2018 Annual General MeetingAnnual Report 2017 (1st January - 31st December 2017)

Chartered Institute of HorticultureHorticulture House, Chilton, Didcot, OX11 0RN

Tel: 03330 050181Email: cih@horticulture.org.uk

Website: www.horticulture.org.ukCharity Registration No: 1159140

Chartered Institute of Horticulture Annual General Meeting 2018Notice is hereby given that the 2018 Annual General Meeting of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture will be held at: The Farmers’ and Fletchers Hall, London on the 3rd October 2018 at 10.00am to consider the following items:

1. Notice convening the meeting2. Apologies for absence 3. To approve minutes of the 2018 Annual General Meeting 4. To receive the Annual Report5. To consider any regulation amendments (see page ??)6. To approve the Accounts to 31 December 20177. To note subscription rates for 2019 (see page ??)8. To appoint an independent examiner for the year 2018/199. Branch highlights10. To consider any other business (Items members wish to raise should be communicated to

the Secretariat Manager not later than 5pm on 6th September 201811. Presentation of awards12. Closure of the Annual General Meeting

President's Introduction, Dr Owen Doyle C Hort FCIHort, PresidentIt is my pleasure to introduce you to our Annual Report for 2017. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge and commend our officers, committee members and many branch volunteers for their considerable time and effort expended on your behalf. The CIH is primarily supported by volunteers who give of their personal time and with the permission of their employers additional resources in support of the development of our professional body. Most of their work is hidden behind the scenes and may only become visible some considerable time after they have provided their help, to all of you sincere thanks.

Advocacy for horticulture is a key activity for the CIH and formal communications by way of letters, participation in industry wide initiatives and direct conversations with key government policy makers have been undertaken throughout this last year, the fruits of our labours will I am sure become evident in due course. As with all professional institutes our Council is renewed with the natural succession of retiring members including Dr Theresa Huxley and the arrival of new Council members such as Dr. Caroline Elliott-Kingston and Dr David Elphinstone. In addition, Ms Sarah Cathcart and Mr Raoul Curtis-Machin stood down from Council to pursue new career opportunities and promotions. We wish them well in their new roles. To improve efficient working practices and good corporate governance the management structure of the CIH was updated during 2017 and these changes have proved very effective in aligning workloads with the resources available to our Institute. A new Education committee will be empanelled in early 2018.The CIH was pleased to announce the introduction of free student membership during 2017 and we are happy that more than 500 students have availed of this opportunity. Another significant decision by Council was to recruit a new Development Officer, who it is intended will become the public face of the CIH. An internal search for a suitable candidate was completed in the last quarter of 2017. As no appointment was made an external search will be undertaken during 2018. Our new modern fresh website was launched and the development of a new member’s database commenced. The latter activity has taken considerable additional staff time refurbishing the old

database, the licences for which were expiring, and introducing the new CiviCRM data management system. It is expected that this new database and new member’s area on the website will function from early 2018. The Annual Strategic Action Day provides Council members with the opportunity to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine operational items and this year we spent the day focused on Continuing Profession Development (CPD) for members and a review of the purpose and management of the Institutes’ journal The Horticulturist. Updates on these projects will be provided at a later date. Our flagship event the Young Horticulturist of the Year competition continued to develop under the guidance of Ms. Susan Nicholas, Mr Graham Porter and colleagues. The Grand Final was held in Shrewsbury with the help and financial support of the Percy Thrower Trust, our heartfelt thanks to all of the YHOY sponsors.

Our AGM and annual conference was held in Dublin and I must thank our headline sponsor, Bord Bia, and our major sponsors Bord na Mona (BNM), Westland, Bulrush, Tully’s Nursery and Sanctuary synthetics for their generous support. Those who attended heard very interesting and informative presentations over the two days of the event. Thanks

also to BNM, The Arboretum Carlow and Codd Mushrooms for hosting the Saturday industry visits. Our colleagues in the Ireland Branch, our secretariat and the many individual members who worked hard to make this event a success, deserve our grateful thanks. Finally my sincere thanks to all those who have contributed to the CIH and the advancement of our profession during 2017, I commend this Annual Report to you.

Membership and New FellowsMembership at 31.12.2017 was 1397 which was up on last year which stood at 1309. The Institute now has 122 Chartered Horticulturists (9% of total membership). This percentage remains consistent.

