RHS New Shoots FAQs

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about RHS New Shoots

FAQs for Volunteering

Applications are submitted online. Head to www.rhs.org.uk/newshoots and click the link on the volunteering page to see which opportunities are available and to apply. The online form will take you through all the steps you need to complete. Make sure you include why you are passionate about horticulture and volunteering at the RHS.

We offer different volunteering projects for different age groups depending on the garden you wish to apply for. Some volunteering roles are available from 14 plus, whilst others are tailored to those aged 21 plus. Please check out the role descriptions on the volunteering portal for details of what age group each project is designed for.

Both RHS Garden Wisley and RHS Garden Bridgewater operate shuttle buses at certain times of the year. Please advise us on your application if travel is a concern, as we may be able to offer additional support in certain circumstances. Our gardens are also easily accessed by car.
Volunteers are able to claim travel expenses to support their travel to RHS Gardens. Details will be provided if you are offered a volunteering position.

Volunteers are provided with a polo top, hoodie, coat and safety boots. You will need to wear your own trousers/shorts etc., which should be smart casual and comfortable for the time of the year. You will also be provided with gloves.

You will not get paid as this is a voluntary role. However, you will be able to claim travel expenses and your volunteer pass will provide you with discount on food and drink in our food outlets and in our Plant Centre and gift shop.

You will undertake practical horticultural tasks, around our RHS Gardens, and learn new skills. Activities will depend on the time of year, and which garden you volunteer at, but will include propagation, planting and maintaining visitor facing areas in our gardens.

By volunteering at an RHS Garden you will:

Learn new skills
Meet like-minded people
Understand potential career options
Meet professional horticulturists
Increase your confidence
Develop team working skills
Enjoy the benefits of spending time outdoors and in nature
Be able to enhance your CV

Successful applicants will be invited to an informal interview. This is more of an informal chat to make sure the role is right for you and to give you the opportunity to find out more before committing to volunteering.

Duration depends on the programme. Our Green Skills programme lasts for one-year maximumm, whereas our horticultural volunteers are permanent volunteers, which means you can continue to volunteer until you resign, move onto other volunteering roles or the programme comes to a close.

[email protected]

FAQs for Taster Days

Activities vary throughout the seasons, but generally start with a tour of the garden followed by a hands-on activity. Example activities could include sowing seeds, taking cuttings, potting on, planting established plants in the ground, removing existing plants and preparing the ground for new planting schemes, or collecting and saving plants for future research in our Herbarium (an archive of plants).

All Taster Sessions can be booked on our New Shoots eventbrite listings page. To keep up to date with when Taster Sessions become available you can follow the eventbrite page to receive notifications. Click here to head to the RHS New Shoots eventbrite page.

Taster days usually start at 9.45am and end at 2pm. The specific timings will be included as part of each event description.

Most Taster Sessions are open to attendees from 16 years of age and above. Please check individual event details for any specific age groups the event is designed for.

You will need to wear practical clothing, and closed-toe footwear suitable for the time of the year. Make sure you wear warm clothing in the cooler months, and be prepared for rain all year round, as you may be spending some time outdoors. For certain activities you will need safety boots and gloves, which will be provided for you to use on the day.

Both RHS Garden Wisley and RHS Garden Bridgewater operate shuttle buses at certain times of the year. Please advise us when registering if travel is a concern, as we may be able to offer additional support in certain circumstances.

Our gardens are easily accessed by car.

Taster sessions take place throughout the year and specific dates will be advertised via the RHS New Shoots Eventbrite page.

If you are thinking about what career to choose when you finish formal education or are considering a career change and have a passion for plants and/or the outdoors, then a taster session is a great opportunity for you to get an insight into horticultural careers. If you are interested in first volunteering in horticulture as a step towards employment, a taster session is also a good opportunity to discover what roles could be available. Most taster sessions are designed for a range of ages from 16 plus.

The only cost to attending a taster session is your travel to and from the RHS Garden you choose to attend a taster session at. If you believe this would be a barrier to you being able to attend, please contact [email protected] to discuss what options may be available.

A taster session will give you the opportunity to gain an insight into different horticultural careers, the range of employers and practically what working in horticulture can involve. It will also give you information on routes into horticulture via education/qualifications and volunteering. It will also be an opportunity to meet like-minded people who have a passion for plants and/or the outdoors.

Please cancel your ticket via eventbrite. If you have technical issues meaning you are not able to cancel your ticket, please contact [email protected] to let us know.

Guests will need to purchase a ticket to the Garden if they do not wish to take part in the taster session. If they want to find out more about horticultural careers as well, please either book them a separate taster session ticket or ask them to register themselves. If you require a carer to support you during the taster session, they do not need to book a ticket, however please e-mail their name and advise they will be acting as your carer at [email protected].

[email protected]

Yes – you do not need to book a separate ticket for a carer. Once you have booked a ticket for yourself, please contact [email protected] to provide the name of your carer and to also advise of any reasonable adjustments we should be aware of.

FAQs about Work Experience

Applications are submitted online. Head to www.rhs.org.uk/newshoots and click the link to register interest for work experience. The online form will take you through all the steps you need to complete. Make sure you include your school’s details, and why you are passionate about carrying out your work experience at the RHS and within your preferred team.

