Steve Willis — Founder and Principal Landscape Designer
Urban GreenSpace was founded in 2010 by Steve Willis, a Sydney landscape designer, regenerative horticulturist, and permaculture practitioner. Based on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Steve combines technical expertise with a deep understanding of living systems to create gardens that are both beautiful and ecologically resilient.
From productive kitchen gardens to whole-system landscapes
From the beginning, Urban GreenSpace has focused on practical, regenerative outcomes. Steve’s early work involved helping restaurants, pubs, and commercial kitchens establish productive herb and vegetable gardens — ensuring chefs had access to fresh, seasonal produce just metres from the kitchen door.
Over time, that work expanded to include private residences, schools, community organisations, heritage properties and NSW Government projects, all with a shared goal: to grow food, enrich biodiversity and reconnect people with nature. Today, Steve works across everything from productive home gardens to significant public landscapes, applying the same ecological principles at every scale.
A soil-first approach to landscape design
Steve’s approach to landscape design goes beyond aesthetics. Every project begins with the health of the soil — the foundation of any thriving garden. Through composting systems, soil microbiology, and thoughtful plant selection, Urban GreenSpace creates living landscapes that improve biodiversity and restore ecological balance. Each design responds carefully to its site, whether a compact courtyard, suburban garden, or bushland edge.
Landscape design for passive house and high-performance homes
Increasingly, Steve works with homeowners and architects on high-performance, energy-efficient homes, including Passive House projects. In these spaces, landscape design plays an important role in shaping microclimates and improving the performance of the home.
How landscape design improves Passive House performance
Urban GreenSpace considers:
- Solar orientation and seasonal shading
- Deciduous canopy placement for summer cooling and winter sun
- Wind protection and shelter planting
- Heat reduction through planting and material selection
- Water infiltration, permeability, and stormwater management
When integrated early, landscape design can improve thermal comfort, reduce reliance on mechanical heating and cooling, and strengthen the long-term performance of the home — not just its appearance.
Regenerative landscape design services in Sydney
Urban GreenSpace specialises in:
- Regenerative & ecological garden design — working with natural systems, not against them
- Edible gardens — from kitchen plots to productive urban farms
- Native habitat creation & bushland restoration — supporting biodiversity and local wildlife
- Fire-resilient planting strategies — for bush-border properties
- Pool-to-pond conversions — creating living aquatic ecosystems
- Soil health & composting systems — building fertile, living soil
Experience, qualifications and professional standards
Steve brings more than 14 years of hands-on horticultural experience, with formal qualifications including a Diploma of Landscape Design(opens in new tab), Certificate III in Urban Horticulture(opens in new tab) (Distinction), and a Permaculture Design Certificate(opens in new tab). He is also undertaking ongoing training as a Soil Food Web Consultant(opens in new tab) and is a member of the Landscape Design Institute(opens in new tab) (LDI), Australia’s peak body representing professional landscape designers.
Urban GreenSpace is also a Registered NSW Government Supplier(opens in new tab) through the NSW Government buy.nsw Supplier Hub, making it easier for government agencies and public organisations to engage our landscape design, horticultural and educational services.
Urban GreenSpace is supported by General Manager Emily Willis, whose background spans more than 20 years across strategy, publishing, creative production and business leadership. Emily leads the operational, educational and communications side of the business, helping shape Urban GreenSpace’s long-term vision, client experience and community-focused content.
Our philosophy
Urban GreenSpace’s philosophy is simple: healthy gardens start with healthy soil. By observing natural cycles, working with plant diversity, and site-specific conditions, each landscape is created to feel alive, productive and deeply connected to nature.
Whether designing a productive food garden, restoring native habitat, or shaping a climate-responsive landscape for a new home, Urban GreenSpace creates regenerative living landscapes designed to thrive naturally over time.