Election to Fellowship marks the recognition of a very high standard of achievement and distinction in the practice of the science and arts of horticulture. At the time of writing the following Members were elected as Fellows since the last Annual General Meeting:

Governance

Council, as the governing body, and trustees of the Institute as a registered Charity, is responsible for all policy decisions and actions taken by the Institute. This work is governed by the Institute’s Royal Charter, its associated Bye-laws and such policies as are deemed necessary. Council meets at least twice a year and met four times in 2017 in order to agree and monitor progress on the Institute’s strategic objectives.

Much of the initial planning and implementation of policies is carried out by Standing Committees. Invitations are circulated to members to nominate corporate members to be elected to the Council of trustees and voted on by members at the next Annual General Meeting. Consideration is made to any skills gaps present within the Council when recruiting new trustees. New trustees receive training on their legal obligations and those of the Charter and Bye-laws through use of a Trustee handbook and Charity Commission guidelines.

The Institute’s Committees

The following standing committees serve to assist Council in the fulfilment of the Institute’s Aims and Objectives as a charitable body.

Management Board Mr Gerald Bonner C Hort FCIHort, President Elect

The Committee comprises the President, President Elect, Treasurer, Vice President and Hon Secretary and meets six times a year in London. The President Elect chairs the meetings. The Management Board, is tasked with managing the accounts, strategy, membership services and professional standards. Our service provider, The HTA continue to service our needs from Chilton, Oxfordshire. The secretariat undertake membership, conference and data management tasks for the Institute. In addition the secretariat also provides a support service to all the committees and the chairs. The 2017 AGM and Conference took place in Dublin and was in a delightful location at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The speakers were outstanding and the conference was a resounding success due to the efforts of the Irish Branch and in particular the work of Claire Woods. The conference received great support from Bord Bia and Carol Marks was a driving force in making sure every delegate had a warm Irish welcome. We appreciate the support of the Irish Government and in particular Bord Bia; the value the Irish Government places on healthy horticulture was impressive.

Next year’s conference returns to London and the home of the Worshipful Company of Farmers at the Farmers’ and Fletchers’ Hall in Cloth St, London, EC1A 7LD. The Conference theme will be ‘Island Horticulture’ - life after Brexit and will involve international speakers. Save the date for Wednesday October 3rd. The committee continues to review its offering to members and in particular we will seek to review our service offering to Chartered Members. A new Public Charity CRM system has been procured and this will irrevocably change our communications with members in 2018 and beyond. Our data management will improve as will our targeted marketing and understanding of our membership demographics.

The new website has also been a great improvement and we are delighted to announce that online payments will follow. The website will become more of a portal in 2018 and renewals of membership and registration for conference will all be possible through the site.

Membership categories have been simplified benefitting members and the secretariat and we have moved to an annual subscription renewal process in March each year. Council has also approved the appointment of a development officer and it is hoped that this position will be filled in 2018. The Development Officer will support branches, trade shows, events, education and the committees. We are very excited by this development.

My thanks to all committee members for their dedication and contribution in 2017.

Education & Qualifications Committee, Dr David Elphinstone MICHort

The Education committee was re-constituted in late 2017 with the remit of providing advice to the Management Board and Council on:

a. Chartered Examinationsb. Continuous Professional Developmentc. The Horticulturist – The Journal of The Chartered Institute of Horticultured. Further & Higher Education and Post Graduate provisione. Guidance to Statutory Bodies

Members of the Committee:

Dr David Elphinstone Dr Owen Doyle Dr Phil Morley Ms Sara Redstone Mr Paul Mooney Dr Ed Moorhouse Dr Phillippa Dodds Mr Keith Vernon

Consultation with the Royal Society of Biology, The Landscape Institute and The Institute of Environmental Science continue with a view to access and sharing of CPD and conference events.

Further work is ongoing regarding the way forward for Chartership and the assessment procedure.

We also continue to make representation to government on the various issues affecting our industry, with largely positive outcomes.

YOUNG HORTICULTURIST OF THE YEAR REPORT 2017

Susan Nicholas YHoY Action Group (Chair)

Secretariat Support.

