Bridgwater College’s Cannington Centre and the Soil Association team up to offer organic modules within the College’s range of undergraduate qualifications. The new partnership reflects the growing interest in organic food and farming and follows demand from students to learn about innovative sustainable farming practices.

Cannington’s Head of Land-based provision, Jeremy Kerswell said,

“We have seen a growth in the demand for new sustainable farming practices from producers and growers, across our engagement with employers in agriculture and horticultural industries. This exciting partnership is vital to ensuring that the future needs of the industry are met.”

From September 2015, students on the Higher National Certificate in Horticulture will study organic principles and practice as a core module. The College will offer tailored intermediate and advanced level apprenticeships in organic agriculture and horticulture. The College is also developing a new module within the BSc Hons (top-up) in Agriculture focussing on organic principles and practices, to run from September 2016.

Both modules will feature speakers from the Soil Association as well as expert organic farmers and growers. The modules will be available as stand-alone courses for people wanting to develop their knowledge of organic horticulture and agriculture.

Liz Bowles Head of Farming at the Soil Association said,

“We are delighted to be working with the Cannington Centre to support the introduction of these new modules and qualifications in organic farming. We are seeing more and more interest in organic farming techniques from increasing numbers of farmers, whether organic or not. These new qualifications will enable more young people to find out about organic farming practices and how they might apply them within their careers in the land based sector.”