Winners of the Land-Based and Environment Learner of the Year 2024 announced at highly anticipated awards ceremony!
The National Conference Centre, in Birmingham, was full of excitement and celebration on Thursday, 21st November, as the annual Land-Based and Environment Learner of the Year Awards took place.
The ceremony recognised outstanding talent and achievements across multiple areas of the land-based and environment sector, including agriculture, animal care and management, landscaping and horticulture, forestry and arboriculture, veterinary nursing, and many more. The evening celebrated excellence from learners in further education, and higher education, as well as those undertaking apprenticeships within the sector.
The event was hosted by Danny Clarke, also known as the Black Gardener, a celebrity garden designer, who himself changed from a career in sales to a career in horticulture and garden design. Danny told his inspiring story of how one person had a significant influence on his decision to change careers, informing the ceremony of how his career in garden design had grown from studying at Hadlow College as a mature student, to exhibiting at RHS Chelsea Flower Show and achieving the Silver-guilt Medal for the ‘Hands Off Mangrove’ Garden in 2022. Ahead of the awards being handed out, Danny spoke of one of his proudest achievements, having the ‘Dannahue’ rose named after him by David Austen Roses, giving a nod to his birth name.
The LBEL Awards are organised by Lantra, a specialist in training and qualification development for the land-based and environment sector, and Landex, a membership organisation representing land-based colleges and universities. The Ceremony was attended by finalists, their families, tutors from land-based colleges, and industry professionals.
With the land-based and environment sector facing challenges in recruiting new people into the industries, the LBEL awards aims to shine a light on the future leaders of the sector, inspiring more people to embark on a career in one of the industries.
Commenting on the Awards Ceremony, Prof John Moverley OBE, Chair of Judges for the LBEL Awards, said: “It’s been another fantastic year where we have been able to celebrate the success of learners and apprentices within our sector. We had 196 nominations this year, which was brilliant! There are so many inspiring stories from nominations and it’s an honour to be able to celebrate their achievements and passion this evening. Congratulations to all winners and finalists!”
The Winners of this year’s awards are noted below:
Agriculture – Sponsored by the Co-op Group
Apprentice of the Year – Riley Oliver
FE Learner of the Year – Erin Wright
Agriculture and Horticulture – Sponsored by the Co-op Group
HE Learner of the Year – Matthew Lee
Aquaculture and Fisheries Management – Sponsored by the Co-op Group
FE Learner of the Year – Adam Burgess
Animal Care and Management – Sponsored by Redwings Horse Sanctuary
Apprentice of the Year – Madeline Dunlop
FE Learner of the Year – Carter Carter
Animal Studies – Sponsored by Redwings Horse Sanctuary
HE Learner of the Year – Tobias Holmes
Arb, Forestry and Woodland Management
Apprentice of the Year – Garent Jenkinson
Environment Conservations, Game, and Wildlife Management – Sponsored by the British Association of Shooting and Conservation
Apprentice of the Year – William Roberts
FE Learner of the Year – Monique Scott
HE Learner of the Year – Felicity Anna Blakiston Jones
Equine and Farriery – Sponsored by The Pony Club
Apprentice of the Year – Rosie Dobson
FE Learner of the Year – James Bowen
Equine and Veterinary Nursing – Sponsored by The Pony Club
HE Learner of the Year – Jordan Ratcliffe
Floristry – Sponsored by Interflora
Apprentice of the Year – Oliver Low
FE Learner of the Year – Charlotte Briggs
Landscape and Horticulture – Sponsored by the British Association of Landscape Industries
Apprentice of the Year – Carrigan Raven Williams
FE Learner of the Year – Elle Hepburn
Land-based Engineering – Sponsored by We Are Land Based Engineering
Apprentice of the Year – Kristiaan James Hughes
Sports Turf and Greenkeeping – Sponsored by GroundsFest
Apprentice of the Year – Craig Jordan
FE Learner of the Year – Matthew Tofts
Veterinary Nursing – Sponsored by Blue Cross
Apprentice of the Year – Megan Hill
FE Learner of the Year – Chloe Millar
Research Student of the Year
Zoe Sweetman
Overall Apprentice of the Year
Rosie Dobson
Overall Learner of the Year
Erin Wright
Congratulations to all winners and finalists at this year’s LBEL Awards!
Attention now turns to 2025, where the team from Lantra and Landex are preparing for the nomination window to open again. More news around next year’s awards will be shared in 2025.