HAVING sought the opinions of the Foundation Studies Garden Group as to how they would like the Exeter College Urban Garden to be, Project Manager Geoff Brown has now called in students from the Construction faculty to help him finalise plans for the unused piece of land at the Hele Road campus as part of the college’s ongoing sustainability programme.

The students from the BTEC National Diploma Level 3 were able to put into practice their surveying skills under the guidance of lecturer Peter Embley.

Geoff says: “Foundation Studies students contributed the first ideas for the garden, and then developed our final plan. Now, we are busy clearing the site in preparation over the winter. It is great to have the Construction students in this week to help out, particularly as this has become part of a project they are undertaking as part of their coursework.”

A vegetable and flower patch, fruit trees, compost bins, a tool shed and a wormery are all part of the design for the garden, which is expected to officially open in May this year. Other features will include an assortment of raised and flat beds, a seating area, a grill, a pond and an eco-friendly watering system which will use rainwater collected from the roofs of surrounding buildings.

Geoff says that while issues such as the size of the plot and the fact that it is in a Conservation Area stood in the way of some of the students’ more inventive concepts, they certainly impressed him with their imagination.

Among the features expected to be a favourite is the pond. Geoff says: “While rainwater from some roofs will be used for irrigating our crops, that collected from other buildings will flow down a waterfall cascade into the garden pond.”
He continues: “The garden is set in what was once the courtyard of the old Headmaster’s House for Hele School, which was opened in 1850, so we have taken the students’ present-day ideas and placed them into a context which reflects the age of the building.

“As a result, we are looking at a cloister-style design based on those of monastery and cottage garden from the past, but one which is will be engaging young gardeners in sustainable gardening methods that will help prepare them for the future.”