The RHS has created a series of short films (below) in which young professionals in horticulture share what they love about their jobs and explain why their careers matter. The films were made in response to a survey revealing that just 16% of pupils highlighted horticultural roles when discussing careers with their secondary schoolteachers.
The films, which will feature on social media and career websites and will be shared with schools and colleges, form part of an industry-wide campaign, Horticulture Matters, to raise the profile of careers in horticulture and help bridge a critical skills gap. Attracting young people into the sector is key to this campaign.
‘Young Voices in Horticulture’ films
Watch videos on young horticultural talent and see why horticulture is a rewarding career to the individuals below.
Tony Woods age 27, garden designer
Tony is a professional horticulturist, garden designer and founder of Garden Club London, his own garden design and build company. In 2013 he designed his first show garden for the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park , for which he won ‘RHS Young Designer of the Year 2013’ and a Gold medal.
Leif Bersweden age 19, author, orchid hunter and photographer
Leif packed in six years’ worth of botanical experience alongside his GCSEs and A Levels and is due to go to Oxford University this autumn to study Botanical Sciences. An RHS bursary recipient, he has spent the summer of his gap year finding and photographing all 52 species of wild orchid that grow in Britain and Ireland.
Florian Degroise age 23, garden designer
Florian is a garden designer and was one of the RHS Young Designer of the Year 2013 finalists at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. Florian was a student at the London College of Garden Design and also studied at the Lycée de l’Horticulture et du Paysage de Montreuil.
Anna Platoni age 23, diagnostic entomologist
Anna joined the RHS after four years of studying at Imperial College London. She also volunteers as a guide at the Natural History Museum’s butterfly house.
John Foley won the title of BBC Young Gardener of the Year 2012 on BBC Three. He owns his own nursery with his girlfriend and manages a staff of 36. With his entrepreneurial style it has expanded at a rapid rate and he has recently had a restaurant installed. John has his sights set on a Gold medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Hannah has worked as a graphic designer and owned her own business but it wasn’t until she stumbled over a floristry course at The Manchester College that she found her perfect career. She recently came second in the regional finals of the WorldSkills UK floristry competition.
Elliot Smith age 24, company director
Elliot started at Greenbelt Landscapes as a trainee after leaving school and worked his way up to company director. He has just finished managing the build of a Gold-medal winning garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, which he counts as one of his career highlights.
Kateryna Vasyliushchenko-Vainus age 26, landscape architect
Kateryna is combining a degree in Landscape Architecture with jobs as a gardener at Harrogate Borough Council and at a nursery. She is part of design collective Seven Peas in a Pod which designed and created The Mypod Garden at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.
Craig Burgess age 20 and Joe Tunacliffe age 17, horticulture students
Craig and Joe are two of the keenest young horticulture students at Reaseheath College. Both achieved distinction in their level 2 diplomas and are progressing onto level 3 in September.
Kerry Davies (known as Frank), age 26, project manager
Over the last few years Kerry has worked his way up to Project Manager at garden design firm Actual Landscapes. Kerry has combined his job with studying for his NVQ in horticulture and last year was awarded ‘learner of the year’ after finishing his level 2 in record time.
Want to embed these inspiring videos in your website or blog?
*Inset this HTML-embedded code on your website to play the whole playlist from the beginning:
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/JfdL-DY9VtE?list=PLXEVpDvKn91wzNdRvBqxDhJormMCfxpJ-” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
*To choose which video to begin with follow these steps:
- Visit bit.ly/1b1PJcu
- Click on the video you would like to share e.g. I love my job: Hannah age 23, florist
- Beneath the video, click Share
- Click Embed
- Copy the HTML code (note: you also have the option to change the video size before doing this)
- Ask your web editor to past the HTML code where desired on your website e.g. in a blog post
