Student Soundbites

Change your career George Gilpin Arboriculture National Diploma “Until recently I was a commercial property solicitor with a Legal 500 company. I never enjoyed being stuck in an office for 12 to 16 hours a day and there had been rounds of redundancies at my firm which had left morale a bit low. I thought that rather than taking up a job that someone else could have and while I was still reasonably young I would make a change. On investigation, the idea of arboriculture really excited me so I enrolled in September last year and I’m really glad I did. There is a good balance of practical and theory lessons and the teaching staff is excellent and approachable. My favourite part of the course is the tree climbing.”

Spend more time with your children Fiona Fovargue Garden Design Foundation Degree “My son started school in September last year and the prospect of spending even less time with him was not an option, so I decided to retrain and do something completely different. I’ve always loved gardening and chose Merrist Wood because it has a fantastic reputation in the industry. With garden design, I get to spend time outside and develop my creative design skills.”

Realise your passion Sally Pendergast Countryside Management National Certificate “I’ve got a maths degree and worked in technical support and ran an online business for a charity until a year ago. After being made redundant, I went to Borneo where I worked on reforestation and orang-utan rescue projects and in permaculture in Nicaragua, which confirmed my resolve to make the countryside my career.”