EDUCATION

Education has always been one of the garden's main objectives from the start in 2009 to the current day.

It has offered many diverse opportunities for adults, groups, families, children, schools and organisations. Below are the current groups and organisations using plots within the Educational Zone for free.

 

Refugee Buddy 

Project

 

 

 

 

A refugee and migrant-led, registered charity supporting families and individuals through buddying, advocacy, financial and emotional support. They currently utilise 3 areas within the Education Zone.

More details: https://www.therefugeebuddyproject.org.uk/

 

East Sussex

College

 

 

The Hastings site has three areas within the Education Zone linked to two directorates for students to use.

More details: https://www.escg.ac.uk/

 

Sustenance

 

 

 

 

Sustenance provides nutritious food for people experiencing food poverty, by repurposing surplus produce. They currently utilise 2 areas within the Education Zone.

More details: https://sustenance.org.uk/

 

WonkWI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonky WI is your St Leonards based Women’s Institute who meet each month. It’s a group where any woman over 18 can come along and discover new people in a safe and friendly environment. There are all sorts of different activities each month including a craft club. They currently utilise 2 areas within the Education Zone.

More details: https://www.facebook.com/wonkyWI

 

Public use of the garden
We have public open day events throughout the year where nature activities and other subjects are often covered, such as identification of trees, moths, wildlife gardening, tool use, pumpkin carving and grafting. Such events usually include refreshments, music and other entertainment like art and story telling.

We encourage members and especially plot-holders to share knowledge and experiences of gardening. This has been done in two ways; in a series of horticulture workshops as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund project and our own plot holders shared lunch sessions.

 

Community use of the garden

We encourage others to use the garden if the purpose fits with our ethos. It has been used for children’s birthday parties and other social events over the years which included Tibetan and African cultural events as well as theatre performances and choir practice.

We want the garden to be seen as a community space for learning, fun and social engagement. It also offers health benefits of exercise and being outside in nature.