Prior to the start of the competition I met with the secretariat to alleviate some of the problems encountered the previous year. We created a checklist that clearly defined the roles of YHoY personnel and the secretariat. As a result of this the 2017 competition ran smoothly with and increased number of press releases, and more postings on social media sites.

Regional Heats and FinalsCommunications with Regional Organisers was at times sporadic. This is due to busy lives and work commitments. We have developed simple checklists to try to assist with the smooth running of the heats and finals. This year we are making an increased effort to support the regional organisers in delivery of the competition.

Grand FinalThe Grand final weekend held in Shrewsbury ran like clockwork, thanks to the support of the Percy thrower Trust and Shropshire Horticultural Society. The final was held in University Centre, Shrewsbury. Our thanks go to them for providing an excellent venue. Bryan Howard a local celebrity was able to keep the contestants on track. The final was really exciting, but Lachlan Rae was a worthy winner. He plans to travel to Australia next year. The standard of competitor’s knowledge increases year on year. On Sunday we had an excellent visit and guided tour of Hodnet Hall Gardens.

Promotion and MarketingExtra funding provided by SHS and funding from national sponsors has enabled us to develop and new logo for the competition and produce eight new Regional Banners. We continue to market the competition through social media and the press.We are also able to live stream the competition on You Tube. This enables us to get wider coverage of the competition. Our thanks go to Gordon Nicholas who has enabled this to happen.

SponsorshipFunding for the Grand Final continues to be provided by PTT and SHS. It would not be possible to run the competition if this was not the case.For the past 10 years we have been sponsored on a national level by MorePeople They have provided a total of £25,000 to assist with regional heats and finals. They have also paid for 100 colour posters to be designed, printed and distributed to all heat venues each year. We are extremely grateful for their support.HTA have also provided sponsorship at national level and we thank them for their continuing support. Bord Bia has also generously continued sponsored the competition in Northern Ireland and Eire. We have seen a decline in regional sponsorship and we are making efforts to address this.

Thanks to Graham Porter for the tremendous amount of work he puts in. He creates the questions at all levels of the competition, and also writes the press releases. The Regional Organisers have a difficult task in ensuring the heats are held far and wide, Thank you so much for your support. My final thanks go to the Management board and Council for their continuing help and encouragement.

Branch Activity

Gareth Manning FCIHort Vice-President (Branches)

One of the benefits of my role within CIH is that I get to visit each branch at least once during the course of the year. This, in part, is to ensure the local branch committees are fully aware of the work the Management board and Council are doing but also to learn of any issues that the regions may be experiencing. It is quite common to hear of a particular challenge being experienced or an innovation that a member feels may be of benefit to the Institute whilst having a “face to face” conversation. Often these thoughts or ideas wouldn’t be expressed via email or telephone but when sitting or walking together in a beautiful garden or state of the art production facility the informality of the situation kicks in and ideas begin to flow more freely. This is one of the key aspects of the events each branch puts on – Networking. I would strongly advise each and every member of the Institute to attend as many branch events as you can. They are all listed on the website and who knows what you may learn or who you might meet. This is an especially good tool for students or those starting their careers in this wonderful industry.

One of the recent additions to the management of the Institute is the setting up of a Membership Committee of which I am currently Chair. This committee’s role is to look at all aspects of CIH membership and to identify where we can improve what we offer and also to take on board suggestions from the wider membership as to what they would like us to offer. I would encourage anyone who has thoughts or ideas on this subject to contact me via the secretariat.

Please read through the following branch reports (all of them; not just your own branch) to see what has been going on within the regions. Perhaps it will stimulate you to take part in an event or perhaps you could suggest a venue for the future. I’m sure the branches would be keen to hear from you. Perhaps it might even make you consider volunteering on your local branch committee. It’s an area where all branches are in need. For a small commitment of some of your free time you could help take some of the workload of the shoulders of the “dedicated few” who organise your regions activities. Contact your local committee to offer your help.

Ireland BranchChair: Claire Woods C Hort FCIHortSecretary: Treasurer: Membership Secretary:

Chair, Claire Woods, CHort FCIHortThe year started with the heats and regional final of the Young Horticulturist of the Year. The Regional final was then held at St Enda’s Park Dublin on 30 th March. The event started with a tour of the gardens by Connie Kavanagh and Martina Halpin, who explained how they have developed the gardens over the past few years. They have also introduced some bee hives and Eddie Hill gave a fascinating and comprehensive talk on the complex society of the bee hive.

