Reaseheath landscape gardener wins place in national finals

/in /by

Richard Carden landscapeReaseheath College horticulture student Richard Carden won his way through to the 2014 WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening finals after a high profile three day competition at last week’s  RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.

The Landscape Gardening Competition, organised by the Association of Professional Landscapers, is designed to highlight the skills and potential of young people. Finalists are considered for an international squad.

Richard, 19, of Tattenhall, will compete at the Olympic-styled finals at The Skills Show at Birmingham NEC in November against top students from other colleges.

Competitors in the RHS Tatton heat were challenged to build a garden from scratch in 22 hours. The competition was held in sweltering temperatures and in front of the many thousands of visitors who attended the show.

The garden, designed by leading Cheshire designer Alexandra Froggatt, tested a wide range of landscaping skills and included paving, blockwork, a raised bed, timberwork and planting.

Lead judge Jody Lidgard said; “Congratulations to all the competitors. It was a very close competition and workmanship was high in all the gardens. I have every admiration for the lads, who just kept going despite the heat. They all should be proud of their achievements. They have represented their colleges with pride.”

 Richard, a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture student, was one of a team who designed and built the winning garden at a competition held during Reaseheath’s Family Festival in May. He then helped to rebuild the garden as a feature on the college’s award winning stand at the Cheshire Show in June.

The former Bishop Heber High School, Malpas, pupil said: “Tatton was my first major competition and I can only describe it as being as close as landscape gardening can get to being a military operation. There was no let up at all as we had to complete the garden to a tight deadline.

“But I really like that aspect of the competition and I’m looking forward to building on my skills in preparation for the final.”

Students from Reaseheath College, in Nantwich, carried off several key awards at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. An innovate fruit and vegetable garden ‘A Taste of Wythenshawe’, designed and built by Foundation Degree in Garden and Landscape Design students, was awarded a gold medal while student florists took the new Tatton Park Floristry College of the Year title.

Reaseheath students studying for RHS certificates also helped to build a stand for Cheshire Gardens of Distinction, which won Best Show Feature.

It’s party time for Cheshire Gardens of Distinction!

/in /by

Happy tenth birthday to Cheshire Gardens of Distinction! This formidable organisation, which represents the county’s greatest gardens, celebrated its anniversary in style at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park on Wednesday 23rd July with a wonderful cake made by Reaseheath’s Bakery and Patisserie Department. Performances by the Hub Dancers and medieval musician Tom Hughes were also part of the party.

Tracey Walker and Sam YoudCGoD’s stand showcases gardens from eight of its members: Arley Hall, Adlington Hall, Biddulph Grange, Cholmondeley Castle, Fryers Roses of Knutsford, Norton Priory, Bluebell Cottage Gardens and the Cheshire Gardens Trust. Each garden features ‘The Rose of Distinction’, a new floribunda rose launched by Fryers Roses to celebrate the group’s tenth birthday.

Reaseheath horticulture lecturer Tracey Walker has co-ordinated the stand which is in the ‘Inspire’ zone, an area dedicated to cutting edge design and fresh ideas. And as a ‘thank you’ she was presented with a beautiful rose bush by CGoD chair Sam Youd, former head gardener at Tatton Park.

Earlier in the day, part of ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ was presented from the stand. You can watch the broadcast again here, the stand features at both 43 minutes and 1 hour 29 minutes into the programme.

Cheshire Gardens of Distinction is at Inspire 149 at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, which runs until Sunday July 27th.

 

Good luck Richard!

/in /by

Talented Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture Richard Carden is representing Reaseheath in the WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening Semi Finals at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park.

He is one of six students challenged to build a 2m x 6m garden designed by award winning designer Alexandra Froggatt.

Competition entries were the highest yet and Richard successfully completed a theory test and tie-breaker exercise to claim his place in the semi-finals. The competitors have three days to complete their gardens, with the results being announced on Friday.

The judges are Association of Professional Landscapers chairman Mark Gregory, garden designer and four times RHS gold medal winner Adam Frost, landscape firm owner Jody Lidgard and 2011 WorldSkillsUK medal winner Simon Abbott.

Winners from the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will compete at the WorldSkills UK finals, to be held at The Skills Show, Birmingham NEC, in November. There they will fight for the national title in front of 70,000 people and will also be in the running for selection for the international WorldSkills Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, next year.

