Our Nurture class were lucky enough to particiapte in a volunteering session with the National Trust at Biddulph Grange’s formal gardens.
The students were instructed by Paul Walton, the Head Gardener at Biddulph Grange, about the details of his role. He described the hard work involved in keeping the formal gardens looking lovely for visitors. Mr Walton explained to the students how the gardener’s role changed due to the seasons, plant-eating pests, and gardening fashions. The students learnt that consideration needed to be given to the needs of visitors to the gardens, such as the elderly, disabled, and young children.
During their time there, the students helped the gardeners water the walled gardens. Our area currently has a hose-pipe ban, so this was very strenuous work, especially in the hot weather today! The students learnt about the different flowers and shrubs in the garden and what type of specialist treatment different plants and shrubs needed.
Our students were very lucky to take part in this volunteering experience. We feel that it is really important that as a community we ‘give back’ to our local area and get involved in keeping our natural environment a beautiful place to visit. We also think that such experiences support the students preparing for their futures. Volunteering is something which the students can add to their CVs and talk to future employers about in interviews.
We would like to thank Paul Walton and the National Trust for this experience.