The quiz was organised this year by Dr Sandra Austin assisted by Dr Paul Fitters. The winner this year was Egle Zinkute DCU/ Glasnevin it was a very close contest decided on the last question. Thanks were extended to the Ireland Branch sponsors Bord Bia, and we are grateful to Michal Slawski for attending. 

The ABM took place in the Slade Suite of the City West Hotel during the Glas trade show . The show was bigger than ever with more trade stands, we are indebted to the organizers for providing the CIH with space to promote the Institute. The ABM was chaired by Gabriel Roe who welcomed everyone, the secretaries report was presented by Mick Hagan and the treasurers report by Gabriel Roe. Thanks, were expressed to Bord Bia for providing the hospitality for the meeting and for their continued generous support of the YHOH regional competition during the year. The ABM proceeded with the re-election of all the office bearers.

The Autumn study tour took place in West Cork. The first visit was to the magical Ilnacullin (Garnish) Island. The boat trip itself was an experience as we stopped beside the seals who performed for us and then marvelled at the huge sea eagle that is living on the edge of the island. The gardens at Garnish are the result of the wonderful design by Harold Peto the expert plantsmanship of Murdo MacKenzie, the vision of the Bryce family and of course the extremely high rain fall which averages 70 -100 inches a year. The group were expertly guided around the garden by Finbarr O’Sullivan and Bernard O’Leary of the OPW who are now custodians of the gardens. The next visit was to the Glengarriff Bamboo Park where 13 acres are home to a collection of over 30 species of bamboos planted along with groves of Dickonsia and stands of Trachycarpus.

Then it was on to Fruit Hill Farm, which is neither a farm nor does it grow fruit but instead supplies the many organic growers in the West Cork area with supplies; growing media, nutrients, crop protection products and specialist tools. We were hosted by Elmer Koomans and enjoyed a lively discussion on many topics. The final visit of the day was to Ballycommane House and Garden a new garden where Andreas grows plants from all over the world but especially noteworthy was the collection of plants from the Azores.

The second day of the tour included three more visits, the first to Jonathan Doig an organic vegetable grower, then The Hollies centre for Sustainability near Enniskeane where Thomas Reade Mullar outlined the vision of the project. The final visit was to West Cork Bulbs and we are very grateful to Oliver for braving the weather to show us the packing grading and storage areas. On behalf of the branch thanks must go to all our hosts and especially Joe Croke who planned and organized the tour. Throughout the year the committee was actively involved in the preparations for the AGM and conference in Dublin in October and particular thanks are due to Carol Marks for her work in gaining sponsorship and many of the negotiations in the planning. In October the branch worked in partnership with Bord Bia to organise the annual David Robinson Memorial Lecture. A full day programme was organised for the students with lectures On Designing for Dementia and workshops facilitated by Bloom fringe to encourage networking between students. The branch was delighted to be able to host the conference and AGM in Dublin this year and showcase the best of Irish horticulture.

Northern BranchChairperson: Graham Porter FCIHort.Secretary: Doug Stewart C Hort FCIHort.Treasurer: Derek Hargreaves C Hort FCIHort.

Chair, Graham Porter FCIHortFollowing a very successful year in 2016, the first committee meeting of 2017 was held at Johnson’s of Whixley on February 22nd. A new Treasurer, Derek Hargreaves, was appointed following a number of issues and the transfer of accounts was resolved.

After five successful heats in January and February, the planned YHOY Regional Final was held at RHS Gardens Harlow Carr on March 4th, with Matthew Brewer winning convincingly and going forward to the Grand Final on May 6th. The Branch continues to attract generous sponsorship from the Harrogate Flower Show (NEHS) and Stockbridge Technology Centre.

The branch, once again, staffed the Gardening Advice Bureau at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show in April, attracting hundreds of visitors from across the UK and Europe, with questions from every corner of our industry. I would like to thank all those who gave of their valuable time to help continue this demonstration of our professionalism and commitment to the industry. This was repeated at the Harrogate Autumn Show and a total of some 1400 questions were answered by CIH members at the two shows.

At the Autumn Show in September, Sue Nicholas and I met with Nick Smith, Show Director, to discuss the possibility of holding the YHOY 2018 Grand Final at the Spring Flower Show – plans are now well ahead of schedule for this event.

