Some like it hot - by Senior Lecturer Simon Hart

Simon Hart, Senior Lecturer in the School of Sustainable Environments, discusses the ornamental value of the Chilli pepper.

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Fresh chilli peppers (or chile if you prefer) are far more available than they have ever been as they are now being grown on a commercial scale in the UK.

Chilli peppers belong to the genus Capsicum, most falling into the species C. annuum, though some of the hotter types (eg. the scotch bonnets) are a different species,  C.chinensis.  Greenhouse trials carried out at Writtle College on behalf of Tozer seeds during summer 2013 featured over sixty different varieties, and this is by no means an exhaustive collection.

Growers have found that chillis do very well as a summer crop in greenhouses or polythene tunnels, they  give a reliable yield (the flowers are self pollinating) and providing  aphids are kept under control aren’t too troublesome in the way of maintenance.

Although famous for their variability in heat content, which goes from mildly warming to lethally hot, chill peppers also vary widely in size, shape and colour. As UK production becomes more widespread and availability increases more of the interesting colours and shapes are finding their way onto the market as fresh produce.

The ornamental value of fresh chilli peppers has been explored recently by BA Floristry students at Writtle College, who have been designing a range of chilli pepper based arrangements such as the example below.

The peppers themselves have been proving surprisingly versatile due to the wide variety of shapes, sizes and colours available.

Fruits are generally glossy, work well with similarly glossy foliage as background, but also bring an exciting variety of colour, shape and form to the design.

Below are a few of the different types the students have found work well in arrangements:

Scotch Bonnet type peppers are usually available in red, yellow and orange shades when ripe, though more unusually a deep glossy chocolate brown. Chefs use gloves when preparing these peppers as they are lethally hot, so take care when handling

Left - an unusual chocolate brown Scotch bonnet or Habanero type

  

Yellow fruited Cayenne type (right)

The red Cayenne peppers are fairly common, but the yellow fruited less so, this variety is small enough to grow as a pot plant and produces the peppers in clusters

Another Habanero type– the variety Hot Paper Lantern (left)

Hot like the scotch bonnets, but a more elongated fruit shape.  This variety looks quite dramatic if used as a length of stem with attached fruit.

Known for its high yield, the fruits are closer spaced along the stem than many other types. 

The unusual Cambuli (right) – highly decorative colour and shape, also note the particularly long stem on each fruit.

‘Vampire’ (left) – a chill bred in the UK by Tozers;  purple stems and foliage, purple fruit ripening to red, also unusual purple flowers.

Writtle Wildlife Watch (December 2013)

Writtle conservation expert, Alan Roscoe, has once again been observing the wildlife on campus at Writtle. Here, Alan reviews his December findings.

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"I am sure you have seen the recent pictures from around the country of the devastation caused by high winds, surge tides and heavy rain. Our human infrastructure can seem very frail when confronted with these challenges.

But have you ever thought about the impact on wildlife – and do you always assume it will be bad…?

One of the things which has been lacking in the British countryside in recent decades is dead wood – a great habitat for numerous species, especially beetles. But because we are such a tidy nation, we have been obsessed with clearing up any tree which falls over in high wind. Consequently there has not been much dead wood around, until recently, that is. But now we have plenty of it!

Stag Beetle pit creation. Copyright Tina Carter.

One of the insects which needs dead wood is the Stag Beetle. This wonderful creature is found in parts of Essex and to help it out, some of students this year used buried dead wood to create ‘Stag Beetle Pits’ on the Writtle College estate.

I see there is more rough weather to come but, as far as nature is concerned, it might not all be bad news."

Institute of Horticulture accreditation

Writtle College is renowned for the quality of its horticulture courses. Whether it’s an apprenticeship, post-GCSE course, degree programme or masters qualification, horticulture at Writtle attracts students from across the globe.

Here, Head of Further Education Horticulture, Tom Cole, discusses the College’s recent endorsement from the Institute of Horticulture.

Horticulture expert Tom Cole

 “Earlier this year I was delighted to attend the Institute of Horticulture (IoH) discussions over the institute accrediting courses. These discussions took place at the combined IoH Horticulture Training, Education and Careers Committee (HorTECC) and Horticulture Training and Education Providers Group (HorTEPG). I was fortunate to attend this alongside Higher Education Horticulture Course Scheme Manager and Senior Lecturer Sandra Nicholson who has a long association with the College. 

We were obviously thrilled to discover that the IoH had agreed to endorse Writtle College!

The question you may all be asking though is what does this mean for the College and what does it mean to students?

Writtle's Horticulture courses
attract a wide range of people

Well, firstly is means that Writtle has strengthened its links with the IoH. This is an extremely positive step as the two organisations enjoy an even closer relationship.

But most of all it is the recognition received from our leading professional body that we are a great institution offering excellent links and progression routes for all into the industry.  We’re also valued and respected and not just for Horticulture! This extends to Environmental Conservation, Countryside Management and Agriculture as well.

The people who benefit mostly from this are our students. They can come to Writtle and join our courses knowing they are going to be studying at a well-respected and historic institution that will give them the best chance possible of achieving their career ambitions.

120 years of Writtle College

With 2013 drawing to a close, Writtle College continued to celebrate its 120th year of educational excellence in style. Here we look back at how the students got involved to mark this success.

Established in 1893, the College has a proud history and is extremely delighted to have reached this landmark. Last Wednesday (4th December) saw students from various study levels, backgrounds and subject areas come together to mark this accomplishment by taking part in a unique photo shoot.

Students begin to gather outside the College's main building.