Reaseheath florists win RHS Tatton Park Floristry College of the Year

/in /by

Reaseheath floristry students were celebrating after winning the RHS Tatton Park Floristry College of the Year Competition yesterday.

This prestigious new competition is open to UK based floristry colleges and training providers and showcases the talent of students.

Level 3 Diploma in Floristry students Anna Eite, Zoe Sillito and Wendy Anderson, supported by Programme Leader for Floristry Sue Poole, were awarded first place against strong competition from four other colleges and will go through to the final at the Chelsea Flower Show 2015.

The students created five carnival themed designs using flowers with a colour theme of red, gold, green and orange: a mask, a wall hanging, an arrangement, a wired bouquet and a planted design.

As well as winning the college competition they also won a silver gilt medal for their stand.

This has been the second great result for our floristry department this summer, as Anna and Zoe won second and third places respectively at a recent WorldSkills UK competition.

Come and see our student design and our college stand in the Floral Design Studio at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, Wednesday July 23 (members only) to Sunday July 27

 

Reaseheath’s show garden adds flavour to RHS Flower Show

/in /by

A truly edible show garden, A Taste of Wythenshawe celebrates the success of community health and welfare programmes led by sponsors the Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG).

Designed and built by Foundation Degree Garden and Landscape Design students from Reaseheath College and on display next week at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park, the garden incorporates innovative and creative approaches to growing edible plants suitable for a 21st century urban community.

Its inspiration is Real Food Wythenshawe, a five year £1 million Big Lottery-funded community food campaign led by WCHG which promotes ways that people can grow their own fruit and vegetables and cook healthy, economical meals.

After the show the garden will be rebuilt in Wythenshawe Park, where it will be shared by the local community. The re-instatement will be carried out by members of the Turnaround team, a programme developed by WCHG to offer training and potentially employment opportunities to those with criminal records.

All team members have been trained by Reaseheath College and have successfully gained their NPTC Level 2 horticulture award. One member, Stephen Cleator, is now employed in WCHG’s grounds maintenance department.

The Turnaround team assisted in the show build and the local community were involved in pre-show planning and development.

Said WCHG Chief Executive Nigel Wilson: “The Real Food Wythenshawe campaign supports and encourages residents to take control over what they and their families eat. It demonstrates that healthy eating is possible for everyone, regardless of age, budget, ability or time constraints. In the same way, the garden promotes growing and eating home grown produce and, at the same time, reducing food miles and carbon footprint.

“We are delighted to be partnering Reaseheath College with this innovative show garden and even more excited about the prospect of bringing it back home to Wythenshawe. The icing on the cake, for us, is that the Turnaround team are playing a central role in this truly community based project.”

A Taste of Wythenshawe is in the Feast zone, an area which celebrates fresh produce and the joy of growing and cooking home grown food. Cookery demonstrations will take place in the zone using vegetables and fruit from the plot.

The garden design uses interlocking segments to form a crescent shape which mirrors the layout of Wythenshawe’s original garden city. It reflects the concept of the ‘three magnets’: Countryside as an edible ‘forest garden’, Town as a community seat and eat area and Town/Country, a community garden combining edible and ornamental planting. Tramlines represent the connection of Wythenshawe to Manchester through expansion of the Metrolink.

Hydroponics, an aeroponic tower and sculptural features such as rebar trees made by Reaseheath’s Engineering Department offer opportunities for vertical growing to save space and water.Food foraging is promoted through an edible meadow, a foraging forest, a herb living wall, a salad table and a traditional allotment with chicken coup. Pollinating insects, especially bees, are encouraged by a wide variety of pollinator plants and recycled materials are used wherever possible.

The design and build team are students who have just completed their Foundation Degree in Garden and Landscape Design. Most are returning to college for a further year’s study to complete their BSc Landscape Design and Management.

 

For further details of RHS Flower Show Tatton Park see www.rhs.org.uk/shows

For further details of Reaseheath’s horticulture courses see www.reaseheath.ac.uk/horticulture

 

Reaseheath students gear up for RHS Flower Show Tatton Park

/in /by

Reaseheath College garden designers and florists are gearing up for the prestigious RHS Flower Show Tatton Park (July 23 – July 27). We have an impressive medal record for our show gardens and floral designs and our students are hoping to add to the tally with this year’s entries.

