Thyme to garden with Redcatch
Earlier this year Knowle DGE had two exciting sessions developed with Redcatch community garden. The students learnt about careers and the opportunities in gardening and were able to get hands on experience on what it is like to be a part of this community garden – especially with it being so close to the school!
For the first session, the students had an introduction giving them more information about Redcatch and ran over some health and safety before they began. Following this, the students had a tour of the beautiful site in which they got to see all the different areas where they grow their plants and reasoning for the certain surroundings the plants were kept in. Lou, the Head Gardener shared information around their organic principles and No Dig gardening methods! The students then got to get stuck in and do some much needed seasonal gardening where they potted different seeds and sprouts to start new plants to added to the garden ready for their next visit. Lou then rounded off the session with a quick lesson on composting and its importance.
The students then had a follow up session in July and returned to the community garden for some updates on their work and to learn even more about the site. The students began their visit with a tour of the gardens which included also visiting the community spaces and café, this was then a great chance for the students to learn about how Redcatch operates on a daily basis and how their business processes work at the gardens. The students then got to check in on the progress made on their plants they potted earlier in the year and see how much they have developed since their last visit, this was then followed by potting even more plants in time for the summer/Autumn season. The students then joined Lou for a drink and learnt about her career path and how she moved from a mental health background to volunteering with Redcatch while she studied for her RHS qualification before then taking on the role of Head Gardener.
It has been a great couple of sessions for these Knowle DGE students and they have had an engaging experience with Redcatch One student remarked on how “it made me feel I need to be happy while at work” and Redcatch has done an amazing job on showcasing how easily achievable it is! Lou from Redcatch also mentioned how it was great “encouraging the students to get into growing and give it a go!”. We’d like to thank Redcatch community gardens for supporting us with these sessions and creating such an enjoyable experience for Knowle DGE.