THE JUDGES
Martin Townsend
BSI
In his career, Martin has worked as an environmental Regulator, advised Ministers, and worked with City Mayors and businesses across the world of all sizes and sectors. Ensuring Sustainability comes alive and is an enabler of business success. Martin has also been a keynote speaker at many international conferences to ensure as a global community, we accelerate the rate of change while reducing the impact we have. Martin joined BSI in November 2019 and also sits on several advisory boards for public and private sector organisations to support them in their success.
Dusty Gedge
Gentian Ltd
Dusty is a founder of Gentian Ltd and the President of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations (EFB). He has a particular interest in biodiversity and urban nature, but also has a focus on climate resilience and the promotion of greener cities through multi-functional green infrastructure. A recognised designer, technical and policy advisor on green roofs he has worked across the world and has designed and is aware of innovative approaches of combing solar and green roofs. A published author, he has been instrumental in writing strategic reports on green roofs and green infrastructure, the most recent of which is the new London green roof report.
He co-founded Gentian Ltd to take his green roof and biodiversity mapping analysis to next level.
Ludo Pittie
WSP in the UK
Ludo is a Director at WSP in the UK. Under his leadership, the landscape and urban business has grown from 17 to 130-strong since 2016. He is a thought leader in strategy and design, with his latest thought piece explores “What if cities were more like forests?”. He was a co-author of the new Manual for Streets that WSP has written for CIHT. He is providing strategic advice to clients about how to reshape our relationship with Nature to accelerate restoration and embrace nature positive approaches. He is a fellow of the Institute of Place Management and a member of the BCP Design Review Panel. He is visiting lecturer at the EIVP in France
Marcus Watson
Ground Control
Marcus believes that business is a force for good and that we have the opportunity and duty to build a vibrant and sustainable economy that cares for our environment and the communities we live in, allowing us to lead prosperous, fulfilling lives without mortgaging our children’s futures.
Marcus joined Ground Control in 2011 and led the company for a decade before handing over the reins to Jason Knights. Marcus remains with Ground Control as a NED and shareholder.
Other business interests include advising and investing in businesses with a strong purpose beyond profit and focussed on environmental sustainability, education & lifelong learning.
Marcus lives in Surrey with his wife Jane and his twin daughters Grace and Ella. In his spare time, Marcus cycles a little, fundraising for charity. His latest solo unsupported ride for Alzheimer’s Society took him 1,370 miles to the four cardinal points of mainland Britain.
Dr Phil Askew
Peabody
Dr Phil Askew is Director of Landscape & Public Realm at Peabody. At Thamesmead he is leading one of London’s largest regeneration and development projects. He has a background in Landscape Architecture, Urban Design and Horticulture and prior to his current role he led the design and delivery of the London 2012 Olympic Park at the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and its transformation into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with the LLDC, the UKs largest new urban park in over a century. At Peabody he is leading a green infrastructure and landscape led approach to Thamesmead called Living in the Landscape making the most of its unique green and blue assets.
Wendy Richards
Atkins
Wendy is an Associate Director and studio lead for the Atkins Midlands South West and Wales landscape architecture team. A design quality focussed, built environment professional with 30 years’ experience across sectors in the UK and South East Asia. Wendy thrives through multidisciplinary team working and mixes full time employment, with voluntary work, she is currently the Vice Chair of Llamau, a homelessness charity based in Cardiff. Wendy believes our role as designers is to deliver unique solutions that respond to their site context, this is at the heart of all we do. We work with physical and social context, with communities. We have finite resources and everything we do needs to leave a better place for future generations.
Dr Gemma Jerome
Building with Nature
As Director of Building with Nature, a benchmark and accreditation system for green and blue infrastructure, Gemma advocates for decision-making that puts nature at the heart of development in a way that secures outcomes for people and wildlife. She co-chaired the British Standards Institute panel for the Biodiversity Net Gain standard and has acted in an advisory capacity on various government roundtables directing design quality and placemaking. Gemma became a Fellow of the Landscape Institute in 2021, in recognition of her services to industry, and acting as a bold and fresh ‘voice’ for nature in the planning and development sector.