 

Feast 291 A Taste of Wythenshawe

The show garden team busy growing on their vegetables

The show garden team busy growing on their vegetables

A team of Foundation Degree Garden and Landscape Design students, helped by  fellow learners from all horticultural courses, are creating an edible show garden in the ‘Feast’ zone, an area which celebrates fresh produce and the joy of growing and cooking home grown food.

Sponsored by Wythenshawe Community Housing Group (WCHG), the garden incorporates innovative and creative approaches to growing edible plants including hydroponics and sculptural features. It celebrates Real Food Wythenshawe, a five year £1 million Big Lottery-funded community food campaign led by WCHG which promotes ways that people can grow their own fruit and vegetables and cook healthy, economical meals.

After the show the garden will be rebuilt in Wythenshawe Park, where it will be shared by the local community.

Said WCHG Chief Executive Nigel Wilson: “The Real Food Wythenshawe campaign supports and encourages residents to take control over what they and their families eat. It demonstrates that healthy eating is possible for everyone, regardless of age, budget, ability or time constraints.

“We are delighted to be partnering Reaseheath College with this innovative show garden and even more excited about the prospect of bringing it back home to Wythenshawe.”

The garden re-instatement at Wythenshawe will be carried out by members of the Turnaround team, who have also assisted in the show build. The Turnaround programme was developed by WCHG to offer training and potentially employment opportunities to those with criminal records. All team members have been trained by Reaseheath and have successfully gained their NPTC Level 2 horticulture award.

 

Inspire 149 Cheshire Gardens of Distinction

Reaseheath RHS students are helping to build a carnival themed show feature for the Cheshire Gardens of Distinction, which this year celebrates its 10th birthday. The group will be represented by eight leading visitor attractions: Arley Hall and Gardens,  Adlington Hall and Gardens, Cholmondeley Castle and Gardens, Fryers Roses of Knutsford, Biddulph Grange, Norton Priory, Bluebell Cottage Gardens and Nurseries and the Cheshire Gardens Trust.

Reaseheath Horticulture lecturer Tracey Walker has helped to co-ordinate the stand, which is in the ‘Inspire’ zone, an area dedicated to cutting edge design and fresh ideas. Each of the eight gardens will feature ‘The Rose of Distinction’, a new floribunda rose being launched by Fryers Roses to celebrate the group’s centenary.

 

Floral Design Studio

Reaseheath florists will showcase their talents with a creative, carnival themed stand.

Five floristry students will also compete in the new Floristry College of the Year Competition. Level 3 Diploma in Floristry students Anna Eite, Zoe Sillito, Wendy Anderson, Carron White and Christine Roberts will be supported by Programme Leader for Floristry Sue Poole.

The students will create five designs using flowers with a colour theme of red, green and yellow: a mask, a wall hanging, an arrangement, a wired bouquet and a planted design. The winning college will go through to the final at the Chelsea Flower Show 2015.

Hopes are high for a good result, as Anna and Zoe won second and third places respectively at a recent WorldSkills UK competition.

 

WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening Semi Finals

Talented Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horticulture Richard Carden will represent Reaseheath in this prestigious competition. He is one of eight students (divided into teams of two) challenged to build 2m x 6m gardens designed by Alexandra Froggatt.

Competition entries were the highest yet and Richard successfully completed a theory test and tie-breaker exercise to claim his place in the semi-finals. The judges will be Association of Professional Landscapers chairman Mark Gregory, garden designer and four times RHS gold medal winner Adam Frost, landscape firm owner Jody Lidgard and 2011 WorldSkillsUK medal winner Simon Abbott.

Winners from the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park will compete at the WorldSkills UK finals, to be held at The Skills Show, Birmingham NEC, in November. There they will fight for the national title in front of 70,000 people and will also be in the running for selection for the international WorldSkills Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, next year.

 

You can find out more about our Garden and Landscape Design, Horticulture and Floral Design courses on our website.

 

Reaseheath’s Rag raises money for St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice

/in /by

Caring students from Reaseheath College in Nantwich presented nearly £10,000 to St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice at their summer ball last week.

