Helen Elks-Smith was full of praise for the Society of Garden Designers ahead of her ‘But It’s Just Dirt’ webinar at the start of next month.

It will take place on 3 December at 5pm, and is the first in the SGD’s Sustainability Bitesize series.

“I’m really delighted to work with the SGD and give something back to our membership. Creating gardens can be complex and we all need to help each other, share knowledge and experience.” says Elks-Smith.

“Having another opportunity to raise these issues, particularly with fellow professionals on this webinar is great.”

The talk has been in the works for quite some time, with the seeds of it having been planted back in Spring 2023, when she spoke at the SGD Conference.

“In that talk I spoke about various issues to do with soil and suggested to the SGD ‘this might be your next campaign, we need soil protection orders, we have to make a cultural shift, a cultural change’ which resonated with the council at the SGD,” says Elks-Smith.

From there, a talk at Tim O’Hare’s soil conference followed, before firm plans were laid for this webinar.

She says the talk will look at the attitudes towards soils within the design and construction industries, with a focus on residential schemes.

Elks-Smith explains: “Why do soils matter and what are the common problems with soils on site. We need to challenge the thinking that soil is part of the problem, that ‘it’s just dirt’.

“Often after a house build or housework you’ve inherited a set of problems that could and should have been avoided. What can the landscape industry do to whether influence those outcomes.”

“But it’s not just house construction that needs to improve, are the outcomes different when we are the key holders? I will be sharing some of the experience I’ve had over the last however many years of designing and building gardens.”

She has been the owner of the eponymous Elks-Smith Garden Design since 2000, which is based down in the New Forest.

The SGD says that further webinars are coming in 2025, which will cover soil chemistry, structure, soil life, management plans, and remediation strategies.

It will cost £5 for members and ten for non-members and will not be recorded or will the content be made available online afterwards. Tickets for the event can be purchased online.

Elsewhere, last month the SGD rewarded Tom Hoblyn and Arabella Lennox-Boyd with fellowships, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the profession.