Duchy College student wins 2015 Prince of Wales Trophy for Sustainable Horticulture

PRESS RELEASE

29 June 2015

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Duchy College student wins 2015 Prince of Wales Trophy for Sustainable Horticulture

The newly installed Master of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, Mr Bernard Williams, presents the 2015 Prince of Wales Trophy for Sustainable Horticulture to Duchy College student Sid Hill, at the Company's Installation Court Dinner at Haberdashers in the City of London.

At the same event, the outgoing Master, Mr Stephen Bernhard FI Hort, congratulated on his full and active year of tenure and following to tradition, receives his Past Master badge.

Sid is currently completing his Foundation Degree in Global Plant Use at Duchy College, Cornwall, with a project to determine how tomato plants respond to a living mulch of white clover and inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, while at the same time working as head grower at an organic farm.

His interest and studies in sustainable horticulture began when he was 10 years old, when he was given his first vegetable patch. He was home-educated and spent much of his childhood on his father's smallholding in Portugal, where he also helped to establish and maintain a forest garden that contained a diverse range of plants with a variety of ethnobotanical uses and with everything grown organically using sustainable principles.

"Sustainability and horticulture have always been a significant part of my life. Home-education allowed me to spend much of my childhood exploring the countryside learning about natural systems. I soon realised the detrimental effects human activity was having on the environment and that our existence will not be long if we carry on this way. Horticulture is a key part of sustainability and will play a great role in securing our future. I plan for my involvement in sustainable horticulture to be in the design and implementation of multifunctional regenerative landscapes.

"A good friend gave me the nickname Sustainable Sid whilst we were studying together in Further Education, and this friend was the reason I entered the Prince of Wales Trophy; he introduced me to it because he said he had complete confidence that I would win.

"I believe this award will increase the opportunities in my future career, because it highlights my commitment to sustainable horticulture."

Sid hopes to complete a degree in Horticulture - Global Plant Use at Duchy College, Cornwall, in conjunction with the Eden Project, and thereafter, he is keen to study for a Master's degree in sustainable horticulture at Schumacher College, Dartington, Devon, before finding a permanent role in that industry so that he can spread the message of sustainability to the wider public.

"Sid is clearly deeply passionate about sustainable horticulture and the role it has to play in the 21st-century world. His work is based on years of experience in Portugal and the UK and the judges were impressed by his ability to explain the concept of sustainable horticulture, to see how it fits into the wider picture of growing and supply chains, and its multitude of connections across the environment economy and society," says Heather Barrett-Mold, chair of the Company's Awards Committee and member of the Prince of Wales Trophy judging panel.

This award is one of the ways that the Worshipful Company of Gardeners supports the education and training of Horticulture. The horticulture industry has considerable influence on sustainable development through the very importance of plants for well-being, food, and the mitigation of climate change and flood risk.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For more information and images, please contact the Clerk of the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, 020 7149 6696, clerk@gardenerscompany.com

The Prince of Wales Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Sustainable Horticulture

The Prince of Wales Perpetual Challenge Trophy is part of the Company's charitable activities. It is a competition run annually by the Company and it is open to all present and future professional gardeners able to demonstrate particular expertise and knowledge in the field of sustainable horticulture.

Schools of horticulture and other bodies are each invited to nominate up to two entrants to compete for this prestigious award. Nominees will be chosen from those who:

• Are undertaking or have completed undergraduate/post-graduate programmes or level 3 courses/apprenticeships in horticulture
• Have shown particular understanding and commitment to sustainable cultivation
• Can demonstrate their ability in its practical applications
• Intend to practise sustainable horticulture as part of their career

About The Worshipful Company of Gardeners

This Guild is known to have existed as a Fraternity since 1345, and was incorporated by Letters Patent (Charter) on 18th September 1605, by James I. In 1891, the Company was granted its Livery, and accordedthe seniority number 66 among the City's Guilds.The Company is actively involved in the City of London – in the past century, more of its members have been Lord Mayor than from any other Company ­- participating in the election of the City of London officers each year, and working to promote gardening and horticulture within the City; perhaps its best known activity on this front is its Flowers in the City Campaign, launched more than 40 years ago in conjunction with the City Corporation as a means of helping to brighten the City, and encourage floral display in summer and winter.

For more details about the Company, visit www.gardenerscompany.com