Money raised from RAG (Raising and Giving) activities was handed over to Mark Porter, St Luke’s Corporate and Community Fund Raiser, by members of Reaseheath’s Student Association. Mark said: “This is a fantastic amount of money which will help provide patient care in the local community. We are delighted that Reaseheath’s students chose us as their charity this year.”

Based in Winsford, St Luke’s Cheshire Hospice provides day care and longer term care to patients throughout Mid and South Cheshire and also supports their carers. Last year it helped over 3,000 people. The charity needs to raise £7,500 every day to keep its services free to Cheshire residents.

Reaseheath’s Student Association organised 35 fund raising events in RAG week alone, including a James Bond themed RAG Ball, a staff versus students football match, a raft race on the college lake, a tractor pull and a Three Peaks Challenge by students and staff from the construction department.

Student Association President Sam Norfolk, 20, who has just completed his Foundation Degree in Adventure Sports Management, said: “We had a fantastic team of Student Association members who worked really hard to put together activities which everyone could enjoy while raising money for a good cause. We chose St Luke’s because its services benefit the whole community and some were relevant to us, such as the bereavement counsellor for young people.”

In addition to supporting St Luke’s, Reaseheath students and staff have raised a further £4,000 for other charities this year including Macmillan Cancer Support, the Poppy Appeal, Red Nose Day and a number of animal charities.

Over the past 26 years students and staff have raised over £190,000 for local charities.

 

Record Year for Reaseheath College

/in /by

One of the country’s most successful specialist colleges, Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire, has notched up another record year of student enrolments and achievements.

The college’s annual awards ceremony, held over two days last week, celebrated the success of  1371 Further Education students who had achieved industry recognised qualifications and skills.

Torrence Summerfield, Becky Harper, Jess Fallows, Amy Champ, James Latter L3 Ext Dip Agriculture top students

Top Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture students Torrence Summerfield, Becky Harper, Jess Fallows, Amy Champ and James Latter

The students, from across the UK and abroad, are preparing for careers in agriculture, environmental conservation, animal or equine management, agricultural engineering, motor vehicle, business, food manufacture, floristry, horticulture, forestry, construction, public services or in leisure industries such as sport and outdoor adventure.

Sharing congratulations with a capacity audience, Principal Meredydd David emphasised that 97% of Reaseheath’s students achieve their qualification and that 90% progress into employment or onto higher level courses.

A recent independent economic impact assessment had shown that Reaseheath contributed £85 million to the regional economy last year and that parents and students receive a 17% return on their investment in education – a £7 return for every pound invested.

Jack Williams, top student, Level 3 Diploma Countryside Management

Jack Williams, top student, Level 3 Diploma Countryside Management

Fantastic opportunities lay ahead for Reaseheath students as the importance of the industries they were about to enter had been recognised by the government. An agriculture and technology strategy had been launched, supported by £80million of investment.

To stay abreast with these opportunities, Reaseheath was investing £8million to develop a national centre for horticulture, environmental management and sustainability which would open in September 2015.

This year, the college had opened a new hall of residence for 150 students, a new sport fitness centre and a National Academy for Food Engineering in partnership with industry. This brought the total investment on world class facilities over eight years to £45 million. There were plans to invest a further £30 million over the next five years.

Guest speakers were Dr Pete Waterman from Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership and John Myers, Head of Employer and Delivery Services, and Jane Cowell, Director of Young People’s Funding, both from the Education Funding Agency.

Five outstanding students received special cross college awards

Twm-Tegid Brunton, a Level 3 Diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture student, was chosen as the student making the best contribution to college life. An outstanding student ambassador, he had voluntarily attended over 40 college information events and had gone out of his way to support the student services team. A  member of the North West Welsh Opera Choir, he had also sung at the student ball.

Katie Gibson, who had completed Level 3 Diploma in Professional Bakery, were selected for making the best all round contribution to the college. She had made an outstanding input into RAG (Raising and Giving) activities and had added responsibilities as press officer for the student magazine.

Rachel Bowles, a Foundation Degree in Animal Management undergraduate, was singled out for personal qualities. The Student Association sustainability representative, Rachel was also chair of Reaseheath’s Conservation Society as well as helping to lead charity fundraising.

Student Association President Sam Norfolk, a Foundation Degree in Adventure Sports graduate, was recognised for contributing most to Reaseheath’s sporting activities. As captain of Reaseheath’s Men’s football team, he had played 11 competitive matches and organised additional charity matches and sporting projects.

