Three horticulture students from Wiltshire College & University Centre have been recognised for their dedication to developing their gardening skills, with awards from the Wiltshire Gardens Trust.
The Wiltshire Gardens Trust Horticulture Education Award is presented annually to support education and training that helps students continue learning and achieve their career ambitions in horticulture.
To be eligible, students must have completed a horticulture qualification at the college’s Lackham campus, either through an apprenticeship or an RHS certificate. Applicants are also required to show a clear commitment to building their knowledge and pursuing a future in areas such as gardening, garden design, landscape architecture, groundskeeping or plant nursery work.
The 2025 award winners are Stuart Warnock-Coles and Emma Strange, who both studied RHS Level 2 Practical and Theory, and Saffron Barlow, who completed a Level 2 horticulture apprenticeship.
They were presented with certificates and £500 towards further study by Wiltshire Gardens Trust Chair Camilla Ritchie at the organisation’s AGM in Edington.
She said, “We are delighted to be supporting Wiltshire College’s horticulture students on their paths to careers in gardening and horticulture.
“We congratulate each of the award winners on their success. Our thanks to the Lackham tutors, Sarah Moor-Bardell and Gemma Neech, who helped promote the award to their students and to all of those who applied. There was a very strong field.”
The awards were judged by Sarah Rivett-Carnac and Alexandra Gray and co-ordinated by Grants and Awards Team Lead Victoria Nye.
Each of the winners is already building a future in horticulture. Stuart made a career change from the travel industry and now works at Longleat while running his own business, with plans to develop his garden design skills.
Saffron is nearing the end of her apprenticeship at Hartham Park and has a particular interest in growing vegetables, alongside ambitions to explore herbalism.
Emma is self-employed with a growing client base and plans to use her award to further develop her garden design expertise.
The trust has a long-standing relationship with the college and plans to run the scheme again next year. Members also support students through talks at Lackham and by welcoming them into their gardens for study days.
