THE HEAD of Pershore College’s horticultural department has received a prestigious award celebrating outstanding contributions to horticulture.
Josh Egan-Wyer, head of horticulture and interim centre manager at the college, was presented with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Roy Lancaster Award.
The RHS Roy Lancaster Award is awarded to those under 35 who have achieved an exceptional contribution to the practice, science or promotion of horticulture.
He was presented with the accolade by Roy Lancaster himself at a ceremony at the RHS Headquarters, based in London.
Josh graduated from Pershore College with a first-class BSc Hons in Horticulture in 2013 before taking on the role of nursery supervisor at Pershore Garden Centre, based in the grounds of the college, and working his way up to garden centre manager.
His career saw him promoted to the newly-created role of head of horticulture with a focus on developing an entirely new curriculum and strengthening employer links to benefit students and the wider industry.
Josh is now the chair of the Worcestershire Group of Plant Heritage and has previously acted as the chair of the West Midlands and South Wales Branch of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture.
He has also helped with the restoration of two Plant Heritage National Collections and developed an app to enable students to identify plants in the grounds of the college.
Josh said: “I’m honoured to have been presented with such a prestigious award in recognition of my work.
“I’m extremely passionate about promoting horticulture and furthering the importance of horticulture in education.
“There are wide range of interesting career paths in horticulture, and this is only expanding further as we see more new technologies introduced.”
Peter Husband, interim CEO at Warwickshire College Group, said:
“We would like to congratulate Josh on receiving the RHS Roy Lancaster Award in recognition of his contributions to horticulture.
“He demonstrates significant enthusiasm and dedication to the field both in and outside of work, and is incredibly deserving of this accolade.”