Lucy Culwick, a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture student, was awarded the Beacon Trophy celebrating excellence. Diagnosed as having a  hole in her heart during her course, Lucy had undergone open heart surgery and had recuperated for just six weeks before returning to college. She had caught up with her studies, involved herself with college life and was now going to study for a Degree in Agriculture.

 

You can see the full role of honour and more photographs from the day here.

 

Dealerships join Reaseheath College to enhance student experience

/in /by

Reaseheath College agriculture students operated £1million-worth of technical machinery during the first silaging operation of the season.

The cutting edge machinery and equipment was loaned to the Cheshire college by local agricultural machinery dealerships who are supporting efforts to give Reaseheath students practical experience in precision farming.

students mowing

Reaseheath students mowing, using a blue New Holland T6 supplied by Malpas Tractors and a CLAAS Arion 530 and CLAAS mower from Morris Corfield

First year agriculture students got the chance to operate the machinery and a carefully selected group of 30 joined the full time harvesting team under supervision, enabling the harvest of first cut grass silage over 200 acres to be carried out more efficiently. The students were involved in all parts of the operation, from mowing and raking to ferrying to the silage clamp.

Harvesting of 62 acres was completed over two days with the use of three mowers. The grass was wilted for 24 hours, half of the ideal time, and then collected as rain was predicted. Average volume was 21 tonnes fresh weight per hectare (8.5 tonnes/acre) with an estimated D Value 68, Dry Matter 24%, protein 16% and ME 10-11. Ecosyl 100 silage additive was used to aid fermentation.

silaging – harvester in action

The silage will be used in conjunction with maize silage, wholecrop wheat and lucerne haylage to feed the Reaseheath Holstein milking herd from the end of June this year.

Said Farm Manager Mark Yearsley: “This was a great opportunity to give the first year students hands-on experience of the silaging process using top of the range machinery. The weather was against them but they carried out the whole operation from preparing the clamps to sealing them when finished very safely and competently.

“Some students will go on to work on farms and some will be employed by contractors. They now have the foundation and confidence to become quality staff.”

Dealerships who loaned machinery included RVW Pugh Ltd., of Holmes Chapel, which delivered a top of the range Fendt 716 tractor, Massey Ferguson tractor and a Vicon mower conditioner. Speaking for all his colleagues, Area Sales Manager Bob Cooper said: “We were delighted to help Reaseheath on this project. These students are the next generation of farmers and they will be our future customers.  It was only fitting that they should be able to see first hand the enormous technological advances which are being made within the industry.”

Dealerships which loaned machinery for the silaging operation were:

You can find out more about our Agriculture courses here.

 

National endorsement for Horticulture Department

/in /by

Reaseheath’s Horticultural Department received national recognition as it became officially accredited by the Institute of Horticulture (IOH).  The IOH is the professional body for the industry and has recently been granted a Royal Charter by The Queen, which recognises the importance of the horticulture in society.

The IOH’s endorsement of the department highlights the high standard of horticultural education and facilities on offer at Reaseheath, and the knowledge and skills students take with them into the industry. The department, which is already an Royal Horticultural Society Approved Centre, will be further enhancing its student experience in September 2015 with the opening of its new home in the National Centre for Food Futures and the Environment.

Speaking about the accreditation, Head of Department Steve Roach said: “The IOH Accreditation is a fitting endorsement to the skills, knowledge and professionalism of the Hortic team.  Reaseheath College is investing millions in new facilities to promote Horticulture in its widest sense and to prepare people for the ever increasing  demands of the industries that we serve. This accreditation is just a start in an exciting journey to take Horticulture to an aspirational level”.

Programme Leader for Horticulture, Sarah Hopkinson said: “The IOH accreditation is an excellent endorsement of the high quality training and education we deliver within the Department of Horticulture”.

“The Accreditation comes at an exciting time in the development of Horticulture at Reaseheath College and should contribute significantly to increased recruitment and effective stakeholder engagement to support our future growth and ambition”.

The Institute of Horticulture organises the prestigious Young Horticulturist of the Year competition, which all our horticulture students have the opportunity to compete in each year.

You can find out more about Horticulture at Reaseheath here.