With the photo taking place outside the front of the College's impressive main building, this provided the perfect setting to capture the moment on camera.

There were a large number of students wanting to take part in this photo, which really reflected the level of appreciation for the College achieving this landmark.

Students arrived from programmes including Agriculture, Sport, Horticulture, Conservation and Animal Care. There was also the delightful surprise of the College's Floristry students arriving with beautiful bouquets! What a fantastic addition this was.

Eye-catching bouquets created by floristry students.

There have been a lot of highlights during 2013. These include winning Small and Specialist Students’ Union of the Year in the NUS Awards, as well as having its innovative research featured on the popular BBC television programme 'Countryfile'. 

The photo turned out perfectly and really was a moment to remember.

For more information on Writtle and its history go to www.writtle.ac.uk/120 

The world of animal science – an alligator dissection

Writtle College Animal Science lecturer, Nieky van Veggel, was part of the dissection team during last week’s student seminar. Here he discusses the experience and the benefits to our students.

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“Last week has been a week of weird and wonderful at Writtle College. We organised our annual Inspiration and Activity Week for our higher education students. This is a week where there are no formal lectures scheduled, but instead students have the opportunity to attend a range of different activities, including demonstrations, workshops, industry visits and guest lectures.

This year we had a truly unique experience on the timetable: Writtle College lecturers Jarmila Bone and Nieky van Veggel and third year BSc (Hons) Animal Science student Ed Church organised a live demonstration dissection of an American Alligator. To top it all off this dissection was performed in the Northumberland Lecture Theatre, giving 170 curious students and staff an opportunity to experience this fascinating dissection up close. Attendance was overwhelming, with interest shown by Higher Education (HE) and Further Education (FE) students across disciplines, ranging from horticulture and conservation to equine and animal science. In addition, we were fortunate to have alumni and staff in attendance, as well as students from other HE and FE institutions.

The dissection itself was a very interesting experience. The alligator in question used to belong to a private collection and had died unexpectedly. Although her death was unfortunate, it did enable us to provide the audience with a great and unique learning experience. It really was a fascinating opportunity for students to witness an exotic dissection such as this first hand.

I think it is safe to say it was a positive experience for all involved, including staff and students. Offering students with experiences like this, both as audience members or in this case for Ed as an actual demonstrator to a general public, make Writtle College a unique learning environment.

Finally, I think events like this demonstrate the wide variety of activities the College, and the School of Sport, Equine and Animal Science, organises. We’re really looking forward to running similar events like this in the future, so watch this space!”

Postgraduate Animal Science courses at Writtle College

Writtle College Animal Science and Management degrees

Writtle Wildlife Watch (November 2013)

Writtle conservation expert, Alan Roscoe, has been busy putting together November's wildlife watch. This month provides a fantastic entry about crayfish! 

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Your blogger is very keen on crayfish sandwiches but his interest in these animals extends far beyond what he had for his lunch.

The chunky crayfish which turn up in sandwiches are commercially harvested American Signal Crayfish but there is a dark side to your lunchtime snack. In recent decades these non-native animals have escaped from captivity but, in doing so, they have brought problems for their smaller British cousin, the White-clawed Crayfish.

Our much more delicate native species has succumbed in huge numbers to a disease carried by the American species and the situation is now so grave that some of the White-clawed populations have been removed from their natural homes and re-housed away from the threat in so-called ‘ark’ sites.

This month Writtle Conservation students have visited one of these sites to help monitor the success of one of these re-homing projects. In conjunction with Essex Wildlife Trust, Essex Biodiversity Project, wildlife consultancy EECOS and the Environment Agency (yes, it takes a lot of people to save just one species!) our students trapped several crayfish and took their vital statistics. Work like this is essential to help monitor whether the population remains viable…. but it also gives Writtle undergraduates valuable hands-on experience and a head-start in the conservation sector.

Writtle College Postgraduate Conservation courses

Writtle College Conservation degrees

Writtle College Countryside and Game courses

A week in the life of Lordships Stud

This week's blog post comes from our equine team. Amy Mills, who is a lecturer in Equine Science and a Breeding & Reproduction Specialist, gives a fascinating insight into a week in the life of the College's Lordships Stud.

Phew!  It has certainly been a busy one at Lordships Stud this week. From designing stable enrichment devices for our four-legged residents, to sitting astride the three-year old horses for the first time and long-reining their two-year old counterparts it’s been hive of activity for students and staff.

We have even found time to put some plans in place for our first annual ‘Lordships Olympics’ which takes place on Thursday 21^st November. The event is the brainchild of the students who founded the Writtle College Equestrian Club and insisted upon its implementation. We cheerfully agreed (of course) despite the requirement for a staff team and space hoppers! There will be a glorious prize giving ceremony following a treasure hunt and other team events and a chance for everyone to relax and reward themselves for doing so well.

Prior to the Olympics, students will be showcasing their achievements so far with a variety of the young horses. Over the last week there has been frantic mane pulling and leg trimming going on to ensure our hairy little juveniles look as presentable as possible. It has certainly been an education for them.

Last week a group of students, who represented Great Britain at the International Young Breeders competition in Sweden this summer, hosted a practical afternoon at the stud to help others develop their skills. Sessions included plaiting and turnout and the presentation of horses in hand. Those skills will definitely come in handy next week during the showcase event.

We are looking forward to the showcase event and obviously tremendously excited about the Lordships Olympics. We are immensely proud of the achievements of the students who hang out with us at the stud. If you want to see more of what they get up to take a peek at our Facebook page and look out for the report following the Lordships Olympics – there will certainly be some interesting photos!

Writtle College equine degrees