Clarence is an Aboriginal man from the Bundjalung Nation on the far north coast of NSW and has a wealth of experience in the plant world having grown up on the family farm, operated his own landscaping business and several years as Education Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, where his work involved the education and promotion of Aboriginal culture and native plant species.
He is an accomplished musician and dancer with a passion for all forms of traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and dance.
Growing up in the lush Tweed Valley with a long family history of bushmen, farmers and fishermen, Clarence has combined his love of teaching, culture, music, dance and the bush in his role as presenter on Gardening Australia. His combined experience and love of native plant species continues to complement his role as Director of Jiwah Pty Ltd.
About Jiwah
Jiwah is an Indigenous company specialising in cultural landscape and design. We are a team of talented and enthusiastic environmentalists intent on disrupting current methodologies in green infrastructure and green space design. Specialising in the field of horticulture, permaculture, plant thematics and landscape design we have existing professional relationships with a number of organisations within the Sydney Region and ongoing community relationships across New South Wales.
With the combined experience of over 50 years in urban landscape design, installation and maintenance, Jiwah continually seeks input from key stakeholders and community custodians to assist in the design of significant urban green spaces.
We have broad experience in the facilitation of community engagement through design thinking processes to achieve collaborative outcomes in a range of design spaces including green infrastructure projects, public open spaces, gardens, corporate planning, tourism and education programs.
We are proudly 100% Aboriginal owned and strive to maintain our motto, “Native by design, Nature by Necessity” through the incorporation of native species into designs across the city of Sydney with an aim to increase biodiversity and improve flora and fauna ecologies for the benefit of all.