1. ECO-LEISUREECO-LEISURE54 55
April 2013April 2013
Having celebrated the success
of such a truly sustainable project,
Earth Architectural Landscapes
has since established six eco-
friendly nurseries in South Africa,
Zambia, and Nigeria, with two
more in the making for turnkey
projects in the Comores and
Seychelles. “The best part is that
we never started this method to
be green bunny huggers”, laughs
Straw, “but rather to reduce the
client’s costs. Now we have a way
to do that and ensure that our
carbon footprint is minimised every
step of the way.”
Landscape Architect and
Horticulturist, Greg Straw,
founded Earth Architectural
Landscapes in 1992. Since then,
the Johannesburg-based company
has handled projects such as
Nelson Mandela’s Qunu and
Houghton gardens, focusing on
habitat restoration and harmony
with nature. Contact Greg Straw at
grow@earthland.co.za,
call +27 11 465 5276, or visit
www.earthland.co.za to learn more.
On Magaruque, a sun-drenched private island off the coast of Mozambique, Greg Straw of Earth
Architectural Landscapes demonstrates how going green does not have to increase project costs
that the island’s local inhabitants
could be given the opportunity
to learn about landscaping and
develop skills in horticulture over
the two year construction period.
Rather than fly in staff from
foreign shores, Straw selected
local members to assist in the
project. They in turn learnt how to
transplant endemic plants to the
nursery, how to nurture and grow
them, and how to condition the
soil. “This was how we trained
the local people, so that they did
not become maintenance staff but
rather they became experienced
landscapers and horticulturists
themselves,” says Straw.
Again, rather than import fresh
foods at an exorbitant cost, Straw
established subsistence farming
onsite for the local staff, and in
W
hen thinking up
ingenious ways to
reduce the client’s costs
unintentionally turns into green
sustainability, you know you have
found the best of both worlds and
an exceptionally happy client.
The client was looking for
someone who could conceptualise,
design, build and maintain the
gardens for the island’s exquisite
beach villas. Not surprisingly,
Straw had been recommended
as a turnkey landscape architect
and horticulturist. However,
it was here that Straw first
discovered his innate ability to
turn lavish designer projects into
environmentally friendly gardens –
and no less lavish at that but with
an emphasis on local up-skilling
and sustainable horticulture.
On arrival, Straw did the first
thing he always does when
conceptualising a new project:
he cleared his mind of every
thought and settled his senses on
the natural landscape, the plants
endemic to the area, the lay of the
land as he walked around what
would soon be a construction site.
Straw asked the builders to hold
off clearing the site for construction
so that he could build and begin
a nursery in order to sidestep the
costly need to fly plants in. All
plants would be collected from site,
which would save them from being
destroyed during site prep for the
constructors and at the same time
saving costs for the client.
As part of his design, Straw
decided that a staff village was
needed alongside the nursery so
were built and the gardens had
been planted, they felt a personal
sense of pride and responsibility
for the growth and maintenance
of those gardens,” he adds. In
equal measure, the client was so
impressed with the nursery and
farming production that the project
was extended to supply the lodge’s
kitchen and its guests with locally
produced and organically grown
fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables.
The nursery continues to supply
the lodge with fresh flowers – again
saving the client the cost of fresh
cut imports.
As
green as it
gets
so doing taught them sustainable
techniques that they could take
back to their villages and share their
new skills and knowledge. They
also learned how to make organic
compost from the waste products
of landscape maintenance and their
own food preparation. Minimising
plant pests also involved using natural
alternatives such as chickens – which
Straw supplied, along with a dhow
that the locals could use for their own
fishing.
“The local staff became so vested
in the project over the two years
that by the time the beach villas