SCI Horticulture Group - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

style="font-size: larger;" | **SCI Horticulture Group**

Year Formed	2008
Parent Organisation	Society of Chemical Industry Society of Chemical Industry The Society of Chemical Industry is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Its purpose is "Promoting the commercial application of science for the benefit of society". Its first president was Henry Enfield Roscoe and...
Address	14/15 Belgrave Square London

The SCI Horticulture Group is one of the Technical Interest Groups within the Society of Chemical Industry

Society of Chemical Industry

The Society of Chemical Industry is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Its purpose is "Promoting the commercial application of science for the benefit of society". Its first president was Henry Enfield Roscoe and...

. In line with the Society’s maxim 'Where Science meets Business' the Group’s aim is to assist the transfer of horticultural science in its broadest sense into business practice. It does this by providing career support for professionals as well as a forum for discussion and sharing of information on issues relevant to the full range of horticulture-related industries, public authorities, academics and other interested parties. The Group brings together horticulturists and others working within the horticulture industry, in particular those concerned with the transfer of horticultural science into business practice.

Objectives

The Group covers all aspects of horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, but focuses its efforts on encouraging the transfer of new scientific knowledge and understanding into the industry. This includes at one end the colleges and universities training the scientists and managers of the future, research departments generating new science

Science

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...

and organisations such as botanical gardens which provide them with resources, new plants and new ideas. In the middle are the growers and producers of horticultural crops and the companies that supply them with the products and services to enable them to grow their crops – frequently the route by which new scientific advances reach them. Downstream are the supply chain

Supply chain

A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...

companies and food processing

Food processing

Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...

companies which ensure the produce reaches the consumer in a safe and palatable form.

The Group does not forget that a significant part of the horticulture industry is concerned with improving the environment and man's well-being through cut flowers

Floriculture

Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...

, pot plants, public parks, public greenspace

Green infrastructure

Green Infrastructure is a concept originating in the United States in the mid-1990s that highlights the importance of the natural environment in decisions about land use planning. In particular there is an emphasis on the "life support" functions provided by a network of natural ecosystems, with an...

and private gardens all of which need good science to ensure they are produced and managed efficiently and economically.

History

The Group was formed in 2008 by a nucleus of horticulturists

Horticulture

who valued the contribution that science could make to the future of their industry. They realised that they could not achieve their objectives alone which is why they wished to be part of and contribute to the SCI family. They needed the added-value of the larger organisation and in return wished to contribute added-value to the larger organisation.

Where Science Meets Business

The Group achieves its objective of providing a forum for the interaction of science and the industry through a variety of media;

Conferences

Growing Success (November 2008) – Technology Transfer

From Field to Fork (April 2009) – Post Harvest Technology

Plants to the Rescue (October 2009) – Plants for improving human well-being.

Medicinal Plants: From Crop to Cure (March 2011) - Plant derived medicines.

Visits

British Sugar – By-products of sugar refining; top soil & tomatoes

Vitacress

Vitacress Salads Ltd. is an agriculture company headquartered in St Mary Bourne, Andover, Hampshire, England. It is a fully owned subsidiary of Portugal-based company Grupo RAR. The company, which was founded in the 1950s by Malcolm Isaac, is Europe's largest provider of watercress, and also grows...

– Baby leaf salad production

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...

– Research in plant biochemistry, forensic science and plant conservation

Millennium Seedbank Project - Saving the worlds genetic resources

Oxford Botanic Gardens – Medicinal plants

Cantelo Nurseries, Somerset - Integrated Pest Management

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

The Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens near the village of Abbotsbury, Dorset, southern England, are gardens that are open to visitors. They were originally founded in 1765 by the Countess of Ilchester as a kitchen garden for the nearby castle...

, Dorset - Taking advantage of climatic niches

Peppers by Post / Sea Spring Seeds, Dorset - Capsicum

Capsicum

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...

variation, breeding and growing

Collaboration

The Group’s activities are aimed to work with or complement the work of a number of other organisations with similar aims;

International Society for Horticultural Science

The International Society for Horticultural Science is the world's leading independent organization of horticultural scientists. Its aim is "to promote and encourage research and education in all branches of horticultural science and to facilitate cooperation and knowledge transfer on a global...

Society of Biology

The Society of Biology is a charitable organization in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology. Formed in 2010 by the merger of the Biosciences Federation and the Institute of Biology, the Society has some 10,000 individual members and through its corporate specialist member...

The National Horticultural Forum

Horticultural Development Company

National Farmers Union (Horticulture)

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

Commercial Horticultural Association

The Commercial Horticultural Association is the UK Trade Association representing and supporting companies that manufacture and supply plants, products and services to commercial horticultural growers throughout the world.-History:...

Colleges & Universities

International Society for Horticultural Science

The ISHS

International Society for Horticultural Science

is a membership society based in Leuven, Belgium. Its aim is to "...to promote and encourage research and education in all branches of horticultural science and to facilitate cooperation and knowledge transfer on a global scale through its symposia and congresses, publications and scientific structure." With around 7,000 members in 150 countries worldwide the Society organises regular symposia, international conferences and congresses. Every four years it hold a major International Congress, the next being in August 2010 in Lisbon.

