Today Jack Budd may be battling though the rain as he learns his trade as a landscape gardener on the Olympic site, but he is also looking forward to working on another flagship job at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Jack, 18, is an apprentice working for Willerby Landscapes. The Kent-based company was responsible for the construction of The Cancer Research UK Garden at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show. His present job is working on the vast Olympic Park site with his colleagues planting trees, laying turf and creating gardens. There are 100 hectares of land on the site that will be transformed into parks and colourful settings during and beyond the Games.
Jack took up bricklaying for two years at Shooters Hill, Greenwich, and was recruited from college to join the landscaping company. He is now studying a Level 2 Landscape Gardening course at the Apprenticeship Hub on the site. He said: ‘My colleagues have all been very helpful. I have been following them as they plant trees and cut edging borders and join in when I can. As the apprentice, I often run errands for them, but that’s OK. I have learned a lot and have been able to do other courses such as First Aid.’
Jake should be qualified within a year and hopes to be able to stay on with Willerby Landscapes. He said: ‘I’d like to work on the Chelsea Flower Show. The lads say it is hard work, lots of watering etc, but it is also creative and you could get to meet the Queen.’
