Making the most of our landscapes

Saturday Express landscaping expert Christo Saggers says Marlborough can do more with its rural and urban spaces to make them more appealing both for us and for tourists.

Landscape design is an important factor in urban planning. The main different between a landscape designer and a landscape architect is their training on urban planning and large-scale developments. Being a humble landscape designer I concentrate on small to medium commercial and all residential landscape design and do not get involved in urban planning as a professional.

But as a ratepayer with an interest in and a passion for beautiful landscapes, urban or rural, I feel that my voice can represent other ratepayers who want to stress the importance of getting public spaces right.

As a geographically isolated, mono-cultural agrarian production society we do need outside money coming in. A huge proportion of the profit made from Marlborough sauvignon blanc actually leaves the province and does not return.

If sauvignon blanc is our flagship export, which is well regarded globally, perhaps we should do more to entice international wine tourists to the province so they can spend their pounds, dollars, euros and yen here with local tier two tourism operators such as motels, restaurants, activity providers as add ons to enjoying the home of New Zealand sauvignon blanc.

Our wine is great but there are aspects of the wider community, like the town centre, the banks of the rivers, and the never ending vineyards that could be beautified for the benefit of all. I would love visitors to come here and enjoy the wine but leave saying ‘‘wow’’ this is the best wine experience I could have anywhere in the world.

If we could landscape the wider province, urban and rural, over the next decade we could achieve this.

I once did an awesome landscape design for a big international wine brand that was to be used to attract tourists to them over other brands and it would have worked really well but as of yet it has not come to fruition. The concept was to provide a generous picnic area in reinstated bush among the vines with shelters, tasteful billboards telling the story of the brand and just making a really nice place to chill out – part of a wider Marlborough winery biking network.

The greater vineyards of Marlborough, although tidy, are now so abundant that they are just a large-scale agrarian factory churning out grapes for the overseas consumers.

The Wairau lacks the personality and small-scale feel of the Awatere and I would urge large-scale vineyards to add value to their properties by contributing a very small percentage of their profits to developing ‘vine related’ landscape areas that could draw visitors to their brands.

Some people have done this well, very well – take Yealands Estate for example – this is undoubtedly the best winery experience in Marlborough! Lets not copy it exactly – let us be unique and individual but let us take inspiration from what has been achieved there!

Trees are felled on a daily basis to clear way for ‘progress’. It’s not on the scale of Amazonian deforestation and I amall for progress, but surely there is space for us, as a community, to make Marlborough as well known for its outstanding scenery, great climate, friendly people as well as its sauvignon blanc. There is much we can do and if landowners found a bit of ‘derelict’ land that could be used to add value it would be great.

If the council and national government put some money into a cycle way that could draw international visitors it would bring in good foreign revenue.

It does not have to cost a lot – it just needs a plan and a commitment from the council, from landowners and from nature groups to get it into action.

Now is the time for change – to make Marlborough the place it should be.

Although I amnot a landscape architect and therefor my opinion is not officially qualified I think it would be nice to make our home one of the most beautiful in the world.