Katanah works for Grotec Landscape Solutions, a Landscape Design company on the Gold Coast, and studies her Certificate III in Landscape Construction and Selective Horticultural Elements.

Her career goal is to create sustainable Green Spaces and show the importance of horticulture in our everyday lives, our ever-growing population and urban development.

Excellence in Skills and leadership Potential

The BBM judging panel recognised Katanah as an extraordinary professional who demonstrates not only excellence in her skills but also ambition and industry leadership potential well beyond what one would expect for a person her age. Her keen interest in industry trends and outstanding networking skills have enabled her to connect with some of the top horticulturalists and influencers over in the UK.

Thanks to a generous award sponsorship by Mayfield Garden in Oberon, Katanah is now embarking on her BBM Youth Support Award journey. In the UK she will have the opportunity to advance her industry knowledge and learn new skills not readily available in Australia. Katanah hopes her journey will help her deepen her understanding of plant culture, sustainable landscaping and design and subsequently allow her to promote the importance of matters such as biologically active, self-renewing topsoil, the value of soil microbes and the carbon cycle which can decrease the impact of the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change.

Katanah plans on visiting horticultural events such as the Chelsea Flower Show and the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, iconic gardens such as Kew Gardens, Sky Gardens, Fulham Palace Grounds, Kensington Palace Garden and Chelsea Physic Gardens and network with Graham Ross, Maggie Brown, the Royal Horticultural Society, Timothy Walker, the Permaculture Institute, Heather Barret-Mold and Raoul Curtis-Martin from the Horticultural Trades Association.

Mayfield Garden Sponsorship

Mayfield Garden is the ideal sponsor for Katanah’s award as they embody the quality and innovation in the horticulture industry that BBM aims to foster through the awards.

Mayfield Garden see it as their responsibility as industry leaders to support opportunities for young people like Katanah to grow beyond what we can teach them locally. They believe the experience she will have during her BBM Youth Support journey will amplify her potential and return to us a horticulturalist who will advance the industry.

The Award is designed to be a self-directed learning experience to give young people a chance to not only improve their professional development, but to grow in confidence and build their own aspiration for the future. Awardees bring this knowledge back to inspire others in their community to build a better future for Australia.

31st October, 2018