Sir Winston Churchill famously referred to gardening as the ‘natural occupation of man’ with Fellowships to be offered in his name in 2019 to encourage innovation within Australia’s horticulture industry.
Under a partnership with Hort Innovation Australia, three Churchill Fellowships will be offered this year that will enable recipients to travel the world to access knowledge not readily available in Australia, harnessing it and growing the nation’s collective horticultural knowledge by sharing it.
Some of Australia’s foremost horticulturalists are Churchill Fellows including:
- Graham Anderson Avocado Grower
- Sally Dakis Cherry Grower
- Chris McColl Apple Grower
- Michael Silm Persimmon Grower
“As an industry, horticulture represents an important contributor to our nation’s economy, and the Trust is excited to see how these Fellowships can impact Australia,” said Churchill Trust CEO Mr Adam Davey.
“There are two things every Churchill Fellowship applicant needs to display – the first is to present a research project that will provide benefit to the Australian community.
“The second is showing how all of the skills, insights and knowledge they gather from world experts on the Fellowship can be shared once they return home.”
Belinda Hazell was the proud recipient of the Hort Innovation Churchill Fellowship in 2018 and will travel to New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands this year to investigate the use of horticultural quality assurance standards to stay ahead of social license demands.
Mr Davey said that the Churchill Trust is looking for Australians like Belinda, with even just a seed of an idea, to apply for these new Fellowships that are designed to drive innovation and transformation in the horticulture industry.
Hort Innovation is one of the nation’s 15 Rural Research and Development Corporations, focused on supporting primary producers and growing the future productivity and profitability of Australia’s fruit, vegetable, nut, plant and tree industries.
A recent study commissioned by Hort Innovation suggested the industry outperforms the average business in Australia when it comes to innovation – with almost 80 per cent of horticultural producers reporting some form of innovation, whether it was new to the farm or new to the industry.
Apply for a Churchill Fellowship from 1 February 2019, applications close 30 April 2019.
Please note that within the online application form you have the option to be considered for a sponsored Fellowship – simply choose Hort Innovation from the drop-down list.