Myerscough arboriculture apprentice shortlisted for national award

Gabriella Jardin has reached the final for the inaugural Land-Based & Environment Learner of the Year Awards 2023 in the category of Arboriculture, Forestry and Woodland Management.

Lantra and Landex have teamed up to celebrate talent in the land-based & environment sector with England and Northern Ireland’s inaugural Land-based & Environment Learner Awards.

This exciting new awards programme sees Landex and Lantra working in partnership to recognise the talent, successes, and achievements of individual learners in the land-based and environment industries.

The awards are open to individuals who were on programme on full-time or part-time Land-based and Environment courses and Apprenticeships in England and Northern Ireland between September 2021 and September 2022.

Gabriella is only the Royal Horticultural Society’s second female arborist, working at RHS Bridgewater in Salford.

After leaving a career in academia to pursue a role working outdoors, she said she hopes her new role might inspire others to think about jobs that do not conform to stereotypes.

Gabriella has been tending to trees and felling to create space for different species to increase biodiversity and enable other trees to thrive.

Gabriella says said she had spent almost 10 years studying, with a masters in science and geology, followed by a PhD in ocean and earth science.

She said: “I guess I knew when I was wrapping up my PhD that I wanted to move into a career that had more time outside and on my feet.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s obviously a very male-dominated field. Personally, I’ve never cared too much about stereotypes or anything like that.

“So I saw the opportunity come up, thought ‘I could do that’ and went for it.

“But I guess it is something that hopefully might inspire some other young girls out there to think about a career that’s less typical and a bit more active on your feet, because it is a lot of fun.

“If you’ve got a head for heights and you like being outside it is one to maybe think about.”

The winners will be announced at the first prestigious awards ceremony next week.

Dr David Llewellyn CBE, Lantra’s Chair of Trustees commented: “Whilst the headlines may concentrate on the important topic of a lack of qualified individuals and skills in the land-based and environment industries, we think the equally important abilities and achievements of those thousands of learners who are dedicated to helping grow our workforce of tomorrow, are both celebrated and rewarded.

“Lantra is committed to promoting the land-based and environment sector as a great place to work and forge a fulfilling and long-term career and we’re confident that employers, colleges and learners alike will be equally keen to shine a well-deserved spotlight on our future industry stars”.

Marcus Clinton, Chair of Landex commented: “I’m delighted these inaugural awards are taking place. There is so much amazing talent across the network of land-based colleges and universities who are doing such a great job supporting the land-based and environment sectors and employers with their workforce of tomorrow.

‘’Being able to shine a light on and recognise the hard work and achievements of our students will make for a very special evening”.