Following his completion of a BSc in Horticulture at Pershore College, Worcestershire, Richard joined RBG Kew as a Botanical Horticulturist where he worked for 5 years. The majority of his time there was spent working with the Alpine plant collections in both the Alpine Nursery and Rock Garden.

In 2019 he was awarded Young Horticulturist of the Year by the CIH and later the same year received the ProLandscaper 30 out of 30 award.

He is now studying for a master’s degree course at the University of Edinburgh, based at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, studying Biodiversity and Taxonomy of Plants.

Alongside his work and studies, Richard also writes regularly for Curtis’s Botanical Magazine and other horticultural journals. In the future he would like to become more involved with plant conservation projects as a field botanist, as he feels there is a great need to research and conserve the worlds threatened plants.

He is planning to use his scholarship award to help fund a trip to Nepal later this year to study native Himalayan alpine flora. Richard shares his passion for alpines and all things botanical on Instagram @the_botanical_gardener.

On hearing of his scholarship award, Richard said, “I can’t thank the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and Blue Diamond enough for so generously helping to support my trip to Nepal later this year where I hope to learn more about the alpine flora of the Himalayas, studying and recording the flora of the region. This opportunity will allow me to advance my knowledge of alpine flora; experiencing plants growing in their natural habitat, and I’m excited to share my experience with others.”

This year, a Blue Diamond Scholarship has been awarded to 8 students who are studying horticulture. Blue Diamond recognises the need to support students with a passion for plants and a commitment to the horticultural industry. As a Foundation we are incredibly grateful to them for their continued support.