The Royal Parks
##The Royal Parks
The Royal Parks is a charity created in March 2017 and officially launched in July 2017 to support and manage 5,000 acres of Royal parkland across London.
We look after eight of London’s largest open spaces; Hyde Park, The Green Park, Richmond Park, Greenwich Park, St James’s Park, Bushy Park and The Regent’s Park, and Kensington Gardens. We also manage other important open spaces in the capital including Brompton Cemetery, Victoria Tower Gardens, Canning Green and Poet’s Corner.
In 2017, we took over the role of managing the parks from The Royal Parks Agency – a former executive agency of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), as well as fundraising and some education from the Royal Parks Foundation. The two organisations joined forces to create our charity and bring together the best of fundraising, education and park management.
The parks are owned by the Crown with their responsibility resting with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The Royal Parks charity manages the parks on behalf of the government.
The Royal Parks Apprenticeship Scheme is an ideal way to begin a career in the horticultural and park management industry. This is a unique opportunity to work in London’s historic parkland.
As a Royal Parks apprentice, you’ll work and learn in one of London’s finest parks and get paid while you complete your education. When you finish the course, you’ll be qualified as a skilled gardener and you’ll have gained a vast amount of experience from working in one of the UK’s most famous parks - Hyde Park, St James’s Park, Bushy Park, Richmond Park, The Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill, Greenwich Park, or Kensington Gardens. These parks are widely recognised as among the best of their kind in the world.
At the end of the apprenticeship, you will be ideally placed to continue your career in the horticultural industry either in a 'hands-on' role or by progressing to a management or supervisory post. This could be within open space management, landscape construction or design industries.
Many past Royal Parks Apprentices are now employed as Park Managers, Supervisors or Contract Managers for The Royal Parks and in other high profile locations such as Buckingham Palace, Crystal Palace Football Club and prestigious gardens worldwide.
