Evolve Students Celebrate Success
Horticulture students at Evolve are celebrating their success after Ripon Walled Garden won a Silver Gilt Award at the prestigious Royal Horticulture Society’s Yorkshire in Bloom (YiB) Awards.

Head Gardener Emma Whitby commented that the award is the highest that can be received in their first year of entering the competition.
YiB organises annual competitions to encourage communities of whatever size; small villages, towns or a big city, to make a positive and lasting improvement to their local environment for the benefit of local people, whilst developing and nurturing cooperation between community groups.
Craven College has worked with Ripon Walled Garden for 10 years, and the Practical Horticulture Course allows students to get fully involved in the maintenance and development of the garden. Our involvement began in 2014 by offering courses to members of Ripon Community Link. From 2017, Evolve students started to study at the Walled Garden alongside several members.
Evolve, based in Ripon, offers bespoke study programmes to students, providing an alternative to a large campus for full-time students in a supportive, friendly, and inclusive environment.
The small class size on our Horticulture courses, together with practical skills emphasis is ideal, whilst the Walled Garden offers resources for units such as mixing concrete, division of herbaceous border plants, pruning top and soft fruit, maintaining a border, and mowing.
Michael Myers, Lecturer in Horticulture said, “We have worked in Ripon Walled Garden for a number of years covering various projects. More recently, our students have been helping to develop the orchard by using a range of differential mowing strategies to encourage wildflowers.
One of the delights of increased and more diverse planting is the increase in wildlife frequenting the gardens.”
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