The Burghley Gardens team generously donated their time and efforts to help the students of the Skills for Work & Living department to build a ‘Kitchen Garden’.
After laying the foundations at the beginning of the academic year, the Burghley Gardens Team returned to the Stamford College campus grounds to set the finishing touches, alongside those studying the Skills for Work & Living, Animal & Horticulture course. The stunning project consists of raised beds, gravel paths, an archway for climbing plants, and two bug houses, which students enjoyed filling with volcanic rock and wood. The College department was awarded £200 from the Dorothy Cecil Trust via Burghley towards the cost of all woodwork, with the remainder of the garden’s materials kindly donated by Andrew Hinch, a local groundswork contractor. Notcutts Garden Centre have since donated £100 worth of vegetable seeds for students to put to good use in the garden.
Helen Conlon, Horticulture Lecturer in the Skills for Work & Living department said, “The students had a great day working alongside the gardeners. The Skills for Work & Living course is about preparing students for what they can expect in the workplace and to understand what industry standards might look like — the build has given the students a sense of ownership over the project as well as confidence in their own abilities. Now, all students from the Skills for Work & Living department will be able to grow produce from seed to harvest, and then taste and cook their pickings. This whole process backs up and illustrates much of the science work that they learn in the classroom, from topics such as seed sowing and germination, propagation, parts of a plant, healthy soil, photosynthesis.
Many thanks to the Burghley Gardens team, the Dorothy Cecil Trust, Andrew Hinch and Notcutts Garden Centre for their generosity.