Our gardens are easily accessed by car.
Both RHS Garden Wisley and RHS Garden Bridgewater operate shuttle buses at certain times of the year. Please advise us on your application if travel is a concern, as we may be able to offer additional support in certain circumstances.

Work experience can last from a few days to a full week on a Monday to Friday basis.

We will need contact details of a responsible person (e.g. a teacher or careers mentor) who can be our link at your school. Your school will also need to supply us with any forms that they require to approve your placement with us. We will only be able to progress your application if your school details are provided.

You will need to wear plain, practical clothing, and closed-toe footwear suitable for the time of the year. If you spend time in our Gardening, Retail or Visitor Services teams, you should make sure you wear warm clothing in the cooler months, and be prepared for rain all year round, as you may be spending a large amount of time outdoors. For certain roles you will need safety boots and gloves, which will be provided for you to use for the duration of your placement.

Please bring a re-fillable water bottle to make sure you stay hydrated. Although there will be food available to purchase, you may wish to bring your own lunch.

Work experience is unpaid.

You can express a specific interest in one of our teams during your application, however we cannot guarantee that your chosen team will be able to host, and you may be offered a placement in an alternative team.

At RHS Garden Wisley you will spend your work experience placement with one specific team. At RHS Garden Bridgewater you will rotate through a few different teams during your placement, depedning on the option you choose at the point of your application.

Activities will vary depending on the team you are with. You could be helping to water our plant collections, harvest vegetables from our edible garden for our restaurant, welcome visitors to our gardens or help merchandise houseplants in our gift centre. If you are with Science at RHS Garden Wisley you could be collecting samples for our herbarium or maintaining our entomology (insect) collections.

You will get an hour lunch break each day during your placement.

You could apply for an apprentice scheme if you are aged 16 and above. You could study a level 2 principles of Horticulture qualification at college of part-time, or you could explore young persons Horticultural volunteering opportunities.

We offer a variety of young people volunteering opportunities in our gardens. To find out what opportunities are available and how and when to apply, visit our New Shoots volunteering page. We also offer horticultural internships, which are available from age 16 plus – visit the Internships page for more information.

FAQs for T-Levels

Currently, only the T-Level Agriculture, Land Management and Production lists the horticultural sector as a suitable industry for placements.

Our sites are easily accessed by car. At both RHS Garden Wisley and RHS Garden Bridgewater, shuttle buses operate at certain times of the year. If you think travel may be a barrier to you being able to carry out your placement at either of our gardens, please let us know, as we may be able to offer support in certain circumstances.

You will need to wear plain, practical clothing, and closed-toe footwear, suitable for the time of the year, so make sure you wear warm clothing in the cooler months, and be prepared for rain all year round, as you may be spending a large amount of time outdoors. For certain tasks you will need safety boots and gloves, which will be provided for you to use for the duration of your placement.

T-Level students will work with one of the Curatorial teams (i.e. the gardening teams) at either RHS Wisley or RHS Bridgewater, so depending on which team you are working with, you could be planting for seasonal interest, maintaining important plant collections, working with tropical plants in a greenhouse, or looking after the many tree specimen on site, among many other options.

We will work together with you and your course provider to ensure your placement covers a good variety of skills and insights into the horticultural industries.

FAQs for Internship

An internship lasts longer than a work experience placement. You can choose to gain 30 days experience either one day per week, or in a six-week block Monday–Friday.

You will gain the experience of seasonal Horticultural tasks alongside our expert teams as well as receive mentorship from the New Shoots team on your next steps into a Horticultural career. You will receive uniform and be paid the appropriate statutory minimum hourly wage to support you attending the internship.

30 days as either one day per week, or a block of six weeks split into one week during Summer half-term, four weeks during summer holidays and one week during October half term.

From late March.

You will carry out seasonal Horticultural practical tasks alongside our teams, receive regular mentorship from our New Shoots team and prepare a presentation on Horticultural careers using insight gained from our experts and collections.

You will receive appropriate statutory minimum hourly wage for a total of 5.5 hours per day (the day includes an hour unpaid lunch break).

The only entrance requirement is a clear and demonstrable passion for plants, the environment and outdoors, and for pursuing a career in horticulture. You will not be eligible if you already have achieved a Level 2 or above Horticultural qualification, although you will be eligible if you are currently working towards a Level 2.

Online at www.rhs.org.uk/newshoots

A clear passion and motivation for plants, the environment and outdoors and pursuing a career in horticulture. We also expect you to consider why this is important to you to support a Horticultural career and express why an RHS internship specifically is the right pathway for you.

Yes, successful applicants will be interviewed. If you are successful in the interview you will be offered a placement.

By e-mail.

We expect all applicants to commit to completing the duration of the internship. However, we understand that life is not always straightforward and therefore expect you to discuss shortening your internship with your supervisor at the earliest opportunity, explaining clearly why. Unfortunately, we are unable to extend internships, but we can discuss next steps in your career.

You could apply to become an apprentice, volunteer or pursue a Horticultural qualification full, or part, time.

We offer a limited number of voluntary (unpaid) work experience placements of up to a week. We also have volunteering opportunities and current volunteering vacancies can be found at www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer.

Contact us

For more information or if you have a question, please get in touch with the New Shoots team.

Speak to the team

Email: [email protected]

See the range of options on offer

Browse our programmes

Learn about the initiative to promote horticultural careers

What is New Shoots?

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The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.