THE DIANA AITCHISON FUND

The Diana Aitchison Fund provides grants and bursaries to support young people who want to pursue a career in horticulture, and especially to further their knowledge of alpine and rock garden plants, and their cultivation. The fund was established thanks to a very generous sum of money made available from the estate of the late Diana Aitchison, a keen gardener and plantswoman who set up and ran her own nursery at Spindlestone, near Belford, Northumberland. The fund is managed by the Scottish Rock Garden Club.

If you know of any student who would benefit from a grant award from this fund please  let them know about this excellent source of funding from the SRGC.

Grants from the Diana Aitchison Fund will be available each year. An indication of the value of awards made in previous years is given in the full information sheet available from the link below. Priority will be given to students following horticultural courses lasting one or more years and might go towards fees, living costs or travel expenses, either on a full-time course or at another location, such as summer work experience at a botanic garden or nursery. A personal contribution toward the cost of any course would be expected from any recipient. Applications may be received at any time.

Send applications to the D.A. Fund Administrator,

Matt Topsfield -  the address is in the Information sheet.

There is at present a rolling deadline for applications.

To Download a full Information Sheet in pdf format click here

To Download a D.A. Grant Application Form in pdf format click here

If you know of any student who would benefit from a grant award from this fund please let them know about this excellent source of funding from the SRGC.

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N. B. For Students the SRGC offers a free electronic subscription. Send your application toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Please give your place of study and the date of the end of course of study.)

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SRGC EXPLORATION AWARDS 

The Exploration fund was set up in 1985 to award grants to help finance projects or trips pertaining to rock garden plants. Feedback in the form of articles, talks, photographs etc., is appreciated. Recipients of grants need not necessarily be members of the SRGC.

SRGC Exploration Grants

2018 Applications for Exploration Awards

Please note that the deadlines for applications in 2018 are 15 March and 15 November 2018

The Committee Secretary, Carol Shaw, is currently in hospital with poor internet access.  My recent e-mails have been returned as undeliverable so I suspect her Inbox is now full.

Carol’s husband, David, has been forwarding applications to me and I have acknowledged all those that I have received.  If you have not received an acknowledgment from me, please send your application again to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   And if you have not yet sent in your application please send it to this address before 15 March.

Please accept my apologies for any confusion and any problems this has caused you.

Application forms are available  by clicking HERE

Contributions to the Fund are always welcome and would enable us to offer more support.  Any donations should be sent to the 

SRGC Treasurer, Richard Green,

Cedar Cottage, Aberfoyle Road, Balfron Station, Glasgow G63 0SQ UK.

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BRITISH EXPLORING SOCIETY

SRGC is pleased to have an association with BES to provide support for BES students (aged 16 to 18 years) via our agreement with the Society.

Click here for link for application info

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Some photos of Grant Recipients and their reports are shown below, with some lists of previous  grants awarded at the foot of the page :

Explorers' Garden, Pitlochry 
The Explorers' Garden has asked  if we have spotted Katie MacColl in and around the garden? Katie is joining the garden from Perth for a five month placement in Explorers with thanks to The Diana Aitchison Fund run by the Scottish Rock Garden Club.

 It's great to see Katie enjoying a placement aided by an SRGC Grant.   Good luck, Katie MacColl!

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SRGC Exploration Grant - Recipient Report  -  January 2015 

Report by SRGC Grant Recipient Alan Elliott on the Botanical Exploration of

Baglung Rukum Dolpa 2014

Alan with helpers on the BRD Expedition

Platystemma violoides BRD A238 - - photo Alan Elliott

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Elspeth Mackintosh of RBGE was given an SRGC Exploration Fund Grant towards a trip to Bhutan : 

 it was first published in The Rock Garden #131  read her report published again in the International Rock Gardener  here

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A Tale of Three Grant Recipients

In 2012, John Foley from Bolton-by-Bowland was the first winner of the prestigious BBC Young Gardener of the Year Award. The SRGC is delighted to have been able to be involved in encouraging John at the start of his career from giving him experience of the retail side as he sold us plants at shows as a schoolboy, through to his receipt of grant support from the SRGC Diana Aitchison Fund.

