There’s a good chance you haven’t heard of The Vegetation Guys. The business is almost as elusive as the company’s founder and CEO, Daniel Fairweather.
A local vegetation, land and environmental management company, The Vegetation Guys are also indigenous and veteran-owned, have a 50:50 male-to-female employee ratio, hold some lucrative private and government contracts in North Queensland and have experienced extraordinary growth from its inception in 2019 through to present day, employing over 150 staff.
“We work with all the major contractors for Government, Defence and Councils, and a lot of the work we do is because of word-of-mouth, ‘use these guys because they do the job, and they can do the environmental job too.’ Those that are looking for us, will find us,” Daniel says.
“The difference between us compared to other companies is that we do it from an environmental mindset. When we clean and clear an area, we use, if any, the lowest amount of chemical we can, we make sure it doesn’t flow into waterways and we make sure that what we do has an environmental positive effect.”
Experiencing rapid growth in its first three years of operating, Daniel says that while the environmental and land management might be the physical work they do, it’s not the core purpose of the business.
BEFORE
AFTER
Before and After: Removal of invasive weeds from waterways in Idalia to allow natives to thrive and keep algal blooms to a minimum.
“Yes, we’re an indigenous and veteran owned, environmental management company with equal participation but none of that is what we originally set out to create. It’s just what happened. Our original start was to help veterans find something to do, other than sit at home, drinking, taking medications or feeling suicidal after being discharged,” Daniel says.
“For me, I didn’t feel like I had the support from the various agencies to help me find purpose with my life outside of the military. I was lucky that I had people around me who helped me through the darkness and gave me ideas that helped me find my way. That’s what we do now, we’re helping veterans find purpose within themselves and for a lot of veterans, being a mentor is not very hard but finding somewhere to do that is.
“What we do is provide that place for veterans to connect with our indigenous youth and have a conversation about their journeys. They come out to one of our sites, work on traditional lands with the youth, use their hands to work together, learn from each other, and that’s how we create that bond that helps our youth and veterans find that purpose again.
”Having lived many lives as a garden nursery attendant, radio announcer, security specialist and a stint in the Defence Force, Daniel prefers to remain out of the spotlight and let the work they do speak for itself. That is not to say he sits in a plush corner office, supervising from afar.
“My job is not just as a manager or a supervisor, but also as a mentor. I’ve got a job to mentor the youth that are working for and with us and I think that’s the difference, is the for and with us, which is different to a company that says you work for us, not with us,” Daniel explains.
“That’s the fundamental difference I’ve seen, everyone on our team has valuable input into any discussion we have. Everyone has different experiences and backgrounds and to understand that we need to listen to them because if they don’t ask, then we don’t know and if we don’t know, we can’t ask.”
Daniel continues, saying it’s up to him and his management team to lead by example, something he attributes to his time in the Special Forces where he learned to utilise the resources at hand, rather than hope and plan for what might be available.
“If you lead by example, everyone else will fall into step because you’re showing the way that it can be done, others will jump in and help, at least the ones who are wanting to be there and work with us. No-one is above or below anyone else in the company,” he says.
“Anyone who is in management or supervisory positions still needs to have all the qualifications for the equipment on the ground and needs to know how to use it. If you have the qualification, but don’t know how it works, you’re not going to be able to spot a hazard if something goes wrong.”
As businesses aim to implement more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, Daniel says that it needs to be done from a holistic point of view, something that he strives for with The Vegetation Guys.
“It’s about education. Educating the teams and the individuals about what’s right and what’s wrong. What we want to achieve is a sustainable workplace and environment. To do both of those, we need to have our youth and our veterans wanting and choosing to be there, on board with what we do and why, and working together to create that culture. It needs to be authentic.
“For businesses, if you’re going to say you’re environmental, be environmental from an authentic and holistic approach, don’t just pick and choose. People are starting to become more aware of it, so if you’re not doing it correctly, you get found out very quickly. That will be more damaging to your company than not doing anything.”
Main image: Daniel Fairweather, Founder and CEO of The Vegetation Guys.
All images supplied by The Vegetation Guys.
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