UK: New bursary launched for aspiring horticulturists

The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation, in partnership with Hillier Nurseries, is launching a new bursary offering aspiring horticulturists an opportunity to gain hands-on experience at a nursery. This bursary is funded by The Royal Horticultural Society Bursaries Committee.

The new bursary will support two successful candidates to undertake two weeks of immersive work experience at Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire, a centre of horticultural excellence with a history spanning more than 160 years. Hillier was recently named International Grower of the Year, cementing its worldwide reputation at the forefront of commercial plant production.

Production and Amenity Director at Hillier Nurseries, Adam Dunnett said: "This is a unique learning experience at a world-class nursery. The placement is designed for students, and those at the start of their horticultural careers, who are keen to deepen their practical knowledge of large-scale, professional plant production. This will involve a two week work experience opportunity in either container grown ornamental plants, or field grown tree production. The team here at Hillier are keen to tailor the work experience according to the candidate's main areas of interest."

© Colegrave Seabrook FoundationFor students interested in commercial field grown tree production, 2 weeks at Hillier's Andlers Nursery will see students gain experience in soil preparation, planting, formative and crown pruning, irrigation, lifting, and preparation for despatch, as well as learning about biosecurity, logistics, and long-term crop scheduling. Andlers Ash is home to around 250,000 semi-mature trees representing 150 species.

Successful candidates will be awarded a bursary of up to £1,750, designed to cover travel, accommodation, and food costs for the duration of the placement, ensuring the opportunity is accessible to all talented individuals from across the UK. The work placement will take place over two weeks at a mutually agreed time between May to September 2026. The simple online application process is open only until the 29th March 2026.

Colegrave Seabrook Foundation Chairman, Stuart Lowen added: "We are very grateful to the RHS Bursaries Committee for their financial support of this bursary. We all recognise we need commercially minded people with skills and experience in our industry, and what a brilliant way for people to grow their careers. This is a pilot year we are running with Hillier Nurseries with a view to rolling it out through a variety of nurseries in future years as a partial solution to the skills shortage in our industry."

© Colegrave Seabrook FoundationHillier's Bentry Container Nursery, which produces approaching one million plants a year across a range of shrubs, perennials and ornamental trees, will let students gain hands-on experience across a wide range of commercial production activities including propagation, potting, crop husbandry, irrigation and nutrition management, pest and disease monitoring, and preparing plants for retail and wholesale markets.

All the details of this opportunity and how you can apply to the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation, can be found on their website along with a short video outlining the bursary opportunity at the link here.

For more information:
The Colegrave Seabrook Foundation
E: [email protected]
colegraveseabrookfoundation.org.uk/