It's especially challenging being a woman in a man's field, the only black person in a sea of white classmates and a mature student competing for scholarships.

"I was the only female in a class of 36, the only black person in my entire year of the school and also the only foreign student,'' Lisa Johnston says with a smile.

Lisa has just returned to work at the Parks Department in Bermuda after graduating first in her class from University College Writtle -- England's leading college in land-based studies -- where she received a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, Landscape and Amenity Management.

And just recently she received word that she has won two scholastic awards from Writtle College -- the Geoff Hamilton Memorial prize for most deserving student, and the Hydroscape Group Award for the best student the B.Sc.

landscape management programme.

She's also been nominated for the UK-wide Aberconway Medal for her undergrad dissertation.

"I couldn't have done any of it without scholarships,'' she says. "There would have been no chance.'' Three years ago, Lisa was one of two people selected for the Trainee Superintendent Programme in England. After stellar grades in her first year of a Higher National Diploma, she was invited to join the Bachelor of Science programme.

What was then Works, Engineering, Parks and Housing gave Lisa a loan for her first two years at Writtle, but when they were unable to extend the loan into her third year, she had to look elsewhere for funding.

She began applying for scholarships -- an arduous process.

"Because of my age, I was not eligible for most scholarships,'' she says.

"The cut-off for most of them was 24, and I haven't seen that in over ten years! Not only because of my age, but also because of my interests, it was difficult to find scholarships I qualified for. It was nerve-wracking.'' Nerve-wracking or not, Lisa ultimately was awarded a Fessenden Trott Scholarship and the UK Differential in 1999, which helps to offset the differential fee assigned to Commonwealth students studying in England. She continued to receive the Garden Club Scholarship originally awarded to her in 1997.

"I think they need to look at age when determining criteria for eligibility for scholarships, because there's a growing trend of mature students returning to upgrade their qualifications or get new qualifications,'' she says.

"Furthermore, it's a proven fact that mature students are more successful students.'' Mature students returning to school also face responsibilities that students fresh out of high school or undergraduate degrees do not.

"It was extremely difficult,'' Lisa says. "I had to pack my apartment. I had to leave my salary behind. When you're used to it, it's very difficult to do without.'' "I was fortunate because I didn't have children, but I did have pets to deal with. It's a huge upheaval, but it's absolutely worth it. I have no regrets.'' Despite being a mature student, Lisa suffered from typical undergraduate complaints while at university.

The cafeteria at Writtle College, wittily called `The Writz', served daily breakfasts of fried bread, fried sausages, fried bacon, beans and boiled tomatoes.

"It was foul,'' says Lisa.

Biting winds driving down from the north created viciously cold conditions for field classes.

"Being land-based, we were always outside,'' Lisa says. "It was absolutely freezing. A typical outfit was thermal underwear, tights, jeans, two pairs of socks, T-shirt, mock turtleneck, polar fleece, jumper, coat, hat, gloves, and a scarf.'' "Summer was usually one week in June. Once in three years did I actually think, `I'll wear shorts today'.'' The countryside had its own beauty, however.

Lisa and her classmates would go on long hikes through the golden fields that sprawled out around Writtle, luminous under the washed out sky. You could just wander and never see another soul,'' Lisa says.

The town of Writtle lies in Chelmsford, Essex, 60 miles north of London and a 40-minute train ride. Lisa gravitated to the vibrant cultural life of the city, but she sometimes suffered from the brunt of racist attitudes.

"I did have to deal with racism in England quite a bit, both overtly and also little sneaky comments from people,'' she says.

At one point she was even afraid to go out to get her hair done, because a racist bomber had been targeting ethnic areas around London.

"People were killed and horribly wounded. The bomber put nails in the bombs, and people lost eyes and fingers and even their lives,'' Lisa says.

"I confronted racism when I could, because that's my nature. By not saying anything I felt I was allowing it to happen. I was confrontational in a non-aggressive way.'' Lisa originally began volunteering as a seasonal ranger with the Parks Department in Bermuda to enhance her knowledge of natural history before taking a two-year horticulture training programme and becoming a full-time ranger in 1990. During that time, she also went on a four-month Ranger Skills programme in Arizona.

While Lisa is now back to work in the Parks Department, she hopes to be able to return to England for her Master's degree as soon as possible.

Currently, she is writing training modules for the industrial staff and within the next few months, she will be put in charge of supervising the maintenance of all Government parks and beaches on either the East or West end of the Island.

Lisa feels more secure about her place as a woman in the Parks Department than she did several years ago.

The Parks Department is still a male-dominated place. Only three of 100 people on the landscape teams are women. Including Lisa, there are women in three of nine management positions.

"I think people had doubts about my abilities because I was female,'' Lisa says. "There were ideas about what I was and was not expected to do -- but who's to say what I can and cannot do? "For example, some people didn't think I should be able to ride in the back of the trucks with the men.'' More from the garden, Page 33 Lisa breaks new ground "But since I've been back from England, the crews have been extremely supportive.'' Lisa says she finds her work very fulfilling.

"For me, it's not just about personal satisfaction, but also about giving something back to a community, giving public service back to a community I feel supported by,'' she says.

Lisa can recall being back in Arizona, going long hikes down through the "vermillion pinks'' of the Grand Canyon, ravens spiralling down on the air currents through the canyon, their wings stirring loose the wintry scent of the pinyon pines.

A desire to connect with this harmony and peacefulness of nature is perhaps what draws her to her work.

"I just realised that this is what I enjoy, working in parks, with people,'' she says.

"Having parks and nature reserves gives a sense of being part of a place. It helps people get a deeper appreciation of their country because they're either there to learn or relax. Passive interaction with plants actually lowers people's blood pressure, gives them a sense of peace, reduces stress.'' "You can see how important it is to people over Cup Match, for example. Over Cup Match people were in every park on the Island, just enjoying it. It's a very important part of our community.''