Our next committee meeting was held at Johnson’s of Whixley on May 10th.

Our Branch Annual Meeting was held on June 17th at The Crown and Cushion, Welburn, North Yorkshire, with 16 members and one guest in attendance. Four apologies were received. David Barker was given the Branch Commendation for his hard work and dedication to the industry in the North of England. David had recently retired from his post as Head Gardener at Middlethorpe Hall near York after more than 30 years. David has been an active member of the branch committee for a number of years. The committee outlined above was voted in unanimously apart from Ed Bird who has only been the Student Representative since February 2018.

The meeting was followed by lunch and a visit to the Yorkshire Arboretum on the Castle Howard Estate, where we were treated to a conducted tour by John Grimshaw, the Curator. A worthy visit for anyone visiting the area.

Our next committee meeting was held at Askham Bryan College, after 30 + years of meeting at Johnson’s of Whixley HQ. John Richardson was thanked formally by the Chairperson for his commitment to the CIH at Branch level.

Our next committee meeting was held at ABC where lots of discussion was had about the public image of the CIH. Clothing, Facebook pages and other ideas were put forward, with me taking a report to CIH Council of Trustees in early December to seek approval in principle to carry these ideas forward. This is now going forward, with some items of clothing being ready for the YHOY Grand Final on April 28th 2018. We now have a live, closed Facebook page for members, including our 55 + new student members. The new Outlook emailing system is proving to be very good, with only seven members not on email, thus reducing the need for expensive postage.

All in all, the year has been a very full and active year, despite the reduced number of visits and events. We are looking forward to a positive and productive 2018, with a full and active committee and 161 members.

North West and North Wales Chair: Susan Nicholas FCIHort Secretary: Treasurer:

Chair: Susan Nicholas FCIHortThe members of CIH are the backbone of the Institute. The North West & North Wales branch committee give up many hours to deliver an interesting and informative programme for our region. This year the focus was the Young Horticulturalist of the Year and delivering CPD events.

The YHoY Regional Final was hosted by Derby College at their Broomfield Campus.

Nathan Foulds went on to represent the branch at the Grand Final in Shrewsbury.

The YHoY Grand Final was held In Shrewsbury. Thank you to our members who helped

make this event a success.

The Annual Branch Meeting was held at Wepre Park in June, part of a mini conference looking at the Future roles and management of parks. Seminars were given on variety of topics including Parkrun and its contribution to the operation of the park (Rob Mackey). The role of Friends groups (Alli Hunt)and the challenges of sustaining a peri-urban park as a non-statutory function of the council, (Mike Taylor).

In July a visit to Smithy Mushrooms one of the leading UK growers of speciality mushrooms, supplying the likes of Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Booths. In the afternoon we visited Sinton’s Nurseries who are specialist pot plant growers supplying independent garden centres and wholesalers. The nursery specialises in the production of Fuchsias and several varieties were raised on the nursery by the late Roy Sinton.In August we provided an advice stand at the Southport Flower Show answering 500 questions. The weather was poor and somewhat damp experience! A special thank you to our members who provided their expert knowledge.

September saw a visit to Trentham Gardens hosted by Michael Walker (Head of Garden and Estate) and Carol Adams, Garden Team Manager to look at herbaceous planting design. The morning was spent looking at the annual and perennial meadows being developed around the lake in conjunction with Nigel Dunnett from Sheffield University. In the afternoon, the truly vast schemes designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and Piet Oudolf in the first stages of Trentham’s restoration were explored.

Moving forward we are intending to engage with the members in our region to ensure our programme of events is what they require. We are looking for new members to join the committee. We will continue with our efforts to have better communications with the secretariat and market our events more successfully.

