The competition is open to anyone across the UK and Ireland, who is under 30 on July 31 2022. Whether you are a student, apprentice or working in the industry, this is a fantastic opportunity to test your horticultural knowledge and network with a wide range of individuals from across the industry.
The winner of the competition will gain the the prestigious title of “Young Horticulturist of the Year” and will receive a £2,500 travel bursary from The Percy Thrower Trust, generously provided by the Shropshire Horticultural Society. The winner can undertake a trip, anywhere in the world, to study a subject related to their chosen field of horticulture.
The Grand Final will be held on Saturday May 7 2022 at the University of Warwick, so get the date in your diary now!
Victoria George, the Competition Chair said, “Despite the pandemic, 2021 was a very successful year for the competition and I am excited to build on that success for 2022; the new look Round 1 online was very popular and increased the accessibility of the competition so we hope to encourage more Young Horticulturists to take part in this wonderful competition.”
To find out more about the competition and how to take part, visit the Young Horticulturist of the Year page at https://www.horticulture.org.uk/young-horticulturist-of-the-year.
The competition’s first round ‘Round 1’ is already open. Join in the discussions with past competitors on Facebook.com/CIHort, Twitter.com/CIHort, Instagram.com/cihort, and Linkedin.com/company/the-chartered-institute-of-horticulture.
Stages of the Competition:
The first round will be held online during the month of February and from here, the top 8 competitors from each region are selected to go through to battle it out against each other in a Regional Final which will be held during March and the winner from each Regional Final will go to the Grand Final. Prizes and prize money are awarded at each stage, provided generously by our regional and national sponsors.
1. Round 1 – Is based on questions covering a wide range of horticultural topics and takes place online throughout February.
2. Regional Finals – The winners of Round 1 progress to one of the eight Regional Finals held in March, broken into 10 rounds with questions covering a wide range of Horticultural topics with buzzer and directed questions and identification rounds.
The regional final for Ireland, sponsored by Bord Bia, will be held on Thursday, March 24 at Teagasc Ashtown Food Research Centre, Dublin.
3. Grand Final – The winner of each Regional Final progresses to the Grand Final where the format is the same as for the Regional Finals with questions covering a wide range of Horticultural topics with buzzer and directed questions and identification rounds.
