"I Don't Even Look At Job Listings:" How Zach Built a Career At Geoscape
Zach shares his experience working with Geoscape
Want to know what it’s like to work at Geoscape? We recently interviewed one of our team members, Zach, who explained what his experience has been like as he’s built his career with us.
When Zach first joined Geoscape, landscaping wasn’t the industry he expected to build a long-term career in. Originally from British Columbia, Zach had been working as a vineyard manager and apprentice winemaker before moving to Ontario in 2020 after meeting his wife.
“At the time, I was a vineyard manager and apprentice winemaker,” he explained. “Wine making and vineyard stuff definitely happens in Ontario, but it’s definitely more like the Niagara area. And that’s way too far for someone living in Whitby.”
While searching for work closer to home, Zach leaned on another skill set he already had experience with: tractors and machine operation.
“I tried to use that to go off of,” he said.
A referral from a friend eventually connected him with Geoscape, and the opportunity quickly turned into something much bigger than just another job.
Finding a Team He Wanted to Be Part Of
Zach’s first role at Geoscape was as a laborer. From the beginning, the company culture stood out to him.
“My first impression was they were a tight-knit group that I wanted to be a part of.”
He worked alongside experienced team members like Chris P. and Justin W., who helped shape those early impressions.
“They were just really nice to work with…good guys, smart.”
He also quickly realized the scale of the company was much larger than he expected.
“It was a much larger operation than what I thought. As I started getting more opportunities, it started to become and feel like a family.”
Growing Through Opportunity
When asked what he’s learned since joining the team at Geoscape, Zach laughed before answering:
“Everything.”
While he was able to bring some existing plant knowledge into the role, much of his growth came from learning equipment operation, leadership and management skills on the job.
“I learned to operate all the machines here,” he said. “And now I’m learning management skills and things like that.”
One of the most meaningful moments came when he realized he was living out a childhood dream without even noticing it at first.
“When I was really young, I always saw big excavators and bulldozers and stuff, and I was always kind of like, ‘I want to do that when I grow up.’”
Then one day, it clicked.
“I kind of had that realization where it was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m actually kind of doing it.’”
Over time, Zach began setting bigger goals for himself within the company.
“I eventually set my goals on becoming a project manager,” he said.
At Geoscape, employees can grow into different roles depending on their strengths, interests and skill sets. Some team members remain operators, while others move into leadership positions like foreman roles. Others find opportunities in fencing, maintenance, fleet coordination or the company’s tree farm operations.
“We try to promote from within and grow from within,” Zach explained.
Zach and other Geoscape team members on the job
More Than a Workplace
For Zach, one of the biggest differences at Geoscape is that hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I’ve worked in a lot of places, in a lot of different fields,” he said. “All companies say there’s potential for growth and potential for making a career, but it’s only been Geoscape that’s actually proved it to me.”
He also pointed to the company’s willingness to support employees as people, not just workers.
At one point, Zach found himself needing to take on a second job to support his family. Instead of forcing him to choose, the company worked with him to make both possible.
“Their willingness to allow me to do that and still keep my career going here just kind of put the nail in the coffin,” he said. “I already kind of thought this was a family, but once that happened, it was like, okay, yeah…these are my people.”
Building Projects…And Confidence
When Zach talks about the accomplishments he’s most proud of, two projects immediately stand out. The first was helping lead the company’s early tree harvesting operations at the GeoScape tree farm.
“We hadn’t done it before as a company,” he explained. “They kind of chose me to attempt to do it.”
The project succeeded, and now the operation is entering its fourth season. Another major milestone came when Zach became a Foreman and took on one of his first major projects: the Newmarket tennis courts.
“We installed all the trees,” he said. “I did all the planting around them.”
These projects didn’t just build his technical skills. They helped reinforce his confidence as a leader and showed him how much trust the company was willing to place in its team members.
At the end of the interview, Zach summed up exactly why he continues choosing GeoScape year after year.
“It’s my career now, but it’s my family too now.”
He described it as one of the only jobs where he doesn’t have to force himself out the door in the morning.
“It’s one of the only places where I don’t wake up in the morning having to motivate myself to go to work.”
In fact, he says he actually looks forward to it.
“There’s obviously good days and bad days and challenging days and easy days,” he said. “But I don’t even look at job postings. I don’t even think about working anywhere else.”