West Midlands and South Wales BranchChair: Josh Egan-Wyer MCIHort Secretary: Rob MackayTreasurer: Gordon Limb

Chair: Josh Egan-WyreWe started our year by celebrating our region’s finest Young Horticulturists. With thanks to ICL and BHGS as our sponsors and committee members who assisted with scoring, idents and keeping our audience entertained. We sent our regional winner to Shrewsbury for the final where they scored a respectable third.Our first main visit of the year began at National Trust Weir Gardens in Herefordshire, where the head gardener, Ned Price showed us spring colour that filled this beautiful weir-side garden. In the afternoon, we revisited Allensmore Nurseries where we were shown around production and dispatch areas and has an insight in to the world of growing hundreds of thousands of plants for big chains like B&Q.Our ABM was held at the fantastic Cottage Herbery nr. Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire. They very kindly offered a beautiful setting for our ABM (and great cake), which we followed with a visit to Frank P Matthews, one of the largest national tree growers in the UK. Members were able to see how rootstocks were grown, how stock areas were managed, and container trees were produced.Our next visit was in July, and again an excellent visit was arranged with a slightly different approach than normal. We had a presentation by Roger Bach, National Judge for Britain in Bloom who explained how the national and regional parts of the scheme operated, and we heard from the head of the Studely Village BiB Committee. They both then walked us around and we saw how much work goes in to not only making the town look great, but the wider impacts that BiB has on the community. After lunch, a wet but interesting tour was given by Head of Gardens at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Glyn Jones. He enthusiastically showed us around New Place, their recently opened garden which is where Shakespeare’s house once stood.In September, our branch secretary showed a group around St Peter’s Field and Lido at Droitwich. Lynn is Senior Parks and Greenspaces Officer at Wychavon District Council and explained to members on a walking tour about the Greenflag status this greenspace holds. In the afternoon, Managing Director of The Bransford Webbs Plant Company, Adrian Marskell, toured us around their large promotions-based nursery.In October, we then visited Weston’s Cider in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. Members toured around the production areas and saw how their nationally famous cider went from apple to glass (or can or barrel). In the afternoon a tour to Gregg's Pit Cider & Perry who also produce cider and perry but

on a completely different scale and it was interesting to see the contrast in mass vs artisan production processes.We finished off 2017 with a branch social, which this year was exceptionally attended. All had great fun enjoying food and drinks over friendly games of skittles. Well done goes to member Ennid Hart who turned out to be a star bowler!Many, many thanks to our wonderful committee without whom a programme of events would not be possible. Members are encouraged to think if they would be able to volunteer a small amount of time to help us organise some visits or even suggest one. Please contact us on the branch email address.

Eastern BranchChair: Martyn Davey MCIHort Secretary: Ian Roofe MCIHortTreasurer: Geoff Deeble CHort MCIHort

Chair: Martyn Davey MCIHortAnother successful year for the branch, with events taking place around the whole of our region. Thank you to everyone who organised, hosted or participated in branch CPD visits over the past year. The visits program began in February when we visited J.A. Collison & Sons, a family run business supplying cut flowers to multiple UK retailers. Ian Collison led a tour of their impressive nursery in the height of tulip season for the Valentine’s market. In March we visited Viking Nurseries, specialist growers of hardy nursery stock. This visit preceded the YHOY regional final; it was great to see so many of the competitors and supporters join us for the tour. The YHOY Regional final was held at Easton and Otley College, our regional winner was Fern Champney from Writtle College. The Eastern region final was sponsored by the Norfolk & Norwich Horticultural Society and was supported by an audience of more than 35 sponsors, employers and family supporters. June saw our return to the Royal Norfolk Show, where the branch has run the Plant Clinic in the Floral Marquee for the past three years. These events remain a great way to interact with the public and sell the virtues of our institute. In July we returned to the Kings Lynn area to visit Emorsgate Seeds. Owner Richard Brown hosted a tour of their seed production facilities and wildflower meadows. Richard was also brave enough to let us have a go at scything (after some expert tuition), and thankfully all members returned with limbs intact. The annual branch meeting followed in the nearby Marshland Arms pub. While not particularly well-attended, we were able to conduct the business of the day and re-elect the committee for the following year. The September CPD visit was to Howard Nurseries near Diss. The plant range offered by Howard’s is constantly expanding and now stands at approximately 1500 lines. Following a networking lunch, we enjoyed more fantastic hospitality at the home of Dr Janet Sleep, Chair of Norfolk Plant Heritage. Her garden is a treasure trove of interesting plants, well designed borders, textures and colour combinations. On a very wet and wild November day the most intrepid of members ventured to Marks Hall Garden and Arboretum, Essex, to join Garden Curator Jonathan Jukes MCI Hort for a tour and potted history of the Estate. The gardens attract year-round visitors, enjoying the splendid autumn colour and winter interest of the millennium walk. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of branch committee, without whom we would not be able to provide such a diverse range of CPD opportunities. In particular, Ian Roofe MCI Hort who, as well as organising a great many events, takes care of YHOY and various secretarial tasks. Likewise, to Geoff Deeble CHort for his prudent management of the Branch’s finances. The committee extends special thanks to Martyn Davey MCI Hort for his chairmanship for the past 5 years as he now steps down from the role.We welcome ideas and suggestions from our members; if there is somewhere you would like us to visit, or you have suggestions for improving the networking capability within the branch, please get in touch at eastern@hoticulture.org.uk.

