Horticulture industry professionals visit Reaseheath
On Saturday 30th November the College welcomed leading professional horticulturists from the Institute of Horticulture. The Institute, which has recently been granted a Royal Charter by The Queen, came to see for themselves the award-winning work of our horticulture department.
The group were welcomed by Curriculum Area Manager for Horticulture Iain Clarke, who delivered a presentation on our successes at events such as RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, the wide range of programmes we run, and also on the exciting future plans for the department with the investment of £8million in a National Centre for Food Futures and Environment which will provide cutting edge horticultural production, environment management and design facilities for our students.
Horticulture lecturer Harry Delaney conducted a tour of Reaseheath’s historic landscape, which was followed by a tour of the College’s state of the art anaerobic digestion facility by farm manager Mark Yearsley.
Susan Nicholas, who is the Chairman of the Institute’s North West and North Wales Branch commented on: “An excellent visit to Reaseheath, Harry Delaney wowed us with his knowledge and history of trees, and Mark Yearsley gave us an insight into the workings of the college’s anaerobic digestion plant. A big thank you to all college staff involved for an interesting and informative day”.
Speaking about the day, horticulture lecturer Craig Bailey said: “It was a privilege to host the visit, and we have extended an invitation to the Institute to visit Reaseheath again when our new centre is completed in 2015”.
The Institute of Horticulture organises the prestigious Young Horticulturist of the Year competition, which all our horticulture students have the opportunity to enter each year.
