Steve Wheatley

After a career which entailed a degree in Computing and Cartography, many years’ work in IT as well as a Masters qualification in Software Engineering, Steve Wheatley finally found his true vocation in landscape architecture.

Steve, who hails from West London but has lived in Edinburgh for around ten years, initially studied Computing and Cartography at Oxford Brookes University in the early 1990s. He then worked in the IT industry before finally coming across landscape architecture – a career he feels will give him a new sense of direction.

He says: “I felt I was drifting and looking for more purpose. I was working in IT but it never really excited me.

“I looked at architecture when I was younger, but then I came across landscape architecture. At first I didn’t know much about it. I thought it was gardening, but then I realised it ticked all the right boxes for me – it was creative, really good for the environment and would help my personal development. There are deprived areas in Edinburgh and landscape architecture can play a great role in fulfilling a social need.”

Steve, 39, who is married with a one-year-old son, subsequently obtained a place on the two-year Masters course at the Edinburgh College of Art, which is due to finish next June.