Free student membership has been well received by the region’s colleges and has led to an increase in membership. The challenge now is to retain these student members and involve them in our branch activities. We welcome suggestions from students, lecturers and members on how to achieve this. Jason Daff MCI Hort on Behalf of the Eastern Branch Committee.

South West Branch Chair: Jess Evans MCIHortSecretary: VACANTTreasurer: John Whetman CHort FCIHort

Chair, Jess Evans MCIHortThe South West Branch ended 2017 with an excellent visit to the Eden project and its Nursey site in August 2017, when the branch ABM was also arranged.This was followed by committee members promoting the Institute at the South West Growers Show at Mattford Centre Exeter in October 2017.Branch membership numbers have continued to grow throughout 2017, however issues with direct debit payments and the introduction of free Student membership may have impacted in fluctuations?

Weather events had an influence on our industry and programmed facility visits, but we did try to keep our members up to date using e-mails and the CIH Social media sites, once some initial issues were resolved.

An excellent branch programme was pulled together for 2018 by the branch chair Jess Evans and Saul walker. We were delighted to be joined by National YHOY quiz coordinator Sue and her husband at Cannington Bridgewater College on 24th Feb for the branch quiz final led by Chris Bird, including a first class and engaging tour of the facilities.

Regrettably the March visit to the National Viola collection had to be postponed but we may be able to rearrange a visit to Groves Nurseries in the future.

In April a visit to Sparsholt college was arrange to get an insight into how they prepare for RHS Chelsea shows. This was followed by a very interesting visit to ‘Bioaqua’ in May to look at Aquaponics production.

In July an invitation was extended by Professor Robert Barret to learn how students use the resources available at the Eden project for their course studies.

Our 2018 ABM will be help at Westonbert National Arboretum on 15th August and will be pre-ceded by a visit to Melcourt to look at growing media production techniques.

A number of the current committee will be standing down at the ABM and we hope that members will step forward to take their place and contribute to the ongoing success of the branch and its activities.

The year will end with a visit being arranged for Bath to include a Christmas Meal in the city, a site visit and then some free time to see the Christmas market and Christmas lights.

Collectively the committee would like to thank committee members for their hard work and contributions through the year.

South East BranchChair, Angela Evans FCIHortSecretary: VACANT

Treasurer: Bernard Farrell FCIHort

Chair, Angela Evans FCIHortThe branch has had another successful year, well supported by your Committee of Bernard Farrell, David Richardson, Douglas Mackay, Jonathan Ward, John Brannan and Angela Evans. David Richardson represents the branch at Council meetings and is also the Institute’s Amenity Representative on Council. The branch is fortunate in having the support of these members who are generous with their time and expertise.Our hugely organised and energetic YHoY coordinator, John Brannan managed another very successful event: numbers taking part in the heats were up, and the well-attended 2017 Regional Final at Brinsbury College was generously sponsored by both Brinsbury College and Binsted and Walburton Nurseries (Members of the Farplants Group). The 2017 ABM, attended by 22 members was held at Heartwood Forest, St Albans, Hertfordshire, a newly developed forest managed by the Woodland Trust. A programme of events including an over-subscribed visit to the brand new Hyde Park ‘Super Nursery’ producing plants for all eight Royal Parks, was informative, and our Christmas Social in central London was good fun.Committee members represented the Institute at shows, careers’ days, prize giving presentations, flower shows and RHS events. We are grateful to branch members John Brannan, Leo Pemberton and Alan Seargant who gave their time to help promote the Institute at show stands. Help on these occasions from active members of the industry are so useful to prospective members – thank you. We continue to urge branch members to get in touch with the committee if you would like to be considered for elevation to another membership grade, and please do consider applying for Chartered status – all details are on the website. All communications are naturally in the strictest confidence.Details of forthcoming branch visits will be posted on the Institute’s website – please join us whenever you can, and as ever please do get in touch if you would like to join the committee or have suggestions for visits; we’d love to hear from you. We’d also be very pleased to promote to branch members suitable events by other organisations you may be associated with, the committee is committed to collaboration and building stronger ties within our industry. Please get in touch at southeast@horticulture.org.uk

Scotland BranchChair:Secretary:Treasurer:No report received

Bye-Law Amendments No changes to the Institute’s Bye-laws are proposed.

