Horticulture students dig deep for competition
30 January 2012
Horticultural students at Oatridge are preparing to dig deep into their store of knowledge as they look ahead to a competition which could, eventually, take one of them on the journey of a lifetime.
The ultimate goal is a place in the Grand Final of the Young Horticulturist of the Year event, organised by the Institute of Horticulture, and the chance to win the coveted Percy Thrower Travel Bursary, which in the past has seen under-30s visit exotic destinations like Madagascar, Borneo, China and the Himalayas.
To get there Oatridge contestants will have to face each other in the first round in mid-February, with the winner going forward to the Scottish Regional Final in Glasgow in March. Success there will lead on to the UK-wide Grand Final being held this year at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh in May, which will feature eight regional winners.
In the Oatridge heat, contestants will have to answer multiple choice questions on a wide range of horticultural topics. The top three will receive cash prizes and the winner will book a place at the Glasgow event, where hopefuls from all over Scotland will face questions from a quiz master, including on-the-buzzer and identification rounds.
Horticultural lecturer George Gilchrist is organising the Oatridge event. "We're trying to involve as many students as possible," he says. "As far as I'm aware we have only ever had one student progress as far as the Grand Final, but we have our fingers crossed for this year."
Mature students who don't meet the age restriction for the Young Horticulturalist of the Year competition proper aren't being excluded from the Oatridge event. George is planning College prizes for the top three.
The Institute of Horticulture launched the national competition in 2000 as a way of encouraging and rewarding excellence among young people starting out in careers in the industry. Around 2,000, some studying at specialist colleges like Oatridge, but others already working in a variety of sectors are being encouraged to take part.
There is a prize fund of around £10,000 donated by regional and national sponsors, with the top prize, the Percy Thrower Travel Bursary, worth £2,000.
