Local organic smallholder wins £2,500 award

Organic smallholder Simon Saggers from Bassingbourn, near Royston, has won a £2,500 Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to develop his hurdle making, hedge laying and woodland management skills. The award will mean Simon will be able to offer customers a traditional range of winter woodland services from the Guilden Gate smallholding. He will be presented with his award by The Lord Chamberlain, the Earl Peel, at the Royal Warrant Holders annual lunch in London in June.

The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) was endowed by the Royal Warrant Holders Association to advance education in modern and traditional crafts and trades in the UK. Scholarships, open to men and women of all ages, are awarded twice a year. Since 1991 the Trust has made cash awards worth over £1,000,000 to 167 craftsmen and women aged between 17 and 50 plus to develop their skills. This spring seven awards were made totalling £42,500.

Simon (38) grew up in Bassingbourn where his family have farmed since the1600s. When his father retired Simon set up the Guilden Gate smallholding on five acres of the farm. He explains, "Since 1999 I have created a mixture of vegetable and herb fields, new hedges, an orchard, wildflower meadow, and coppice woodland. I have built greenhouses, soft fruit cages, multi-use barns and an environmentally sensitive cottage. Our wind turbine and solar panel ensure we generate more energy on site than we consume. The holding is off mains water and sewerage so bills are reduced. Generally we have been working to re-establish the type of smallholding that used to be a part of life in every village but that has sadly all but disappeared in South Cambridgeshire. "

Guilden Gate's main business is producing a range of products for their hugely popular 'vegetable box scheme'. The farm produces fruit, vegetables, herbs, eggs, honey and woodland products including willow hurdles. Producing such a mix of products requires Simon to turn his hand to an eclectic mix of trades. "Each day is different and I have to try and be a horticulturalist, woodsman, retailer and marketer, landscape gardener, builder, plumber, food packer, electric and water services engineer all rolled into one!"

Winning a QEST Scholarship means Simon can take courses which give him a grounding in the ancient craft of hurdle making and provide new 'winter' skills to complement his 'summer' smallholding and horticultural skills. Hurdles are increasingly popular alternatives to mass produced fencing and screening products. Also, after completing a basic chainsaw, Simon will have three weeks 'on the job' hedge laying tuition with experts who will give him the confidence and understanding to embark on his own hedge laying work.

Simon is convinced that interest in hedge laying and hurdle making will continue to grow. In the longer term the award will mean he is able to add new skills to his already varied knowledge, "It will wonderful to spend time learning and developing my hedge laying and hurdle making skills and I hope in the future this will mean I can go onto explore other woodland management opportunities as the Guilden Gate woodland matures." The award will help Simon derive an income from the two acres of hazel coppice on the smallholding.

QEST, the charitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association, was established in 1990 with money contributed by its members, to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Association. The Trustees look for well thought out projects, which will contribute to the pool of talent in the UK and reflect the excellence of British craftsmanship as symbolised by the Royal Warrant of Appointment.

Application forms for Scholarships (closing date for Summer 2007 Scholarships:

8 June 2007; for Spring 2008 Scholarships: 18 January 2008)) may be obtained by sending an SAE (50p) to: The Secretary, The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, No.1 Buckingham Place, London SW1E 6HR. They can also be downloaded from the QEST website: www.qest.org.uk