The Committee is comprised of a group of dedicated volunteers with a Horticultural background.
Each individual plays an important role in the functioning of Encouraging Women in Horticulture and work together to achieve the organisation’s purpose.
Our Committee roles consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Ordinary Committee Members.
Our constitution allows up to 10 Ordinary Committee Members on the committee each term. If you are interested in supporting, inspiring and encouraging women in horticulture, inquire about committee positions by contacting us (must be over 18)
President
The position of President is currently vacant. If you are interested please contact the committee for details.
Rosemary Ulph
Vice President
Rosemary has come to the Committee with a strong clerical and horticultural background. Horticulture was a second career for her, after spending 20 years in the finance industry.
After completing a Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Horticulture) at Burnley in 2001, she spent 10 years working in retail garden nurseries.
For 12 years, she ran her own Garden Design business “Your Garden Oasis”, and worked part-time as a Gardener looking after 6 gardens.
Carol Jordon
Ordinary Committee Member
Carol Jordon has worked for an extended period of time as CEO of a small not-for-profit organisation and prior to that worked for many years in roles in university administration both at faculty and central level.
She brings to the committee her experience and skills in governance, budgeting and strategic planning.
She has an interest in gardening and horticulture and is keen to learn more via her involvement in EWHA.
Simon Trebilcock
Treasurer
Simon Trebilcock has recently completed the Master of Urban Horticulture at Burnley (the University of Melbourne) as part of a transition to a career in horticulture and garden design.
In addition to a passion for gardens, Simon brings to EWHA the broad experience of a senior finance and accounting manager in the energy and resources sector, and many years of volunteer committee work in a number of community, sporting and professional organisations.
Lubana Squire
Ordinary Committee Member
Gardening and a love of plants has been a slow discovery for me that started in my 30’s and is now a full blown passion. I’m intrigued by the unique beauty and complexity of all things botany – and the countless benefits plants bring to our lives and the environment. For me, gardens offer the perfect opportunity to experiment and enrich.
I said farewell to the corporate world in 2010, returned to study to complete a Graduate Diploma in Horticulture at Holmesglen and established my business ‘plan & plant’ in 2012. Now a qualified horticulturalist, I love creating and caring for beautiful, functional gardens that suit our climate and stand the test of time.
I wear many hats both in and out of work. On any given day I could be creating concepts in the morning and shovelling soil in the afternoon. With four wonderful children and a cheeky Vizsla who takes up way too much of my time, my evenings and weekends are all about friends and family.
Barbara Ormerod
Secretary
After working in chemical engineering for many years, Barbara undertook the Master of Urban Horticulture at Burnley and developed a latent passion for gardening and giving back to the community.
Most of her horticultural experience since has been in urban food gardens, mainly working for FareShare growing vegetables and herbs for food relief. For the past 8 years she has also volunteered in a kitchen garden for Camcare, leading a team that contributes to food relief.
Most recently she has been further developing an interest in gardening to improve biodiversity and volunteers with a local group to plant out mid-layer shrubs and grasses, as well as a project at Burnley to grow and harvest seed for wildflower meadows.
Liesha Northover
Ordinary Committee Member
Liesha accidentally fell into horticulture when she moved from an inner-city Victorian terrace to a larger block on the periphery of Melbourne. Taking 3 hours to mow a lawn she never used to have was quite a shock to the system. “What have I done?” often accompanied a lawn-mowing session
She endured a further shock when she hired a landscaper to work on a small section of her block at great expense. And it was then that she decided to go back to school to learn how to do it herself.
Liesha completed the Certificate III in Horticulture at Swinburne University in 2021. After completing this course she felt lost, so immediately enrolled in the Diploma of Horticulture. She is currently studying her final 2 subjects at Holmesglen Institute and will complete the Diploma in December 2024.
With the conclusion of another course approaching, what will she do next? Who knows, but the Diploma of Landscape Design is certainly looking attractive for 2025!
I really liked the idea of the Encouraging Women in Horticulture Association (EWHA) as there wasn’t a lot geared towards supporting women. I enjoyed several events that EWHA had organised and was surprised by the amount of interesting places to visit.
After attending the AGM in 2019 I decided to help out as a general committee member and have organised my first event. I’m also collaborating on awards, website content, and attending events in an official capacity.
I really encourage others to join up to be a general committee member and get involved so that we can grow and strengthen our EWHA.