Developing Human Capital through Horticulture

The contribution from horticultural education and training to the development of an individual's human capital, from an economic perspective, is well known. The benefits of using horticulture as an education tool to develop life skills for non-economic objectives is however, rarely articulated. Two horticulture outreach programmes for students with development disabilities, one focused on vocational advancement and a second novel course, in which horticulture is used as a platform to develop life skills including, self-advocacy, communications and social skills, are reported. The experiences of students and tutors are reported in a qualitative fashion.