As the New Year is welcomed in so will be the opportunity for horticultural enthusiasts to sign up to the brand new RHS course starting at Writtle College in January 2011.
For many years the RHS has offered an academic Level 2 Certificate, but from January the College will now be offering the new highly practical alternative Level 2 qualification as well - The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Level 2 Certificate in Practical Horticulture. The more hands-on qualification has recently been designed by the RHS in response to demand for a more practical based qualification.
Writtle College lecturer Christine Lavelle, a graduate from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew will be heading up the new course at Writtle. Christine who has over 26 years experience in the industry says: "It’s an exciting opportunity for keen amateurs and professionals to embark on a purely practical programme that will teach them seasonal gardening skills to a high level.”
The new RHS Level 2 is a nationally recognised qualification for both professional horticulturists and keen gardeners. The practical elements that will be covered around the gardens and glasshouses of Writtle College will include the modules: plant and animal identification, propagation, vegetable growing, horticultural establishment and maintenance, and soils and composting.
The course will commence on 7 January and completes on 22 July 2011. It is scheduled for every Friday from 9.00am through to 4.30pm each week. The cost of the course tuition is £500 with an additional £84 for the assessments of the practical work and certification, a total of £584. Please contact Admissions on 01245 424200 admissions@writtle.ac.uk
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Pictured - Christine Lavelle
Christine is a lecturer in horticulture and ecology at Writtle College, Chelmsford, UK. She trained at the National Trust for Scotlands Threave School of Practical Gardening and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where she was awarded the Sir Joseph Hooker Prize by Sir David Attenborough and the Kew Travel Scholarship by Professor David Bellamy to study plant conservation in the Galapagos Islands. Christine was assistant Head Gardener at Levens Hall topiary gardens in Kendal and Hardy Ornamental Team Leader at Askham Bryan College in York. Together Christine and her husband, Michael won the Garden Media Guild Practical Book of the Year Award in 2003 and 2008 for their books, Organic Gardening and How to Create a Wildlife Garden.