3 CAFRE Greenmount students awarded horticulture scholarships
The three CAFRE Greenmount students received their scholarships from the David Colegrave Foundation, a registered charity supporting the development of students studying horticulture in the UK.
Print24 March 2019
Scholarships worth £13,000 from the David Colegrave Foundation have been awarded to 10 students with interests that include research, sustainability, crop management, breeding, horticultural therapy, and commercial wholesale.
Three of these students are currently studying at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise’s (CAFRE) Greenmount campus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
“This year we received a record number of applications from horticultural students studying at 22 colleges across the UK. We believe we have selected some excellent candidates who are very worthy recipients of the David Colegrave Foundation Scholarships.”, said Jeff Colegrave, son of David Colegrave.
The winners
Juliet Turner of CAFRE Greenmount won the £1,500 John Gibson Environmental Scholarship. Turner is the first recipient of this award that supports environmental solutions and sustainable applications as applied to commercial horticulture.
Turner is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE and has an interest in living walls which are a real growth area in the industry. The DCF Trustees were impressed by her vision and her interest in a commercial application of horticulture that would contribute to a sustainable environment.
“I am deeply interested in exploring how plants and horticultural techniques can be used sustainably to create welcoming, healthy, and climatically responsible urban environments, particularly through the use of living walls. I am delighted and grateful to receive The John Gibson Environmental Scholarship to fund further training in this area.”, said Turner.
Supporting Turner’s application, John Gibson said: “Congratulations to Juliet, a very worthy recipient of this scholarship. Juliet made an excellent presentation for the scholarship and as it is the first of these awards, I am delighted to give her my full support. I certainly think living walls have a great future in the UK. We have so many city centres that need brightening up. Juliet mentions Singapore where they are well established, and I have always been impressed with them when I have been passing through the city. I wish her good luck with her project.”
Áine Gilchrist of CAFRE Greenmount was one of five students to win a £1,000 Student Scholarship. Gilchrist is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE.
Gilchrist’s interest lies in the production of bedding plants throughout the seasons, as well as horticultural therapy, and horticultural production within the community and voluntary sector. This has led Gilchrist to volunteer at a community garden, supporting the planning and production of bedding and container planting.
“Being awarded the DCF Student Scholarship has been a really exciting and encouraging experience. As a mature student changing career, this support further inspires me to take full advantage of my horticultural studies and experiences, as well as boosting my confidence in pursuing a career in horticulture.”, said Gilchrist.
Richard Murray of CAFRE Greenmount was another of five students to win a £1,000 Student Scholarship. Murray is completing a Foundation Degree Horticulture at CAFRE.
Murray also works at Woodlawn Garden and Lifestyle in Carryduff, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Plant production is of particular interest to Murray, especially large-scale production and the wholesaling of ornamental plants. He hopes to own his own nursery one day.
“This Student Scholarship will allow me to experiment with growing more plants than I would have been otherwise able to, through the purchase of horticultural supplies, as well as increase my knowledge base by allowing me the finances required to attend certain horticultural short courses, such as the ones provided at the Walled Garden, Helen’s Bay.”, said Murray.
The next DCF Scholarship season opens in September 2019.
All photos courtesy of the David Colegrave Foundation.
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