New developments with UH Community Garden and how it aids student wellbeing

Are you a gardening expert or know nothing about it? Whichever you are, the Allotment Plots on College Lane Campus offer a brilliant opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge, and to meet new people, all whilst being out in the fresh air.

The plots are situated opposite the Telford Court Common Room (a short distance up the path from The Key) and offer plenty of fresh water and gardening equipment on hand to borrow. 

So far, various vegetables have been planted within the plots, including; lettuce, chard, potatoes, onions, garlic, broccoli and sprouts. The possibilities are endless!

Due to the success of this community garden, allotments will also be coming to de Havilland campus soon! James Kelly, who oversees the creation and development of the community gardens, gives us the latest updates and when to expect our new garden;

“We are planning to run a 9-week volunteering programme in collaboration with local charity Groundwork East to allow students to build the majority of the space themselves. The below table outlines the aim for the sessions each week:”

Week 1	Building Raised beds
Week 2	Filling raised beds/maybe planting
Week 3	Creating Arches
Week 4	Building Gates
Week 5	Building Gates
Week 6	Building a Shed
Week 7	Building a Shed
Week 8	Pathway creation
Week 9	Pathway creation

“Included in the garden will be 3 raised bed allotment plots, similar to those on College Lane, allowing for students to grow their own produce and hopefully then go on to support the community fridge with fresh vegetables.”

One of our UH students, Lisa Evans, who was involved in helping the community garden said that the project has really helped her mental wellbeing:

“The night before I started the course I was on the phone to my mum, really upset about how stressed I was... I’d been having quite a bad time the past week and since I’ve started [the gardening project] my mood in general throughout the week has improved vastly and I can’t really think of anything that has changed apart from on Wednesday afternoon I spend a couple of hours gardening with some really lovely people.”

The new allotment is still looking for a home on de Havilland campus, but there are plans to get the 9-week programme up and running as soon as possible. Updates will be available on StudyNet.

For now, you can still get involved with the College Lane Project by contacting the team at: uhsuallotmentproject@gmail.com, and you can find out more by visiting: https://ask.herts.ac.uk/uh-community-gardens.