Short Courses
Cultivate your curiosity with our varied programme of courses for all levels and interests.
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Inspiring us. Inspiring you. Inspiring change.
Are you looking to try something new? develop your skills? take the first steps towards a new career? Our short courses offer you a great place to start
Our short courses range from taster sessions to one-day workshops to weekly classes. You will learn from educators whose passion for our cutting-edge research and expertise drives them to share their knowledge and skills with the public.
Our new programme of courses running from January - June 2025 is now on sale
Browse all short courses or explore the different course types by using the links below.
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10% off for Members
Become a Member and enjoy advance booking and 10% discount on short courses.
Become a Member
Further information
RBGE members enjoy a 10% discount on short courses. Please check your latest members newsletter for the current discount code.
Enter the code at checkout to apply your discount.
If you have an RBGE gift voucher with a code beginning with EDU or COV, you can use the voucher code to cover a portion of the course cost.
Enter the code at checkout to apply your discount.
Please note that these gift vouchers now have an extended expiry date of 16th December 2024.
Short course gift vouchers
We no longer sell general use short course gift vouchers, but if you would like to purchase a specific course as a gift for someone else, please book through our Gift a Course form.
Treat someone special with the gift of learning this Christmas.
A course from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a meaningful gift for any special occasion and every purchase supports our work to build a positive future for plants, people and the planet.
We have a selection of courses available including evening courses, weekend courses and online courses.
How to book as a gift
To buy someone a place on one of our courses as a gift, please purchase the course via the online shop and then call us on 0131 248 2937 to discuss your gift options.
Alternatively you can buy a Short Course Gift Voucher which can be used on any short course by calling the office.
Vouchers can be sent by email (free of charge) or by post (£4 2nd Class or £5. They can also be personalised or sent with a blank card for you to write your own message.
You will be able to choose whether you’d like the voucher to be sent to you or directly to the recipient on your behalf. Please note vouchers will be sent once payment clears, we are unable to schedule delivery for specific dates or times.
Our short course terms and conditions will apply to any course booked as a gift.
Office open hours: Monday to Friday 9.30am - 4.00pm
Discounts
Members of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh receive a 10% discount on all short course fees. This is the second marked price for each course unless otherwise stated.
Cancellations
We sometimes need to cancel a course because of low enrolment or other unexpected circumstances. If this happens, we will give you a full refund. We will make every effort to give you plenty of notice of any cancellation. For this reason it is important that you provide us your daytime and evening phone numbers and your email address if you have one.
Some courses may not be able to run if the Garden has to close due to high winds or other severe weather. If this seems likely, please contact the Garden before you set out.
Refunds
If you need to cancel your booking, please inform the Education Department in writing (by post or email education@rbge.org.uk) as soon as possible. The cancellation is effective from the date your communication is received and is subject to the following charges:
- For cancellations with more than 4 weeks' notice we will refund your payment less 15%.
- For cancellations with 4 weeks' notice or less we will refund your payment less 50%.
- For cancellations with 1 week's notice or less we regret we are unable to refund your payment unless there are exceptional circumstances. However if we are able to fill your place at short notice we will offer a 50% refund.
Transfers will be treated as a cancellation and a re-booking unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Substitutions will only be accepted if the substitution is for the full duration of a course.
Discounts
Members of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh receive a 10% discount on all short course fees. This is the second marked price for each course unless otherwise stated.
Online Courses
If you need to cancel your booking, please inform the Education Department in writing (by post or email education@rbge.org.uk) as soon as possible. The cancellation is effective from the date your communication is received and is subject to the following terms:
You are eligible for a full refund within 14 days of payment, minus the value of the course available and accessed (e.g. if the course has 10 units and you have accessed one, you will receive 90% of the course fee as a refund).
Terms and Conditions
- Short Course Gift Vouchers are valid for in person and online RBGE Short Courses only and are not valid for Certificate or Diploma courses.
- Short Course Gift Vouchers cannot be used for any other RBGE product or service.
- Overpayment of course fees cannot be refunded (although several courses can be booked with a single voucher and vouchers can be taken as part-payment).
- Short Course Gift Vouchers are valid until the date shown on the voucher. The course booked does not have to run before the expiry date of the voucher, this is simply the booking deadline.