Summer job to site foreman

A summer job with Espaso Verde opened Ben Malpas’ eyes to landscaping as a career. Several years later, the Hawke’s Bay landscaper is running his own sites and preparing to put his skills to the test at Young Landscaper of the Year.

Ben Malpas | Espaso Verde | Site Foreman

Growing up on a lifestyle block gave Ben an early taste for practical outdoor work, although he didn’t initially consider landscaping as a profession.

After school, he began studying plant biology at Massey University and picked up work as a labourer with Espaso Verde during the summer break.

“I’d always liked being outdoors and the process of building something from scratch,” he says. “I hadn’t really looked at it as a career until I was doing it as a summer job.”

His university studies coincided with Covid-19, which moved classes online and closed practical labs. After completing his first year, Ben decided university wasn’t for him and stayed with Espaso Verde, subsequently completing a Level 3 qualification in landscape construction through Primary ITO.

He has since progressed from labourer to site foreman, with around six or seven projects under his belt in that role.

One of the largest was the landscaping of a Bupa retirement village in Hawke’s Bay, involving soft landscaping across more than 100 villas. The scale of the project created a need for someone to take greater responsibility on site and gave Ben an opportunity to step up.

Today, he works alongside Espaso Verde’s project managers, coordinating the team on site while remaining on the tools whenever possible.

Finding the finer details

While that major project was largely softscaping, Ben says his own preference lies with hardscaping and earthworks.

A recently completed pool deck stands out, particularly the opportunity to concentrate on finer construction details and work with an unfamiliar material.

The project incorporated a burnt Kindai shiplap, which Ben says created a distinctive finish.

“It was awesome to see a different material and use it, and get some experience with that,” he says.

Ben was already familiar with YLOY through former Espaso Verde landscaper Cooper Mildenhall, who competed twice. Watching his colleague prepare for the event sparked an interest in eventually entering himself.

Now, Ben believes he has reached the right stage of his career to give it a go.

“It’ll be a really good evaluation of the skills and where I’m at,” he says.

Just as importantly, he sees the competition as a rare chance to pick up knowledge from other young landscapers and establish relationships that could continue well beyond competition day.

“Hopefully we’re going to be working with a lot of these guys for years to come throughout the industry,” he adds.

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.