FLONZI - Florists New Zealand Incorporated

The  “FLONZI Trophy” for the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2010 was awarded to:

Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition (YHOTY)

Partnered by: NZ Horticulture ITO, Fruitfed Supplies, AGMARDT, FMG and Turners & Growers

Who are the finalists of the 2010 Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition?

* Marc Higgie, a trained arborist managing his parents arboreteum in Wanganui , representing the Arboriculture Association

* Dave Harris, nursery production manager for Thirkettles Nurseries, Nelson, representing the Nursery and Garden Industry Association

* Alex Stewart, sub contractor for Total Landscape Creations in Auckland, representing Landscaping NZ

* Gareth Holder, a technical field consultant for Abron, based in Napier, representing the Vegetable sector for Horticulture NZ

* Jonathan Newby, orchardist for Hirst Partnership, an apple and blue berry orchard in Hawkes Bay, representing the fruit sector for Horticulture NZ

* Stuart Dudley, a grower-division viticulturist for Delegats Wine Estate in Blenheim, representing the NZ Winegrowers

* Jessica Mills, co-owner of a floristry business, Lovells Flowers 4 You, in Hawera, representing the Floriculture industry

* Leigh Harrison is a qualified horticulturist for the grounds at Waikato University, representing the NZ Recreation Association – Amenity sector

Who are the judges?

We have a range of judges at the Grand Final including the 3 main judges as well as 2 judges for each practical activity. The three main judges include Jack Hobbs, Curator of the Auckland Botanic Gardens, Errol Hewett Emeritus Professor at Massey University, and Lesley Slade, consultant in leadership management. All the judges offer their time voluntarily.

What are the prizes in the 2010 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition?

The winner of the competition will win over $14,000 worth of prizes which includes a $10,000 travel package, $2,500 Scotts quality products, $1000 of Swazi Apparel, $1,000 Fruitfed Supplies gift voucher, $550 Yates voucher. The second placegetter will receive a $5,500 Massey University study package, a $3,000 personal development course, e g. Outward Bound Course, $1,000 Swazi Apparel, $750 Fruitfed Supplies gift voucher, $250 Yates voucher.

There are also a number of awards judged during the competition, e.g. the FMG Award for Outstanding Skills and Leadership, the prize is a one year Leadership NZ course to the value of $16,000, the NZ Horticulture ITO Award for Best Overall Practical Activities score, the Turners & Growers Best Overall Speech, and a new award this year, the Award for Best Practice.

Who are the sponsors of the 2010 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition?

Our Partnering sponsors: NZ Horticulture Industry Training Organisation, FMG, AGMARDT, Fruitfed Supplies , Turners & Growers

Our Silver Sponsors: Massey University, NZ Gardener Magazine

Our Affiliated sponsors: Bayer CropScience, Treescape, Mission Estate, Scotts, Auckland Botanic Gardens, Swazi Apparel, Yates, Hansens the Flower People, Cornwall Park Trust , Rainbow Park Nurseries, Parkland, Leadership NZ, Trillian Trust.

The competition is managed by the RNZIH Education Trust, they would like to sincerely thank AGMARDT for underwriting the 2010 competition and Trillian Trust for their grant to assist with the costs for the awards dinner.

Information Courtesy of RNZIH

Here is a list of some useful books to assist trainees:

For soils: Handreck, K. (2001). Gardening down under: A guide to healthier soils and plants. CSIRO Publications.

For botany: Capon, B. (1990). Botany  for gardeners. Timber Press: Oregon.

For pests & diseases: Lucas, R. (2005).  Managing pests and diseases – a handbook for New Zealand gardeners. Craig Potton Publishing.

The results from the NZ Horticulture ITO Young Horticulturist of the Year 2009 competition are as follows:

Overall winner: Caine Thompson, Viticulturist from Mission Estate winery in Hawkes Bay.

Second place: Erin Farrow, Landscaper for Glorious Gardens, Auckland.
Third: Pip McVicar, Sales and Marketing Manager at Conifer Grove, New Plymouth

Winner of the Leadership NZ Course: Caine Thompson.

AGMARDT Market Innovation Project:

Winner was Caine Thompson with a project on a clip on machine to carry out virus scanning in the vineyard

Second was Laura McGuire, Florist from Christchurch with a project on the use of organic peat, as a recyclable florist material

Third was Pip McVicar with a project on an interactive website re- launching conifers

Best Overall Speech: Caine Thompson.

Best Overall Practical Activities Score from Fri: Marc Higgie, Arborist from Wanganui.

Joy is the representative of Florists New Zealand Incorporated (FLONZI) on the board of New Zealand Horticultural Industry Training Organisation (NZHITO) and is a focussed on all aspects of the floristry industry  introducing unit standard qualifications from school level, to industry and onto diploma level.

Joy’s commitment with WorldSkills New Zealand is to challenge the floristry and floral culture industries to achieve world class standards by demonstrating excellence through workplace skills by competitions for young people.

Joy is presently in Calgary, Canada with the NZ WoldSkills National Champion Caitlin Thorburn of “Flowers Manuella” in Wellington. She is under 21 years old and competing against 18 other countries in the floristry section. More info on WorldSkills International website.

My belief is that the WorldSkills competitions will be the lead in to the NZHITO Young Horticulturist of the Year Competitions in the floristry and flora culture section.

Here we have Joy presenting Laura with a cheque from Agmart to assist her with training for the NZHITO Young Horticulturist of the Year Competitions 2009 title.

Laura has shown leadership and artistic potential to reinvigorate the floristry industry including opening her own business in the old city area of Poplar Street, where the trend is to bring to life into some interesting old buildings and stimulate the centre city where tourist and locals enjoy the ambiance.

Picture of Joy