Horticultural Management Services

Property developers, planners, building consultants and both state and local government have been coming to Horticultural Management Services for natural resource and environmental land management advice since 1995. Scott brings more than 25 years in environmental, project, OH&S and asset management from inside local government, which is the side of the counter these approvals actually get decided on. We are an independent firm and we do not do tree removal work, so the recommendation you get from us is not attached to a quote for taking the tree down.

Our consulting arborist work produces detailed tree reports, arboricultural assessments and tree audits for development applications, before construction, during it and afterwards. A tree is looked at for health, condition, height and form, for structural integrity and stability, for Safe Useful Life Expectancy after Barrell (1995), and for habitat value both in its own right and as part of an ecological community. Tree Protection Zones and Structural Root Zones are set out under AS 4970-2009, so the site constraints are on the table before the plans are drawn.

Pre development application and land purchase inspections tell you what is actually growing on a block before you commit to it. Most trees are subject to their local government's tree management policy and every council runs its own tree preservation rules, so we deal with the council on your behalf and put the application in with the evidence behind it. Tree hazard assessment using SULE, risk management, pest and disease control, planting plans and longer term tree and landscape management programmes all sit under the same banner, and where a matter ends up contested we take expert witness work. Scott is ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified and holds a Diploma of Arboriculture, a Diploma of Horticulture, an Arboricultural Certificate in tree surgery and a Diploma of Conservation and Land Management, plus training in the Protection of the Environment Operations legislation and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.

There is a second side to the business. Lights Out Vermin Control deals with deer and feral pigs chewing through pasture, wild dogs and foxes going after livestock, rabbits and goats grazing ground cover down to bare erosion, and feral cats working on native wildlife. Operations run after dark on advanced thermal detection with NSW Police approved suppressors, we are an NSW Police Approved Business fully authorised for suppressor use, and every job runs to a Safe Work Method Statement written against NSW Police, DPI and statutory requirements. Rural land managers, primary producers and local government entities are who that side is built for.

Environmental reports and planning assessments are prepared for residential, commercial, industrial and open space developments right across the Sydney metropolitan region, with work done for local government authorities, the road and traffic authority and the department of housing. Site supervision and certification, annual tree inspections and audits for insurance, weed remediation and bush regeneration, turf and landscaping solutions round out what we take on. Ring Scott on 0425 308 275 and tell us what is on the block.