A commercial horticulture student from Hadlow College has been awarded the 2014 Thanet Earth Discovery Fellowship and nine months paid work at the Kent-based grower.
Jonathon Farthing will work on NPD at a dedicated glasshouse environment at Hadlow College, to develop new information for Thanet Earth to take forward to commercial trials.
He was selected from a number of other hopefuls, who each gave a presentation and were interviewed by a panel of Thanet Earth horticulturalists, and chaired by founder of the Fellowship and technical manager, Robert James.
“We have identified NPD as a clear opportunity for Thanet Earth to help provide a student with new skills and genuine commercial experience – something that can be very hard to provide in a college setting,” said communications manager Judy Whittaker.
Pat Crawford, a spokesperson for Hadlow College, said the Discovery Fellowship is a “significant contribution” from Thanet Earth and provides the student with a very real business experience.
“Hadlow, one of only a few colleges to offer a degree programme in production horticulture, is delighted to be associated with the Fellowship which has very positive benefits for Thanet Earth and the wider horticulture industry,” she added.
The guest speaker at the awards ceremony was Dr David Pennell, a University of London graduate who has worked in R&D on projects including micro-propagation, substrates, hydroponics, crop nutrition, pesticide and post-harvest issues.
