FLONZI - Florists New Zealand Incorporated

Next FLONZI committee Meeting

Tuesday 17th August – 3/142 Rugby Street, Christchurch, 6:30pm

The Young Horticulturist of the Year Competition: November 2010

The RNZIH Education Trust in conjunction with our partnering sponsors; NZ Horticulture Industry Training Organisation, Farmers Mutual Group, AGMARDT, Fruitfed Supplies along with Turners & Growers, are delighted to announce the launch of the 2010 Young Horticulturist of the Year competition.

Floriculture- includes Floristry NZ Inc and NZ Cutflower Growers- applications close on 30th June. A decision about a competition will be completed on receipt the applications.

November 3rd and 4th – Grand Final days and Awards Dinner. A media release is completed to the general media on the evening of the 4th November to announce the overall winner and 2 placegetters.

Wednesday 3rd November for the AGMARDT Market Innovation Project presentations along with the finalists’ interviews with the 3 main judges.

Thursday 4th November the practical activities day is held at the Auckland Botanic Gardens, located South Auckland with an awards dinner to be held in the evening at the Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland City.

For more information and an application form contact flonzioffice@yahoo.co.nz

Click here for the June newsletter with more detailed information about the competition dates and venues.

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.

Worldskills National Finals – Christchurch September 2010

The five top place getter’s from the Ellerslie competition will be competing again at the Worldskills Competition Finals in September.  Kirstie Autridge, Aroha Hebberd, Colleen May,  Nichola Mitchell and Amalia Wilson will meet again to compete at a one day event on Saturday 25th September 2010.

2010 marks the 60th anniversary of WorldSkills International.  NZ will mark this milestone at the National Competitions, Christchurch, September 22 – 26. The competition is being held at the Sullivan Avenue campus of the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT).

This competition is a prelude to the selection of candidates from all trades, including floristry,  to compete at the Worldskills International Competition. The UK is hosting the 41st WorldSkills Competition from 5 – 8th October 2011 and they are working hard to make this the most exciting, interactive and inspiring skills competition that the world has ever seen.

FLONZI at the Ellerslie International Flower Show 2011

In March 2011 FLONZI will hold  regional / national competitions at Ellerslie. The competition will be limited to five young apprentice florists selected from throughout New Zealand, who will compete for a place in the 42nd Worldskills International Competition being held in Leipzig, Germany 2 July to 7 July 2013.

Each apprentice florist will work with a senior florist in a unique “shop format” situation. These five senior florists will be competing against each other for a chance to represent floristry at the annual Young Horticulturalist of the Year competition.

To help fund this competitions, FLONZI is seeking sponsors. This will be a huge profile event to be held annually. Sponsors will have major media and visual coverage.

If you feel that you or your company would benefit by becoming a sponsor partner with FLONZI and would like to find out more,  contact us on flonzioffice@yahoo.co.nz

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ELLERSLIE, GO TO THE ‘PRESS OFFICE’ FOR UPDATES.

More about Worldskills International

The  “FLONZI Trophy” for the Young Horticulturist of the Year 2009 will be awarded to Laura McGuire.

The FLONZI Floristry Winner Trophy

WorldSkills International Competitions 2013, Leipzig, Germany

FLONZI is scouring the country for a competitor to represent New Zealand at the Worldskills International Competitions to be held in Leipzig 2013. If you are a young florist, you must be under 21 years, contact Joy Knight. Competitions will be held at the Ellerslie International Flower Show in Christchurch during 2011 & 2012 to select the best young florist to represent our country in this prestigious event.

There is an age restriction to compete at the WorldSkills Competition. Each competitor has to be between 18 and 22 years.

Major sponsors for the 2009 World finals in Calgary were NZHITO,  Academy New Zealand and Direct2florist.co.nz.

Find out more on the  WorldSkills website.