RBGE: world leading botanic garden education

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) delivered high quality horticultural training, through its Diploma in Horticulture, Edinburgh (DHE) for over 100 years. In 2004 RBGE formed a new Education Department and over the last 10 years has significantly expanded the horticulture programmes offered and the number of students. The DHE was replaced by a Higher National Diploma and a BSc (Hons) in Horticulture with Plantsmanship, delivered in partnership with the University of Glasgow and the Scotland's Rural Collage (SRUC) and the level of practical “hands-on” experience within the gardens has been increased. In addition to the HND/BSc, RBGE launched Apprenticeships in their garden and a range of RBGE branded Certificates and Diplomas, including the RBGE Certificate in Practical Horticulture (CPH) in 2006. The CPH delivers the key practical skills of a horticulturist in a 10-day programme. This has been endorsed by Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and, as well as a number of UK centres now offering the programme, it has been used to develop horticultural capacity in countries including China, Lao PDR, Mexico, Oman, Thailand and Turkey. RBGE subsequently created a “Train the Trainers” course in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society to better enable horticulturists to pass on their skills and knowledge. Most recently RBGE launched their own on-line learning environ­ment “Propagate Learning” and horticultural courses are now available through remote and blended learning. This paper concludes with the future ambitions and plans for the development of horticultural education at RBGE, including the potential for an International Diploma in Botanic Garden Horticulture, an increased use of technology and the development of a Scottish School of Horticulture.