Churchill Fellowships (LP16002)

What was it all about?

This project sponsored five Churchill Fellowships that built practical knowledge and leadership capability across key horticulture issues.

The project partnered with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to select and support Fellows from levy‑paying horticulture businesses or projects with clear industry benefit.

Through overseas study and reporting, the Fellowships generated new insights for growers on quality assurance, food waste reduction, value‑adding, workforce capability and plant propagation.

Each Fellow completed their travel, published a report and shared findings with industry:

• Belinda Hazell studied the use of horticultural QA standards to stay ahead of social license demands. She travelled to Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Her Fellowship report is available here.
  
  
• Stuart McGruddy investigated the knowledge, experience and technology used in the freezing of whole soft berry fruits. He travelled to Chile, Poland, Spain and the USA. His Fellowship report is available here.
  
  
• Anita Long examined development programs for young beekeepers that are scalable to an Australian context. She travelled to Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. Her Fellowship report is available here.
  
  
• Kim Syrus researched the propagation and growing of cutting grown roses versus traditional budded types. He travelled to France, Germany, Spain, and the USA. His Fellowship report is available here.
  
  
• Melissa Smith explored approaches for reduction of on-farm food waste in horticulture. She travelled to Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Her Fellowship report is available here.

By enabling Fellows to learn from leading international examples and apply those insights at home, the project provided a pathway to build skills, networks and new thinking across multiple sectors of horticulture.