CIH launches Young Horticulturist of the Year 2019 Competition
The 2018 Young Horticulturist of the Year Grand Final was held at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show on April 28th, giving many of the eight competitors and their families and supporters their first opportunity to see this fabulous flower show.
The winner, after a tense competition, was won by the South East Branch Regional winner, Tim Miles who is currently working at the National Trust Garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent.
Tim said, after the competition, ‘The entire journey towards winning the YHoY 2018 competition has been fun. I have enjoyed meeting members of the CIH as well as my peers from across the UK and Ireland. With the Percy Thrower Travel Bursary, I plan to go to Japan. I have a particular interest in Japanese Woodland flora and I am keen to learn more about Japanese horticultural tools and practices.’
Stephen Kynaston, of Platinum Sponsor the Shropshire Horticulture Society said of the competition “The health of anything in society can be gauged by the enthusiasm and commitment of young people, and so today shows how verdant the horticulture industry is.”
Chartered Insitute of Horticulture are thrilled to be launching the 2019 Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition. Their 8 regional organisers are eager to get the ball rolling and encourage any young horticulturists under the age of 30 on July 31st, 2019 to sign up. The first round of heats will be held at various locations around the country or via a Skype call. From here, the top 8 competitors are selected to go through to battle against each other in a Regional Final. Both prizes and prize money are awarded at these two stages, provided generously by their regional and national sponsors.
The Grand Final for the 2019 Competition is being held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew on May 11th. Martin Staniforth, the Training Manager at the School of Horticulture, Learning and Operations at Kew commented:
“Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has promoted the furtherance of horticultural knowledge to facilitate the growing and research of plants and fungi and their conservation and display. Since 1859 Kew has been a leading employer training horticulturists with a dedicated School of Horticulture since 1990. Kew is very honoured to host the 2019 YHOY Grand Final in conjunction with the Shropshire Horticultural Society and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture. The Young Horticulturist of the Year is a fantastic competition allowing the future generation of horticulturists to demonstrate the extent of their study and prowess of knowledge enhancing the profession’s reputation. For many youngsters, the taking part will increase their networks and experience as well as giving valuable exposure to their talent and the possibility of prizes and publicity along the journey.”
To find out more about the competition and how to take part, visit the Young Horticulturist of the Year page. Applications are now open.
For updates and to join the discussion, follow them on Twitter @CIHort #YHOY