The Society publishes its proceeding through three publications;

Acta Horticulturae

Chronica Horticulturae

Scripta Horticulturae

Society of Biology

The Group is an organisational member of the Society of Biology

Society of Biology

. The Society represents many of the learned societies and other organisations making up the diverse landscape of the biological sciences, as well as thousands of individuals. Through it, the SCI Horticulture Group is represented to Government and other policy makers across the wide spectrum of topics that embrace horticulture and the environment.
The Society also gives members of the SCI Horticulture group a route through which they can obtain accreditation, Continuing Professional Development

Continuing Professional Development

Continuing professional development or Continuing professional education is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives.-CPD research:...

(CPD) and eventually the status of Chartered Biologist

Chartered Biologist

The term Chartered Biologist is a British professional qualification in biology. The title "Chartered Biologist" is legally protected in the UK, and Chartered Biologists have the exclusive entitlement to use the designation CBiol after their names....

The National Horticultural Forum

The SCI Horticulture Group supports and helps fund the National Horticultural Forum (NHF).The NHF was established in 2002, following a recommendation of the Defra-commissioned review of horticultural R&D, chaired by Sir Colin Spedding, and entitled A Vision for Horticulture. Colin Spedding recommended that 'An independent National Horticultural Forum should be established to create and update an overview or vision of the horticultural industry. It should identify the major R&D needs and the important contributions that the industry could make to all its stakeholders and to society generally.’ A recent review of the future role of the NHF restated this aim, emphasising that the NHF is a representative body for the industry presenting an independent, collective view of key conclusions in relation to horticulture to government.

The NHF steering group meets about three times a year, under the independent chairmanship of Dr Andrew Colquhoun. The members of the Steering Group are senior representatives of;

East Malling Trust for Horticultural Research

Horticultural Development Company

Horticultural Trades Association

SCI Horticulture Group

Institute of Horticulture

National Farmers’ Union

Royal Horticultural Society

The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...

Two representatives of the R&D Providers Group also attend Steering Group meetings.

Since its establishment, the NHF has provided a unique opportunity for the major industry representative bodies to meet together to consider issues of importance across the industry. It has also funded three important reports:

The first of these was a Skills Audit of Horticultural R&D in 2003. This examined the scientific and research skills available to horticultural R & D and identified areas of strength and weakness as well as making recommendations on how the latter should be addressed.

The second report on Future of the UK Horticultural Industry 2005 was seen as a wake-up call to the industry as it found that the industry needed to evolve and become more professional if it was to survive in a competitive international marketplace. Several key areas of research were identified including improving packaging and reducing labour costs.

The most recent report, a Review of the Provision of UK Horticultural R&D, is what many consider to be a key report for the future of UK horticulture. It concluded that, unless action is taken now, the UK industry is set to lose the expertise and facilities that are desperately needed to provide the R&D needed for the industry to thrive in the future. The implications for HDC levy payers and the challenges it poses to HDC are immense.

Professor Simon Bright, who recently took up the post of Senior Executive Officer to Forum reviewed the challenges for the NHF in an interview published in the SCI Horticulture Group Newsletter (February 2010)

Horticultural Development Company

The HDC is a statutory body which collects a levy from all but the smallest growers and uses the money to fund near-market research and development. It thus provides a complementary function to the SCI Horticulture Group.

Established by statutory order in 1986 as the Horticultural Development Council, it changed in 2008 to the Horticultural Development Company and became a division of the statutory levy body the Agriculture and Horticulture Development. The levy collected for most crops (except mushrooms) is 0.5% of annual turnover.

HDC has responsibility for over 300 crops in the horticultural industry, and the different crop interests are represented through its seven sector Panels:

Bulbs and Outdoor Flowers

Field Vegetables

Hardy Nursery Stock

Mushrooms

Protected Crops

Soft Fruit

Tree Fruit

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

With Over 260 individual experienced members working throughout the UK, BIAC can usually find you the appropriate adviser for your particular problem or challenge. All its members are engaged in the provision of advice for the full range of issues concerning the ownership and occupation of land and rural businesses - not simply farming, growing and food production. Members are obliged to hold PII and report their annual CPD. BIAC offers a bespoke search facility on their website to help you find the relevant adviser.

Commercial Horticultural Association

The Commercial Horticultural Association is the trade association for manufacturers and suppliers of plants, products and services to commercial horticulture. Originally formed as a lobby group to represent exhibitors at UK trade shows it has grown into full trade association status and is particularly active in helping both its members and other UK companies enter export markets. The CHA is an Accredited Trade Organisation (ATO) under the Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) run by UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment is a UK Government department working with businesses based in the United Kingdom to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice ....

, a cross government organisation combining the export activities of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Working in conjunction with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...

(DEFRA), UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment

(UKTI) and the International Agri-Technology Centre (IATC) the association organises UK pavilions at selected overseas trade shows, recruits potential exhibitors and, in conjunction with other government support agencies, assists them to plan and execute their export strategy. Through CHA, SCI Horticulture can be represented at UK and overseas events.

Charity Status

The Society of Chemical Industry was incorporated by Royal Charter

Royal Charter

A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...

1907. Registered as UK Charity

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

206883.

External links

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