BUSINESS Continuing Building with Nature’s successes into the new year, it is working in partnership with the Society of Garden Designers to create a training programme to support members to understand biodiversity net gain. “It's great because, again, it means we’re getting that recognition we’ve been working towards,” says Jerome. “At the Pro Landscaper Sustainability & Biodiversity Awards” – for which Jerome was on the judging panel – “it really became apparent that there's so much more momentum now for companies in our sector to really get on the forefront in terms of how they can show that they really care, not just about the environment, but that they're being a positive player in this whole agenda – and their contributions can be evidence based.” When participating in a panel discussion at the 2023 FutureScape expo, Jerome was asked a question by the audience that resonated with her: How do we get the development sector and housebuilders to really understand biodiversity? “If you're a horticultural professional, garden designer, a landscape professional, etc., you understand biodiversity, you really care about nature, but you're often working in environments where you're having to maybe battle for budget, and potentially resist any value engineering. There will
always be other financial forces that play in the built environment, and these are often seen as a priority over the natural environment. So, their question was really valid. And I think there are a lot of people who are coming up in the industry who feel very passionately about the levels of priority, rightly so.” Jerome took the question to heart, working with both sides of the sector and having to regularly overcome this very issue. “I just said, to this person, that where we put our energy is in delivery; as someone who spends a lot of time and energy trying to change the industry, and speaking to decision makers, what is ultimately critical is what we deliver on the ground.” Jerome's advice was to actually focus on the quality of delivery: "Your job will be to look after those green spaces, and the day-to-day decisions of, how you're looking after the plants, how you're looking after the soil, how you are working with other professionals to encourage community engagement and environmental stewardship. That's what really matters. And that is what changes people's hearts and minds. And then if people's hearts and minds change, they start demanding different things from the developers and housebuilders – that's the legacy you leave.”
If people's hearts and minds change, they start demanding different things from the developers and housebuilders – that's the legacy you leave
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Pro Landscaper | January 2024
Jerome has come a long way in the last 10 years. Starting as a PhD researcher, working her way through a series of qualifications and degrees before landing a project which, having poured her heart and soul into, became a career destined to make a change which will last a lifetime and inspire a future generation. Finding a love in the bridge between her research and working in a sector which would allow her to create new ways of thinking, collecting evidence, and reflecting on society, Gemma Jerome has made her place within the industry known. 5 Silverlake, Dorset ©Habitat First Group
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