Pioneering work by staff and students at Shuttleworth College near Biggleswade has saved the lineage of an ancient tree uprooted to make way for the controversial HS2.
Paul Labous has done much to grow the profile of Shuttleworth College as a national centre of excellence when it comes to the propagation of pear trees.
From saving the “Shakespeare” Old Warden pear for posterity, to ensuring the lifeline of the famous “England’s Tree of the Year 2015”, the Cubbington, Paul has been involved.
He is passing down that expertise to the next generation of horticulturalists and arboriculturists who study at Shuttleworth College.
Using advanced techniques, the DNA of the tree, which was uprooted by HS2 train line in October 2020, will be kept alive through 100s of “off spring” created at the college greenhouses in Old Warden Park.
See link to original Guardian article https://www.ecologyresources.co.uk/the-cubbinton-pear
Paul and team have been featured in local Press and radio, and in a wide range of learned articles.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-31416929
“All of this activity supports real scientific advances, our degree-level learning, our Royal Horticultural Society relationship and our ability to recruit new students at all levels,” said Paul. “As well as winning Shuttleworth College a place in the history books.”
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