College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) student, Jamie Gault has recently been announced as a recipient of the Pam Pointer Award in recognition of his outstanding achievement in academic and practical Horticulture.
Jamie is currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Horticulture at Greenmount Campus, Antrim. He is one of four students from the UK to be rewarded by the Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIH). The prize includes an invitation to attend the autumn conference of the CIH at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh where he will formally collect his award and one year’s free Associate Membership of the professional organisation.
Commenting on receiving the award Jamie said “I am delighted to be recognised by the CIH. Membership of the organisation will enable me to network with industry representatives and further assist my professional development”.
As an English and Law graduate, Jamie decided to follow a career in Horticulture following an interest he developed growing flowers, fruit and vegetables from seed.
“I had been involved in some local gardening projects, mostly growing ornamentals and edible crops. The people I met through the groups encouraged me to consider studying a formal qualification at Greenmount Campus. Not knowing if a degree level course would be right for me I opted to first study on the Level 3 in Horticulture. The seed was planted, my horticulture roots grew deep. I progressed on to the Foundation Degree. It’s a super course which is adding greatly to my horticulture knowledge and enhancing my professional qualifications.”
Alongside his course, Jamie is working part-time in the Horticulture Centre at Greenmount Campus. “Whilst I greatly enjoy producing crops, my hope is to work within the heritage gardens sector. I get a great sense of accomplishment from growing plants and my desire is that others would gain enjoyment from my work. Horticulture is proving to be a career that provides great job satisfaction for me.”
If you are interested in finding out more about Horticulture programmes offered at Greenmount Campus, click here or email: enquiries@cafre.ac.uk
