during the Roadshows and Management
meetings in September, so your comments will make a difference.
Paul Ellis, Nurture’s Quality
& Environmental Manager, said:
“We’re delighted to have
reached Silver at our first
attempt and thank everyone
involved. We are a young and
growing business and will be
aiming to get gold by the end
of the year.”
Nurture, a management development
programme is being drawn up and
is expected to be implemented
during the summer.
Here are some comments
which came from
our people.
“My standard
of work is brilliant
since I have been here,
I am well impressed
with myself, that’s why
I love it”
“We found
we have a
voice with
Nurture”
“There’s always
something new
to learn”
“A high
standard is
the norm”
Nurturing
People
ISSUE 18 | APRIL 2016
Nurture is committed to ensuring its people receive the highest
possible training and support. An important new arrival to the senior
management is Karen Bish, Nurture’s first Human Resources Manager.
Karen has spent 25 years in HR, training and development, including
five years at Waterers Landscapes where she worked with many of
the current Nurture management. Karen will oversee and develop the
people related policies and procedures associated with the Human
Resources function within Nurture, as well as being responsible for
Management Development Programmes within the business.
“It’s an exciting time to be working for Nurture and I’m thrilled to
be back with old friends. Nurture has exactly the right culture to
bring out the best in people. My role will be to develop the formal
structures which underpin that culture.”
www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
TateThat
This living city of weeds
is one of the most
exciting works to take
over the Turbine Hall
The Telegraph
Nurture is playing a key role in the
creation of a critically-acclaimed living
art display in Tate Modern’s Bankside
gallery. The inaugural Hyundai
Commission for the Turbine Hall is
by Abraham Cruzvillegas, an artist
known for creating sculptures by
improvising with different materials.
Empty Lot is a large geometric
sculpture created using scaffolding,
a grid of triangular wooden planters,
and soil collected from parks across
London including Peckham, Haringey
and Westminster. Nothing has been
added to the soil which is being lit
by lamps and watered by Nurture
twice a week throughout the six
month display.
According to Tate Modern
“The evolving nature of the
work, which may grow and
change from one week to
the next, provokes questions
about the city and nature, as
well as wider ideas of chance,
change, and hope.”
Oasis
in the
Sky
Nurture’s rapid growth in recent years
has created new opportunities at all
levels across the company.
To help ensure consistent and high
standards, Nurture has welcomed
John Beavan as the first in-house
Training Manager. John has spent
his whole career in horticulture
and joined as a result of the
Integritas acquisition.
Nurture was recently asked to visit
the iconic Swiss Re building more
commonly known as The Gherkin,
in London. Nurture were tasked to
add bespoke cabinet top planters
to their newly designed floor.
Plants were added to compliment
the open plan space with rows of
low growing succulent species.
The whole plan from design to
installation had to be turned around
in double quick time. Working with
Kobergs in Holland Nurture
managed to get all the planters
designed and built to specification,
with all plants delivered and planted
in under 4 weeks.
This new floor will be the start of a
long term upgrade across the entire
building with a further 10 floors
planned for this year.
TRAINED FOR THOUGHT
Nurture’s training capability was
given a further boost with its
appointment as a Lantra Centre.
This enables Nurture to deliver
nationally accredited training in its
own facilities, joining over 80,000
learners gaining qualifications with
Lantra Awards every year.
Since joining Nurture, John has been
busy delivering Lantra courses
John Beavan, Training Manager, commented:
“Delivering training in this manner is a great way to be more
focussed on our own business as well as being convenient. It’s also
been a great way of bringing the teams closer together.”
throughout the country and meeting
the teams. John is a passionate
beekeeper who has travelled most
of Europe in pursuit of honeybees
and is currently helping 15 of our
team achieve NVQ in beekeeping.
The mobile teams form an essential
part of the operational team within
the Nurture family. We have
approximately 185 mobile teams
working across the regions and
between them they cover the entire
country performing all types of
grounds maintenance for a variety
of clients all year round.
With the integration of Integritas into
Nurture, we have managed to greatly
increase the number of mobile teams
On the MOVE
serving clients on a national basis.
In the south alone ten new teams
have been added. This has increased
the accessibility and flexibility of the
mobile teams reducing the distance
each team needs to travel between
sites allowing Nurture to work
more efficiently.
Andrew Colley, General Manager for The Royal Berkshire Hotel, said:
The Nurture Landscapes gardening team that now look after
15 acres of The Royal Berkshire Hotel grounds have made an
impressive start to 2016. Following detailed discussions with Joel
Woolrich and his fellow Director Simon Blackley late last year
we were provided with an annual schedule of works that would
suit the business and our budget. To date, the team have been
friendly, reliable and efficient and have engaged in positive
discussions with the hotel management team. The hotel grounds
currently present very well and we are looking forward to seeing
even more improvements during the Spring and Summer.”