             

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Examples of SRGC Grants Awarded:

DIANA AITCHISON FUND GRANTS

2015

Kate MacColl Placement at the Explorers Garden – 5 months to gain experience £1,500:00

Kate MacColl RHS Level 3 £445:00

Petra Palkova HND Horticulture with Plantsmanship RBGE £1,500:00

 Threave -  6 Students NTS:

Petra Palkova Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Georgina Goss Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Sean Hannah Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Kerry McCallum Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Kate Merrington Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Jessica Scobie Visit to gardens and Alpine Houses in SE England £500:00

Colin Whiston Placement Glenarn Gardens, starts autumn 2015 £1,500:00

Rebecca Walker Month’s placement Tromso Botonic Gardens £1,500:00

Nick Courtens Two week study tour around Alpine Houses of Britain including RBG Edinburgh, RBG Kew, Cambridge Botanics £2,000:00

DIANA AITCHISON FUND GRANTS 2013

Jordan Miller £1,000 for a placement at the RBGE and Explorers Garden
Mariel Tribby £1,200 for a placement at the RBGE : see Mariel's blog about her experiences and travels to Scotland and Europe HERE 

DIANA AITCHISON FUND GRANTS 2012

Kathryn Braithwaite  £2,300 for her study/working trip to Wellington Botanic   Gardens, New Zealand. Jan – Feb. 2013

Robert Dickie   £1,500 towards his travelling and living cost whilst studying for a Degree in Garden Design at Hadlow College

Emmi Klarer  £800 for work experience at the Explorers Garden, Pitlochry   and visits to other gardens including the RBGE, Pitcairn Alpines, Cluny and Drummond Gardens.

Emmi Klarer was funded  by a D.A. Grant  to work at the Explorer's Garden in 2012 - see her diary here, it was first published in The Rock Garden #131

SRGC EXPLORATION FUND GRANTS – recent grants awarded: 

£1,000 to Julia Cordon for a trip to Merak and Saktang Trek and the

surrounding area of Bhutan in 2015

£1,000 to Elspeth Mackintosh for a trip to Merak and Saktang Trek and

the surrounding area of Bhutan in 2015

£1,000 to Johan Nilson for a trip to Merak and Saktang Trek and the

surrounding area of Bhutan in 2015

£500 to Robert Blackhall-Miles for a trip to study the horticulture of the

high altitude Proteaceae of the Western Cape of South Africa in 2015

£800 to Sally Mary-Ann Hughes for a trip to see the see the alpines of Sichuan, Aba, Wenchuan and Leshan in 2015

£1,000 to Susann Nilsson for a field trip to study Pulsatillas in 2015

£1,000 to David Rankin for a trip to China in 2014.
£1,000 to Stella Rankin for a trip to the China in 2014.
£1,200 to Pam Eveleigh for a trip to China in 2014.
£750 to Alan Elliott for a trip to Mid-West Nepal in 2014 - see link to report, above.

£1,000 to Susann Nilsson for a trip to Kazakhstan and Japan in 2014.

£1,000 to Joanne Everson for a trip to Patagonia in 2013.

£1,000 to John Watson for a trip to Chile in 2013.

£500 to Mike Kintgen for a trip to Patagonia in 2013 *

*See a photo report from Mike Kintgen here

£400 to Robert Unwin (RBGE) for a trip to the Alps in 2012.

£400 to Georgina Ankers (RBGE) for a trip to the Alps in 2012

£1,000 to Alan Elliott for a trip to Nepal in 2012

£400 to Doug Logan for a trip to Nepal in 2012

£1,000 to Julia Corden for a trip to Arunchal Pradesh in 2012

£1,000 to Elspeth Mackintosh for a trip to Arunchal Pradesh in 2012

YOUNG EXPLORER BURSARIES
SRGC bursaries of £500 have been awarded to each of the following British Exploring Society Young Explorers. Successful applicants are asked to write a report of their experiences for the club. As part of their award they also receive free membership of the SRGC for a year.

 Katie Lumsdaine for a trip to Northern Norway

 Rosemary Cecile Hoggmascall for a trip to Northern Norway

 Esmie Hotston Moore for a trip to Northern Norway

 Mairi Iona Gilmour for a trip to Northern Norway

 Matthew Hay for a trip to Northern Norway

Jennifer Newall for a trip to Ladakh

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Other Organisations offering Grants:  

For Further Information on grants and bursaries available from organisations in the United Kingdom for horticultural projects, exchanges and travels available from Grants for Horticulturists

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