Tuesdayday 4th April 2006
GROWING A NEW FUTURE AT CALDERDALE COLLEGE

It is set to be a blooming good year for gardeners as Calderdale College prepares to launch a new range of horticultural-based courses aimed at both the amateur and professional alike.

Since last September, the college has been running a new course in Garden Design aimed at students with an interest in gardening who want to develop their creative skills. The course equips them with knowledge to improve their own gardens or progress to a higher level where they can study landscape design as a professional career. The course has proved so popular that the college now plans to launch a second course in general horticulture to start after Easter (25th April 2006).

Further plans to run an NVQ Level 2 apprenticeship course in horticulture and landscaping skills are in preparation for September 2006. These will be designed to work closely with industry, encouraging young people to consider careers in horticulture and landscape based industries, or allowing people already working in these industries to gain recognised qualifications.

“It’s a great time of year to start a gardening course”, said Brian Duffy, head of arts, design and construction at Calderdale College. “We have tutors who are managing their own landscaping businesses and courses that will allow their practical knowledge to be used to the full. We plan to run the course on an evening only, but if the demand is there we may also run a class during the day.”

Garden design tutor Stephen Howe added “There has been a tremendous upsurge of interest in gardening and garden design over the last few years as more and more people are concentrating on improving their property rather than moving. The fact that so many people have become interested in design as well as general gardening can only be beneficial for the horticultural industry generally. With so much environmental awareness being taught in schools now, careers in horticulture and landscaping are looking much more attractive to younger people.”