On any one day teams can be found
maintaining a variety of sites from
business and retail parks to
universities and hotels such as Hand
Picked Hotels: a collection of very
individual country house hotels set in
glorious parkland with a stunning
array of trees and shrubs, to
maintaining grass and car parks for
various Holiday Inns who occupy a
number of prime sites across the
south. And more recently The Royal
Berkshire Hotel in Ascot: an 18th
century mansion originally built for
the Churchill family.
Teams are also busy with national
client Workman maintaining office
and retail parks throughout the
country, keeping the sites safe and
tidy for employees and visitors.
It’s All Going North
Nurture has consolidated
its position as a national
contractor with a series of
new contracts in Scotland
and the north. Thanks to a
strategically located network
of offices and depots, and
fully trained local staff,
Nurture has the ability to
offer a national service
throughout the UK.
Having recently been
awarded contracts to provide
landscape maintenance across
a range of high profile office
and retail parks both by
national Managing agents
Cushman and Wakefield and
10 industrial estates across
Yorkshire by national FM client
Workman, Nurture continues
to increase its portfolio in the
north. Expanding in the
north is a key objective for
Nurture, underpinned by a
flexibility and willingness to
work with clients across a
range of sectors.
ISSUE 18 | APRIL 2016
All Tooled Up
Modern horticulturists can call upon
a splendid array of machinery to help
them achieve the best finish. From
a compact chainsaw to a ride on
mower, each one has a special role to
play. Nurture has several workshops
based across the country providing
the vital role of maintaining the wide
variety of equipment and machinery
used by our gardeners.
Over the course of a season some
are in use daily while others may be
required less frequently, but whatever
the requirement, all equipment and
machinery is maintained to perform
as new.
All mechanical equipment is
maintained to the highest order. New
equipment is serviced after 50 hours
Kevin, Chris Jnr and Chris Snr
while others are subject to regular
inspection and an annual service.
With the acquisition of Integritas
came an additional 1500 pieces of
equipment all requiring the same
rigorous levels of maintenance and
attention prompting the need to
increase the team at the head office
workshop: The workshop at Nursery
Court is now fully staffed, with the
addition of Chris Eggleston who
joined the team in February.
Chris Highton, workshop foreman based at Windlesham, said:
“It’s great having an extra pair of hands, this gives us the much
needed resource to turn round the maintenance of the increasing
volume of machinery much quicker, the team spirit in the workshop
is brilliant, advice is free, if anyone has any questions about their
tools and machinery they can call us in the workshop anytime.”
www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Apprenticeships Sow Seeds
for FUTURE SUCCESS
The first step is often the hardest
for anyone hoping to start a new
career. New entrants are equally as
important for employers to ensure
that skills acquired by previous
generations can be preserved.
Nurture is committed to offering
opportunities for those with the
ambition and determination to
succeed in a very demanding
industry. Working in partnership
with Acorn Environmental Solutions,
Nurture is providing young
unemployed local people with
environmental apprenticeships.
Acorn screens the applicants who
then progress to a City and Guilds
qualification in sharps handling,
health and safety, manual lifting
and customer care. For those young
Employee Awards
Congratulations to all the worthy winners of the Employee Awards:
Dave Gibbs, Birmingham Business Park: George Kerr and
Jimmy Milligan, Kilmarnock: Darren Millis, London: Harry Reeve
and Kev Bradford, Newton: Neil James, Wiltshire: Ian Hendley,
Stockley Park: Paul Sykes, The Stoop.
All have been recognised for going that extra mile, so a very big thank
you from the Management Team.
people who pass the course Nurture
guarantees an interview with the
best securing the coveted one-year
apprenticeships. The apprentices
are trained on the job and receive
additional advice from Acorn’s
training partners.
To date Nurture has supported four
unemployed youngsters into work
and are training them in the ways
of Nurture.
Simon Blackley,
Nurture Director, commented:
“It’s a pleasure to support and
develop young people and
give them the key work skills
which they can build on.”
LONG SERVICE
RECOGNITION
Nurture’s people are at the
heart of the business. As well
as growing our own talent
we have been very fortunate
to acquire dedicated and
experienced staff as a result
of acquisitions.
Dave Gibbs joined Nurture
last year but has been based
at Birmingham Business Park
since 1992. The 148 acre site
is home to more than 100
occupiers. Dave has been the
site supervisor for over ten
years and oversees the works
with a 5-man team all based
onsite. The site is maintained
to a very high standard and
consistently impresses the
client, tenants and visitors alike.
Dave added: “I’ve always
enjoyed the work here; no
two days are the same. What’s
great about working on a Park
like this is being able to look
back on a job well done.”
Inspire Us!
We hope that you enjoyed this newsletter and discovered something
new about Nurture. If you want to know more about us, or have any
news you would like to share, we would love to hear from you.
Email: peter.fane@nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Nurture Landscapes Ltd
Nursery Court, London Road
Windlesham, Surrey
GU20 6LQ
Tel:
01344 234000
Fax: 01344 234001
Email: info@nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter
www.nurturelandscapes.co.uk
Nurture at a glance
410
EMPLOYEES
185
MOBILE
TEAMS
38
STATIC SITES
25
DEPOTS
1
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