Become a Pond PartnerMentoring & education
Almost four decades of pond thinking, passed on properly.
Mentoring for trade installers who want to stop guessing. Structured around how Mark actually thinks on site, not a generic product course.
In Mark’s words
Most trade training is product training.
I learnt this trade the long way: almost four decades of ponds, most of them other people’s mistakes. The pattern in those mistakes is what I teach. It’s not about gear. It’s about reading a site, sequencing a build and holding your nerve when a client wants you to skip a step.
The mentoring programme is the structured version of that. Small cohorts, real jobs, repeatable thinking.
Who this is for
- Installers with 2+ years of pond work who want to level up
- Landscape teams adding water features as a core service
- Maintenance leads inheriting other people’s ponds
- Designers specifying water and needing the build side calibrated
The methodology
Four pillars, taught in sequence.
Reading the site
Light, water table, run-off, sight lines, neighbours. Reading what’s already telling you the answer.
Building to last
Liner detailing, edge treatments, mechanical layouts and the small habits that survive ten winters.
Diagnosing properly
How to slow down on a green pond, ask the right four questions and avoid the expensive guess.
Holding the client
Scoping, sequencing, expectation setting. The trade skills that don’t come from a product catalogue.
Three formats.
Limited cohort
One-to-one mentoring
Six monthly sessions with Mark. Your live jobs, your questions, your patch.
Dates published yearly
Trade days at HQ
Quarterly intensive days. Site walks, build clinics and peer review.
Launching Phase 2
Online modules
Self-paced video and reference, paired with assessed write-ups.
Mentoring dates and waitlist
Cohorts open a few times a year. Get the next intake notice.
Tagged: Trade. Unsubscribe at any time.