In this post, Alessia Stanistreet-Welsh, Kelly Douglas, and Nick Mullin describe their Student Partnership Agreement-funded project: developing a community garden at the BioQuarter, and hosting gardening events. Alessia is a recent graduate from IRR, Kelly is the Postgraduate Teaching and Administration Manager for IRR, and Nick is a researcher at IRR. This post belongs to the Student Partnership Agreement 2024 series.
In November 2023, I received funding from the Student Partnership Agreement (SPA) Fund to work on a project involving the community garden based at the BioQuarter campus at the University of Edinburgh. I carried out the project in collaboration with Kelly Douglas and Nick Mullin, both of whom are staff members based on the campus at the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR). Kelly and Nick had been instrumental in the creation of the garden and have been involved in its maintenance for some time, alongside some other staff members who have helped out on occasion.
Receiving the SPA fund was crucial in starting the ‘Garden @ BioQuarter’ project, which aimed to promote the garden to more students and staff at the BioQuarter campus. The objective of the community garden is to create a green space that can serve as a community hub where students and staff can come together to relax whilst gardening. The fund was instrumental in allowing for the purchase of new tools and supplies in the winter.
After receiving the funds, all of the regular garden volunteers met together to discuss the project. We outlined the plan we would follow for the next few months, which was closely aligned with the plans discussed in our grant application.
The winter was spent preparing the garden for the upcoming spring and summer when we would be planning a seed planting event in the garden, where students and staff could come together to plant vegetables and herbs. We purchased new tools and, over the weeks, volunteers helped to clear out the garden, cleaning it up and removing weeds to make room for new plants. In the meantime, we held a berry picking event where students and staff joined for a walk around the campus, following a trail where participants could pick edible berries.
Then, we started to plan for the upcoming seed planting event. To advertise, we sent emails around the institute to inform staff and students about the upcoming event and created a poster that we placed around the institute.
On the morning of 30th of April, we hosted the seed planting event. During the event, we catered tea and coffee and an assortment of cakes for students and staff to enjoy.
We placed instructions for volunteers to follow. They could choose from several herbs to plan into their own personal plot to take home or they could choose some vegetables to plant into freshly cleared plots in the garden itself. Several students and staff members joined for the event, and it was an excellent opportunity for them to relax and do something therapeutic during their busy day.
Following the event, three new members from IRR joined the garden group, showing how community involvement is growing. We also shared news of the event on the website, thanking volunteers and updating the IRR community on the garden’s progress.
This event was the first of many planned for the future. Going forward, we hope to run more events at the garden for students and staff to enjoy. Additionally, Kelly had a productive meeting with representatives from King’s Buildings (KB), who expressed interest in replicating our garden model on their campus. They are currently seeking a location and have plans to visit the IRR garden.
The SPA fund has been instrumental in helping us get the Garden @ BioQuarter project off the ground, and we are eager to continue organising engaging events that foster community well-being.
Call to action
We encourage anyone at BioQuarter who hasn’t yet visited the garden to come by and see what it’s all about. Whether you’re interested in getting your hands dirty with some gardening, attending one of our events, or just enjoying a peaceful moment in nature, the Garden @ BioQuarter is a space for everyone.
Stay tuned for upcoming events and opportunities to get involved. Together, we can grow not just plants, but a stronger, more connected community.
Website link: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/regeneration-repair/gardening-in-the-workplace/
Alessia Stanistreet-Welsh
Alessia is a graduate from the University of Edinburgh.
Kelly Douglas
Kelly Douglas commenced her role within Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) in 2011, and is currently the Postgraduate Teaching and Administration Manager for the newly created Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR), which encompasses CRM, Centre for Reproductive Health and Centre for Inflammation Research. In this role, Kelly is currently responsible for the administration of over 200 PG students based at IRR, supported by a team of three postgraduate administrators.
Nick Mullin
Researcher at the Institute for Regeneration & Repair.
