The rest is history

Jack Cooke, the founder and owner of Ridge Projects, wasn’t thinking of becoming a landscaper when he chose a degree in history – but life can be funny like that. After moving to New Zealand on a working holiday visa, you could say ‘the rest is history’

Jack Cooke’s journey into landscaping is a little different to those green-thumbed stalwarts, who feel born into the industry. Jack had other ideas before finding his true calling.

“I love history and decided to take a degree in it in London,” he explains, “I’d intended to do something with it but I didn’t really know what. Then, in 2016, my partner Rachael and I wanted to try something new, so we moved to New Zealand on one-year working holiday visas.

“Because I’d done some part-time landscaping work while I was at university, I was able to get a job with Sole Landscapes in Wellington.

“In the end, I enjoyed it so much, I forgot all about my history degree!”

Decision time

By the time the year was up, Jack and Rachael realised they wanted to stay in New Zealand. But because Jack was a self-taught landscaper, he lacked the qualifications required to get a Skilled Migrant visa.

“Luckily, Rachael qualified for one through her job at Te Papa, so I was able to get a partnership visa through her,” explains Jack.

Without that twist of fate, Jack and Rachael would have had to leave the country – their New Zealand adventure being confined to just one colourful chapter in their history. Instead, a new chapter began.

With the support of his boss at Sole Landscapes – Registered Master Landscapers (RML) board member Jono Sole – Jack was able to grow into his newfound profession.

“Jono paved the way for me to work up from being a labourer into management,” says Jack.

“He supported me while I completed my landscape construction qualification and, while I’m sure he’d say there were some teething issues, the transition into landscaping as a career felt really natural to me.”

From employee to business owner

Eventually, in 2020, Jack felt the time had come to move on.

“Leaving Sole was tricky because I was (and still am) tight with the whole family. Jono calls me the first graduate of Sole Landscapes, which is nice.”

Going out on your own can be scary, but Jack’s transition from employee to business owner was seamless.

“I’d been doing my own weekend jobs while I was at Sole – with Jono’s blessing – and those jobs were getting bigger and bigger. So, when I started Ridge Projects, I instantly had six or seven weeks of work.

“After that, I picked things up as we went. Word of mouth was, and still is, a big driver for us. All you need is a friend of a friend to say to someone ‘you know Jack is a landscaper, he can do this or that.”

my staff know they can progress up the ladder if they want to.” As far as marketing goes, Ridge Projects doesn’t spend any money on obtaining new clients. While Jack maintains a professional website and Instagram page, he sees that as the ‘last little bit’ to get prospective clients over the line.

Boom time

After six months of hard work as a sole trader, Jack realised he needed to get more people on board.

“My first recruit was actually from Sole Landscapes – and, for the record, he came to me. I didn’t pinch him!” laughs Jack. “I hired my second staff member soon after that, which worked well when we only had one site on the go.”

In business, timing is everything. “Our first year was during the Covid boom. Jobs were coming in left, right and centre, and people were spending a lot of money.

“We quickly went from one site to three, which was tricky. We grew too quickly and had trouble recruiting the right staff, so a lot of my first year was spent going to different sites and fixing stuff.”

Five years in, things have clicked into place. Ridge Projects employs 14 staff, including four apprentices, and works exclusively in the private residential space.

Jack says taking apprentices on “isn’t as time consuming as people think”. Plus, it allows him to make sure he’s got the next wave of site leaders ready to step up in case someone leaves.

“I always want to promote from within. That way, all my staff know they can progress up the ladder if they want to."

The next chapter sees Jack and Rachael moving to Nelson, while Jack’s 2IC Selu Neueli runs things in Wellington.

“The move started as a lifestyle choice and I’ve since linked up with Heidi Stewart at Meadow Landscapes, who is based there, and she has passed a couple of jobs on to me.

“One of our team leaders, Izak, is moving to the area for a short time, so we’ll have some boots on the ground while we build a reputation.”

Working towards the next LOD awards

Ridge Projects joined RML earlier this year, which is something Jack was keen to do to set himself apart from the competition.

“Landscaping is pretty much an unregulated trade, so it’s good to show clients that you're a member of a reputable organisation, that you conduct yourself accordingly, and have the skills to match.”

With the RML Landscapes of Distinction (LOD) Awards scheduled for July, Ridge Projects won’t be in the running for any titles this year – but Jack says he’ll definitely enter the next one.

“We’re waiting for a few projects to mature, so sadly we had to skip entering this time around,” he says.

With Ridge Projects carrying out high-quality work on both sides of the Cook Strait, there’s sure to be plenty worth entering at the next LOD Awards – and maybe even a few winners, too.