׉?ׁB!בCט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://6wweUuKLU58AbyNUdJpe4XDCMZ2RJxEFDfwaVJweDuIM` ׉ 7cassandra://DnHNXBOu88z7vO9FHdaOQidI5ROVPu__fxSwHlrclDAh`S׉ 7cassandra://0-DXKDfE_AfsO_UDo7kPCeuImfMUj9oyS2oLvW04Q8U"`̵׉ 7cassandra://aq7EJ3x8gCkMpcAOPtIhlAWEwL3ATTj9foo1X132fsg۸B͠Wot7e(-ט{u׈׈EWot7e(-׉EISSUE 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 ׉ 7cassandra://0-DXKDfE_AfsO_UDo7kPCeuImfMUj9oyS2oLvW04Q8U"`̵Wot7e(-Wot7e(-{בCט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://XmAr5sbPmk2zYKMdZHxb7vWJK7zBQMzNt1YLCDbKKLg}` ׉ 7cassandra://eLlzsrbMmbDR9NEQVOCxvMfylqFqCxMemhfzFhTOk8wo`S׉ 7cassandra://silQ0FmeVoPzAMzZu6jxkOIzEDsF5rem3hfT2W0J7_8"h`̵׉ 7cassandra://xldgjq18iZVvHK2V3ZbI4g7z50AeAm-6cR8BHczIcbUͯ͠Wot7e(-ט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://Pfs59fdfTjYU460uCpkQ7nA1Qn3qEQ_zQvlHouxKAD8S` ׉ 7cassandra://pZI6Y892LNfz4ORy6yKXSKtoAE_k8JrCFbF54SlKpjQ͕`S׉ 7cassandra://osgbk-8ADZqRtOUZ7LL8CuA3-uzXX9dG7ZQpFp-Rx7E0Z`̵׉ 7cassandra://l0Y3GWvhgJFR-2lXulITxxOK6M_Z2_ogXm0ykPryrvA)T͠Wot7e(-נWov7e(-/@9ׁH"http://www.nurturelandscapes.co.ukׁ ׁ ЈנWov7e(-.m!X9ׁH*https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/esurvey16ׁ ׁ Ј׉ENurture 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 ׉ 7cassandra://silQ0FmeVoPzAMzZu6jxkOIzEDsF5rem3hfT2W0J7_8"h`̵Wot7e(-׉ETateThat 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.” ׉ 7cassandra://osgbk-8ADZqRtOUZ7LL8CuA3-uzXX9dG7ZQpFp-Rx7E0Z`̵Wot7e(-Wot7e(-{בCט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://CErvAGklGBST5TBmNzqwQhhSOnbz5Ie2lIizwdf6VIAE` ׉ 7cassandra://Ro0R8b__XZcMJesWXr5aAbIr_fee6-qtWufY82mHqhM͈ `S׉ 7cassandra://0BDbWwjz1YtxhqFm3o8tN5BPJCTGFLVmwt03Vj7KPZs+``̵׉ 7cassandra://nrTwUNyI7nfdP4a5iUygIGcC9zhz0dw0tK3qad-tvCsIh͠Wot7e(-ט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://3R_g_6kcUfcwVRda1Skf66wOraMaechAxQ9DZ5TqPBgl` ׉ 7cassandra://fcnVxVYZxvSH_s-4pxsiBIGWrRUyKtyFrPdduGk_EEYm}`S׉ 7cassandra://PtOvnBAGmBWkL_pveRHk-FE8IOOhCqto_v6Uz_9si-0 `̵׉ 7cassandra://E8c377WdgoKxGLOGA7rfK0hmN_yRijZMiDod2tc9xWw͉bp͠Wou7e(- נWow7e(-3@9ׁH"http://www.nurturelandscapes.co.ukׁ ׁ Ј׉EOasis 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. ׉ 7cassandra://0BDbWwjz1YtxhqFm3o8tN5BPJCTGFLVmwt03Vj7KPZs+``̵Wou7e(-!׉EThe 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 ׉ 7cassandra://PtOvnBAGmBWkL_pveRHk-FE8IOOhCqto_v6Uz_9si-0 `̵Wou7e(-"Wou7e(-!{בCט{u׉׉ 7cassandra://fh98O0z4SYTC9M0MbznG7bHnvDwt9h6r8H1HmquT21s` ׉ 7cassandra://m14a6cL8Gk-j_-2bHo9BhsjAtWT7Zdfp0_49dhB_Hwki`S׉ 7cassandra://aWXeMO6mHRdY-qfzEB0WJg4PGKgCYLDp91q6RrkXDP8!`̵׉ 7cassandra://7628WwiMcGkNveVxlFFXOS1Zjv5NKL0iPGAQnRWnZNI͠Wov7e(-#נWow7e(-29ׁH"http://www.nurturelandscapes.co.ukׁ ׁ ЈנWow7e(-1̟9ׁH#mailto:info@nurturelandscapes.co.ukׁ ׁ ЈנWow7e(-0̞9ׁH)mailto:peter.fane@nurturelandscapes.co.ukׁ ׁ Ј׉E GApprenticeships 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 ׉ 7cassandra://aWXeMO6mHRdY-qfzEB0WJg4PGKgCYLDp91q6RrkXDP8!`̵Wov7e(-$׈EWov7e(-%Wov7e(-${,/nurture_ltd: Nurture_News_Spring_2016_Final.pdfWoq.(t