Robert Hewitt
Aecom
Robert Hewitt is a Chartered Landscape Architect at AECOM with expertise in the design and planning of major infrastructure projects which cover a wide range of sectors across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Caribbean. He works across a multidisciplinary team to develop landscape solutions and landscape-scale restoration strategies for renewable and infrastructure, and resorts across the world. Robert brings a collaborative ethos, a focus on nature-based solutions and climate resilience. Between 2021-2023 Robert was Chair of one of AECOMs Employee Resource Groups: The Ethnic Diversity Network from 2021-2023. In 2022 Robert was recognised in the Empower Top 100 Future Leaders.
Josie Cadwallader-Hughes
Thakeham Group
As Sustainability Director at Thakeham Group, Josie is responsible for keeping Thakeham at the leading edge, building partnerships with distinguished organisations with a long history of championing change, and advising on a number of cross-industry programmes enabling zero carbon placemaking. Leading the industry with the support of distinguished organisations, Thakeham’s Sustainability Strategy includes a core theme of Nature Recovery which includes a commitment since 2020 to achieve 10% Biodiversity Net Gain.
Clare Matterson CBE, Director General
RHS
Clare Matterson is Director General of the Royal Horticultural Society, the UK’s leading garden charity. The RHS aims to support everyone on their lifelong adventure with gardening achieved through its five national gardens, 3 million visitors, community and education activities, horticultural expertise, and scientific research.
Clare was previously Executive Director of Engagement at the Natural History Museum responsible for public facing activities, communications, and international partnerships.
At the Wellcome Trust for 17 years, Clare was Director of Strategy and Director of Culture and Society, and led many transformative initiatives including co-founding Wellcome Collection.
Clare is currently a Council member for the UK’s Natural Environment Research Council and is Chair of the FirstLight Festival in Suffolk.
In 2017, Clare received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of York and was awarded the CBE for services to public engagement with science.
Peter Massini
Future Nature Consulting
Peter is an experienced green infrastructure strategist, policy-maker and practitioner. Following a 30-year career working for environmental NGOs, government agencies and London government, he established his own practice – Future Nature Consulting – in 2021. He advises both public and private sector clients on the policy and practice of green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, urban greening and biodiversity conservation in the urban environment.
From 2008 and 2020, Peter was the green infrastructure policy lead at the Greater London Authority where he successfully embedded green infrastructure and natural environment policies (including the first citywide Urban Greening Factor) in the London Plan and the London Environment Strategy.
Lydia Collas
Green Alliance
Lydia is a Senior Policy Analyst at the environmental charity and think tank Green Alliance. Lydia’s work explores and advocates for the policies needed to cut emissions and restore nature, particularly with respect to land use. Previously, Lydia completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge that explored the costs to food production and the taxpayer of different policy approaches to restoring nature on farmed land.
Brian Hawtin
Chartered Landscape Architect
Brian Hawtin is a Chartered Landscape Architect with decades of experience in design, construction, maintenance, forestry and most recently biodiversity. He wrote the industry leading Landscape Handbook for national developer Barratt / David Wilson and is an expert on the practical delivery of Biodiversity Net Gain.
Brian has also lectured at Greenwich University / Hadlow College on the Garden Design and Landscape Architecture degree pathways as well as managing garden builds for RHS shows and a number of television garden programmes.
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Martin Baxter
IEMA
Martin Baxter is Deputy CEO at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). He works in the UK and internationally to support the transition to a net-zero, resource efficient and sustainable economy and reverse the decline of the natural environment.
Martin has national and international experience in developing and negotiating global and European environmental management standards and developing capacity for effective and widespread implementation. Martin heads the UK delegation to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) on environmental management and chairs the ISO environmental management systems committee of ~100 countries. He is also vice-chair of the European Standards CEN/CENELEC Strategic Advisory Body on the Environment.
Martin is a Board member of IEMA and the Society for the Environment (SocEnv).