Thank you to everyone who attended last weeks YPHA Autumn London Event, what a 48h it was!
We spent the morning at Haymarket Media Group with Simon Kanter, Matthew Appleby, Rachael Forsyth & Hortweek's photographer Julian Dodd learning how to write a Press Release, the history of photography and how HortWeek has developed storytelling over time, including guest speaker Jonathan Ward (GINGER HORTICULTURE LTD) who gave special tips on how to how to take a professional photo.
Stuart Mackley then greeted us at Motspur Park, Fulham Football Club's Training Grounds where he gave us an exclusive behind-the-scenes on how to manage a premiership level sports training ground, from kit to pitch renovations we saw a robot painting pitch lines and the irrigation go up like the Fountains of Bellagio! Everyone came away with a buzz at how interesting and diverse the responsibilities of managing sports turf are.
The afternoon's session at HortWeek included the chance to experience how to be interviewed in front of a camera and a tour of the podcast studio, with a special guest appearance from YPHA Ambassador Michael Perry who was on hand to share his experiences of the media industry with YPHA members.
If that wasn't enough then in the evening we held the second part of the YPHA Autumn Event at The Garden Museum hosted by George H.. We enjoyed a welcome drink and refreshments kindly sponsored by Joseph Rochford Gardens Ltd. & The Worshipful Company of Gardeners, before sitting down to a talk by Matt Gresty from DLF & Johnsons Lawn Seed on "The Journey of Grass Seed". Following a chance to refill glasses, network & chat with other guests, we sat down for Rachael Forsyth’s panel session on "Cultivating Excellence & Navigating the Future" our star studded guestlist included:
Stuart Mackley (Head of Grounds, Fulham Football Club's Motspur Park)
Meg Lay (Groundswoman at Marylebone Cricket Club Lord's Cricket Ground, NextGen Director Grounds Management Association)
Robin Murphy (Senior Gardener at Wimbledon)
Sally Jarrett MCIHort (Sales Devleopment at Colliers Turf Supplies)
David Richardson (Director of Horticulture Commonwealth War Graves Commission , President The Chartered Institute of Horticulture & Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Trustee)
The event continued on Saturday with an unofficial extension organised by Robin Murphy & Laura McArthur ACIHort to visit Wimbledon. We were able to have an insight into the gardening involved in a sporting venue. In addition Robin took us around all the sights, including the brand new media centre, Henman's Hill and we even got to stand on centre court!
There were 60 people who joined the YPHA Autumn London Event. Thank you to all who contributed to made it happen. It demonstrates the power of collaboration within our industry. No matter what your role, we deal with the same challenges. Working together can help us navigate towards future solutions for our industry.