Honorary Treasurer’s Report, John Whetman CHort FCIHort

2017 was another successful year for your Institute financially. We completed our investment in a new web site which is already showing significant benefit to our members, and also enabling payments to be made on line. Our funds with the NFU Mutual Select Investment Plan continue to perform well, aided by a general bullish stock market in 2017. The full accounts for 2017 will be published on our web site.

Charitable and Public BenefitThe Charity Commission requires all charities to make an annual statement as to the way their activities benefit the public. The Institute considers that the securing of Chartered Status provided both the horticultural industry and its members with added professional status from the wider world, especially as more members become 'Chartered Horticulturists'. The collaborative work of the Institute with key organisations ensure both the Institute and the industry has a voice on the wider stage. The Trustees are mindful of the Charity Commission Guidance on public benefit.

Reserves PolicyThe Chartered Institute of Horticulture’s policy concerning the level of cash and investments is to have funds available to: meet liabilities as they fall due; meet emergencies and build up investments over a period with the aim of providing an additional income stream to cover its activities.

The Trustee’s free reserves target, at a minimum, is to cover the full cost of operating the Institute for 2 months. The current level of free reserves held is considered by the Trustees to be sufficient to support the Institute’s Reserves Policy. This policy is reviewed annually.

Risk ManagementThe trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. Internal risks are minimised by the maintenance of procedures for the authorisation of all transactions.

A Business Plan was produced and adopted in September 2010 to give direction and aid planning. This is reviewed by Council to monitor progress and the Strategic Goals are re-examined and updated annually to agree a proper match between incoming resources and expenditure.

A Risk Register has been compiled and is reviewed annually by Council. Examples of risks evaluated, monitored and managed are;• Failure to achieve income targets through grants and sponsorship contributions• Risk of fraud through inadequate financial controls• Vacancies on Council and in branches - lack of quorum/capacity

Subscription Rates 2019Council proposes the following subscription fees for 2019. The number of categories has been simplified for 2018.

Fellow £145Member £115Associate £90Retired Members £65Student: No Fee

Appointment of Independent Examiner for 2018/19David Wortham, Wortham Jaques, Crediton.

Awards CIH awards will be announced at the Conference and AGM on 3rd October 2018.

The Chartered Institute of Horticulture GovernanceCouncil of Trustees as of 31st Dec 2017

President: Dr Owen Doyle C Hort FCIHort President-Elect: Gerald Bonner C Hort FCI HortVice-President (Branches) Gareth Manning FCIHortHon Treasurer: John Whetman C Hort FCIHort Hon Secretary: Douglas Mackay MCIHort Immediate Past-President: Andrew Gill C Hort FCIHort

Sector Representatives Amenity: David Richardson C Hort FCIHort Commercial: Dr Theresa HuxleyEducation: Dr David Elphinstone MCIHortResearch: Dr Caroline Kingston-Elliott

Branch Representatives Scotland: VACANTIreland: Claire Woods C Hort FCIHortNorth West & North Wales: Susan Nicholas FCIHort Northern: Graham Porter FCIHort W. Midlands & S.Wales: Dr Heather Barrett-Mold C Hort FCIHort Eastern: Martyn Davey MCIHort South West: Penny Hammond FCIHort South East: David Richardson C Hort FCIHort

SecretariatHorticultural Trades Association

Independent Financial Examiner David Wortham, WorthamJaques, Crediton, Devon.

BankersHSBC Bank Plc

Approved by the Council of Trustees on the 7th September 2018 and signed on its behalf by:

……………………………… ………………………………Dr Owen Doyle C Hort FCIHort Mr Gerald Bonner C Hort FCIHortChair, Trustee President-Elect, Trustee