A Gateway to becoming a foreman
A school Gateway placement introduced Richard Brahne to landscaping at 17. Eleven years later, he’s a site foreman at the same company and preparing to test his skills at Young Landscaper of the Year
Richard Brahne | Foreman | Second Nature
Back in 2015, Richard was considering what life after school might look like when a Gateway programme gave him the opportunity to experience two potential careers.
“I chose firefighting and landscaping,” he says. “I did a day with the firefighters and a day as a landscaper with Second Nature, and that’s pretty much how it started.”
Landscaping offered Richard a clearer career pathway and a better starting salary, which made his decision easier. He hasn’t looked back.
Now 28, Richard has completed an apprenticeship and progressed to site foreman. His role involves coordinating with designers and managers, organising people and materials, and planning what needs to happen on site in the days and weeks ahead.
He remains hands-on, with hardscaping traditionally his strongest area. However, taking greater responsibility for projects has also changed his perspective on softscaping.
“When I was doing my apprenticeship, softscapes weren’t really my forte,” he says. “But my current role has opened my eyes to softscaping and how important it is.”
Being involved throughout a project means Richard now gets particular satisfaction from seeing the complete transformation of a site.
“It’s really satisfying taking a site through the whole process to full complete, including all the softscaping elements. Now I’m more involved, I appreciate it a lot more!”
Putting himself to the test at Young Landscaper of the Year
Young Landscaper of the Year (YLOY) will be held at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on 19 September, with 10 finalists competing across a range of practical and professional challenges.
Former YLOY competitors Ryan Harris and Mania Atkins, who work for Second Nature, helped convince Richard to put his own name forward.
“They said it was fun and they learned heaps from other people as well,” he says. “That’s why I want to see what I can do and learn from everyone else.”
Despite more than a decade in the industry, Richard knows there are still areas to improve. Plant identification is one he expects will test him.
“To me, trees are trees and everything else is just plants,” he laughs. “That’s the one thing that I’m starting to learn a little bit more.”
Looking beyond the competition, Richard hopes to continue progressing towards site management, taking greater responsibility for directing teams and overseeing projects while gradually spending less time on the tools.
Young Landscaper of the Year will be held at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on 19 September, with 10 finalists competing across a range of practical and professional challenges.
