Taitua Arboretum Development Plan
25 years on from the gifting of the Taitua Arboretum to the people of Hamilton City and 50 years on from the first tree plantings, the Arboretum’s landscape has changed significantly; the trees have matured, infrastructure has been developed and visitation has increased significantly. The intention was to take a fresh look at the Arboretum, […]
Copley Community Open Space Concept Plan
Copley is located in the outback and its community park lacks shade, has old playground equipment and a tennis court. The Authority wanted the park to be more attractive to the community and visitors due to having limited recreational areas. Xyst was approached and we developed a proposed park development plan which contained guiding principles […]
Landfill Revegetation Programme and Maintenance Plan 2014
Xyst developed a landfill revegetation programme for Port Pirie Regional Council, along with a maintenance plan developed to assist the Council when undertaking the physical works required to revegetate the landfill site. The developed plan included planting schedules, maintenance plan and specifications, and site planning plan. These elements discuss which species should be planted, specifications […]
Hibiscus and Bays Local Parks Management Plan Submission Analysis
Xyst was engaged by Auckland Council to analyse feedback on the draft Hibiscus and Bays Local Parks Management Plan. This plan was the first of 21 omnibus reserve management plans in the Auckland open space planning programme and included 284 parks over 604 hectares of parkland. The team analysed over 1000 comments from 263 submissions. […]
Low Herbicide Weed Control Trial Study
Nelson City Council has received several requests from members of the public who have requested that pesticides aren’t used in Council’s parks and reserves. In response, Council has requested that Xyst Limited investigate the feasibility and implications of undertaking weed control in a selection of reserves with no (or minimal) herbicide use. The report considers […]
Hawea Historical Park Draft Co-Management Plan
Hawea Historical Park (the ‘Park’) is co-owned through a 50/50 partnership between mana whenua of the hapū Ngāti Hawea, Ngāti Hori, and Ngāti Hinemoa who are represented through the four marae, Kohupātiki, Matahiwi, Ruahāpia, and Waipatu, and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. To represent and acknowledge this unique concept and partnership, mana whenua fittingly bestowed […]
Contract Management and Contract Auditing
Xyst was engaged to manage the Amenity Tree Maintenance Contract and Open Space Maintenance contract for the City of Port Phillip from May 2023 through to March 2024. This included providing a dedicated contract manager working within the City of Port Phillip on placement. Particular emphasis was focused on improving contractor performance, systems improvement, reviewing […]
Charlotte Blakey
I am responsible for working on a wide range of consultancy projects with local authority clients. I have a wide range of experience from procurement and contract management, to developing tree inventories and tree management planning. You can contact me for help with Asset management – GIS mapping and data collection Tree assessments – condition, […]
Karl Nesbitt
I have over 30 years’ experience in the horticulture, parks and open spaces, community facilities and customer service sectors. I have been involved in contract management, business development and quality assurance programs such as Yardstick. You can contact me for help with Project management Asset management Environmental landscape Open space development Cemeteries and crematoria Community, […]
Jenn Benden
As a Director, my focus at Xyst is across parks and recreation consulting, business development, managing staff, and strategic direction. I grew up in Vancouver, Canada, have lived and worked in Australia, and now live in New Zealand. My specialist areas are strategic planning for parks, sport and community facilities, as well as project management […]
Open Space Planning
Open space planning encompases everything to do with policy for open spaces in our communities including parks and playgrounds
Anne Relling
To assist councils and other agencies, I work with them to complete strategic and asset planning to help meet the recreational and open space needs of their communities. I also undertake project management on behalf of councils to implement actions identified in their long-term plans. It’s important to understand every client’s needs. That’s why we […]
Tom O’Neill
As a Consultant at Xyst, I deliver expertise in Level 3 Playground Safety Inspections (ensuring compliance to NZS 5828:2015), project management, and asset management, alongside planning, research, and service delivery for Councils and community organisations. I often work closely with local communities and key stakeholders to gain meaningful input and reflect their perspectives in the […]
Alison Rawley
My key responsibility is project management of the Yardstick suite of benchmarking tools. This involves regular updates to the online tools on the Yardstick website, development of new survey and benchmark projects for clients, technical support, data analysis and reporting. It also involves liaison with partner industry organisations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand and […]
Elise Young
I am passionate about our sector and making a difference. I always produce work to the best of my ability and take the client on the journey with me. I like to positively challenge thinking and the way things have always been done to continually seek better solutions. My role involves working with a variety […]