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Most folks in education would agree one of the greatest pleasures of the job is watching students grow and flourish.
This is particularly true in horticulture, which is itself undergoing changes in the way it’s taught in Scotland.
In the past couple of weeks Glasgow Clyde College has opened the city’s first ever educational horticulture centre, unveiling a new £1.8 million purpose-built facility. Meanwhile the National Trust for Scotland has announced a new garden apprentice scheme that will recruit five trainee gardeners to begin their careers in September.
These developments come on the back of an extensive range of courses already available at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and through the various facilities that make up SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College.
So if you’ve green fingers, your qualifications and experience could be as valuable in the classroom as they are outdoors.
The push for top quality education is being seen in other places, too, including Dumfries House in Cumnock where all gardeners employed in the extensive gardens are working towards their RHS Level 2 certificates.
Anne Steele, who is Head of Heritage Gardening at the National Trust for Scotland, and instigator of the NTS apprenticeship scheme, is an advocate of more training for gardeners.
She says: “I originally entered the world of professional gardening by volunteering at Inverewe Garden in Wester Ross but to gain a professional qualification I had to go south of the border. The NTS apprenticeship is a brilliant opportunity for budding horticulturalists to be trained by some of the best in the industry and a chance I would have jumped at when I was first starting out.”
At the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh it’s not just professional gardeners who can obtain training to degree level, but amateurs too through a programme of vocational classes.
And in Glasgow students who embark on Glasgow Clyde College’s courses, which range from National Certificate Introduction to Horticulture level, have welcomed the opening of their new facilities.
Student Viktorija Soldatenko, who is on the HNC Horticulture course, says: “With the launch of the new centre, Glasgow Clyde College really will be the best option for studying horticulture.
“I’ve enjoyed my course so much I’m confident in pursuing horticulture as a lifelong career.”
And Corey Clark, a student on the NC Horticulture course, says: “My favourite project has been creating the veg patch at the new horticulture centre. As a group we’ve grown beetroot, spinach, onions and dill and through the college I’ve also been part of the team working on the anniversary garden for the Battle of Langside in Queen’s Park.”
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