No shortage of prospective students at Warrenstown

Since the sale of the lands at the Salesian College at Warrenstown earlier this year, this has been much speculation about the future of the horticulture element of the third-level institution, but an open day held there last week shows there is no shortage of prospective students interested in taking up a career in landscaping and gardening. The new college year is in full swing with student numbers up considerably on previous years. Enrolment in the Bachelor of Science in Horticulture degree, offered in association with the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, is up 40 per cent on September 2007. Attendance on the FETAC Certificates in Horticulture courses is also up by as much as 50 per cent, with renewed interest in the FETAC level 4 Certificate in Horticulture which has 10 students this year. Last Thursday"s open day saw an attendance of around 70 secondary school students and their parents and teachers considering taking up courses in the Drumree college which currently has around 150 students on roll. The slowdown in the construction industry may have had some influence on the number of school-leavers going on to study third level courses, while those who have recently been made redundant are looking to retrain or improve their own skills level. At Warrenstown, students have shown a renewed interest in learning the skills involved in growing their own fruit and vegetables. Food crop production or commercial horticulture, as it was known, was a major area of study at colleges of horticulture until the early 1990s, with students learning all the various skills related to growing food crops, mainly on a larger, commercial scale. With the advent of the 'Celtic Tiger", most students felt that they could earn a better living for themselves in the landscaping sector and the numbers studying food crop production dwindled away. The college recently joined forces with the National Organic Training Skillnet offering short-term and part-time courses in organic horticulture at the college. These courses focus on providing a high standard of information combined with practical 'hands-on" skills development, under the guidance of the college"s trained technical staff. The first course began earlier this month. At the weekend, the college assembly hall hosted Meath County Council"s Pride of Place awards.