The World-Famous West Sussex Gardens create a fund to give a trainee horticulturalist a great start - a year working in West Dean Gardens
In the year that they retire, West Dean Gardens is establishing
a fund and seeking donations, to establish a Trainee
Horticulturalist post in honour of the legacy that Head Gardeners
Jim Buckland and Sarah Wain have left in the gardens; to give
someone at the start of their career, the chance they need to work
towards managing a garden like West Dean.
Jim and Sarah have spent the last 28 years revitalising the
magnificent landscape and making West Dean Gardens one of the
greatest restored gardens in the UK. They will retire in spring
2019.
As Sarah Wain said: "Large gardens want people to come with
experience, but it's so difficult to gain experience in the first
place, it's a catch 22. We want to set up a fund to help a person
right at the beginning of their horticultural journey so they can
one day manage large gardens like West Dean."
Through a complete annual cycle, the trainee will work with the
West Dean team, learning about every aspect of the gardens and
gaining practical experience that will act as a springboard for
their career. They will be eligible to apply to the most
prestigious horticultural training programmes in the country,
including the RHS Diploma or Kew apprenticeship scheme; without
this experience, they may not be considered.
West Dean's aim is to secure enough money to fund the first three
years of this programme, which equates to £70 a day. The cost to
deliver the Trainee Horticulturalist post next year is £17,400
which covers their salary, membership of the Professional
Gardeners' Guild and vital health and safety training
courses.
West Dean Gardens are open to the public from February to December
(Closed December 24th to January 31, 2019).
West Dean Gardens, Near Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 ORX
www.westdeangardens.org.uk
Editor's Notes:
More information is available on www.westdean.org.uk or through social media:
For further information or high-resolution digital images, please
contact: Rachel Aked ([email protected]) tel: 07790
732448