About NGIWA

For well over 80 years, Nursery & Garden Industry Western Australia (NGIWA) has been the voice for the nursery and garden industry in this state. Contributing over $200 million to the Western Australian economy each year, our industry supports in excess of 200 grower nurseries, retail garden centres and allied trader manufacturers.

NGIWA provides a professional network, industry representation and business development initiatives for Western Australian growers, wholesalers, retailers and allied traders. This support enables us to operate more effectively; providing the public with quality plants, garden design and installations and related products and services. Like the nursery and garden industry as a whole, most NGIWA members are small, family-owned businesses that grow nursery and greenhouse plants, sell garden products, design, install and care for gardens, and sell supplies to the industry and general public.

NGIWA and the Role of Horticulture

NGIWA is at the heart of horticulture in WA and our membership covers a diverse group of
practicing horticulturists; from the retail and grower sectors as well as prominent allied
businesses who support our garden centres and nursery people.

NGIWA deliver a range of professional development opportunities throughout the year as
well as facilitating networking events for our members. Through our electronic newsletter
and social media, we keep our members abreast of biosecurity issues, water planning, policy
changes and industry happenings as they occur. We are committed to on-going
improvement for our industry and our members. We also liaise with local government
departments on behalf of our members providing policy input and advocacy for the industry.

NGIWA Executive officer Lisa Passmore brings to her role, over 30 years’ experience in the
nursery and garden sector and is most at home when visiting members in their garden
centres and nurseries. Lisa will be working to enhance the member experience, providing
mentoring, and assisting members businesses to survive and thrive in a changing world.

We recognise the important role that horticulture provides that goes well beyond just ‘the
supply of live plants’, with benefits found in improved food security, improved mental and
physical wellbeing from ‘green spaces’, enhanced sense of ‘community’, as well as
mitigating the urban ‘heat island effect’ and climate change.

We will also be working to promote Horticulture as a meaningful and rewarding career for the next generation of Horticulturists.

Lisa Passmore
Executive Officer

NGIWA Board

One of the key objectives of Nursery & Garden Industry WA is to constantly search for better ways to serve our members.

The NGIWA Board have a wide range of skills and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Association. The Board meets once a month.

President - Ross Hooper

Ross grew up in the family-owned garden centre of Zanthorrea Nursery and began working there full time in 2001. He is a qualified horticulturist and with a commitment to continued training, is also a Certified Nursery Professional. He is passionate about bringing quality Australian plants to the nursery industry and raising the standard of garden centres through the Australian Garden Centre Accreditation Scheme.

In 2008, he won NGIWA’s Young Leader of the Year Award and has been an active member of the NGIWA board for many years. In 2015 Ross took over ownership of Zanthorrea Nursery which continues as a third generation run family business.

Vice President - Colin Groom

Colin has previously held the position of NGIWA president and was a member of the national NGIA Board. Colin sits on the National Governance Committee for APPS which covers our industry accreditation system including NIASA. In 2020 he was awarded a Life Membership to NGIA.

Sarah Hamer

Sarah has been at the helm of Garden Elegance for the past several years and has played an active role in the business for over 25 years.

Garden Elegance is a family run and owned business, where Gwen and Richard have been delighting customers for close to 50 years.

Sarah is passionate about the retail sector and providing customers with knowledge to grow their best gardens and enjoy all the mental and physical benefits which come with being out in nature.

She looks forward to sharing her extensive retail experience and helping newcomers make the most of their retail businesses.

Geoff Richards

Geoff has been an instrumental figure in the nursery industry for many years and as Managing Director of Richgro, is highly regarded by many as one of WA’s leading figures within our industry. Geoff sits on countless industry related boards and has served a term as National President for NGIA and a term of NGIWA president. He has been on the NGIWA board since 1974 and has been recognised for his outstanding service in the industry, being the recipient of Life Membership of NGIA and NGIWA.

Geoff is passionate about innovating our industry and to this extent works closely with WA universities on research projects about composting. He is now running his own bioenergy plant at the Richgro site located in Jandakot.

Lydia Polglaze - NextGen

Lydia Polglaze is a qualified horticulturalist who is the Nursery Supervisor at the City of Stirling.

She has been involved with NGIWA and NextGen for three years.

Lydia is excited to be on the NGIWA Board as the NextGen representative and to encourage and involve young people starting out in the industry.

Joska Stroobach

Joska studied Horticulture (BSc) at the University of Delft in The Netherlands and worked for ICL (Scotts/Everris at the time) for 13 years when she moved to Australia with her family in 2005. She is currently the Regional State Manager for ICL in Western Australia and loves her role in which she visits and advises nurseries in our beautiful state.

Joska is very passionate about horticulture and hopes to bring a different, international perspective to the NGIWA Board.

Trent Baljeu

Trent is the T in DSATCO, a family run business in rural WA. He has a commerce degree which has helped grow DSATCO into something special.

Gardening and business progression is a passion of his. Dsatco was supported in the early days by many wonderful garden centres, and Trent hopes that by sitting on the NGIWA board, he can provide value to the association, give something back to the industry and make a real difference.

NGIWA President, Ross Hooper

Honorary & Life Members

NGIWA Life Members are recognised after long and remarkable careers within the Western Australian nursery and garden industry and have rendered valuable and distinguished service to the Association.

NGIWA Honorary Members are acknowledged people who have made significant contributions to the Western Australian nursery and garden industry.