A most welcomed visit

A welcomed visit of students and support staff from George Hastwell and Sandside Lodge schools.

The visit had been arranged to allow the students the opportunity to have a look around the garden and take some photographs, so they can get some ideas about what they could do with a planned garden area at college.

Feels like summer........looks like autumn

Berries and musk mallow on our wildlife banking areas

Shades of autumn

Our phacelia continues to attract pollinators

Nominations for the 2016 Love Barrow Awards are now OPEN!

Our friends from Cadas preparing winter crops

Harvesting tomatoes in the poly tunnel

Adding colour to the grow your own scheme courtesy of Greengate Junior School

Preparing for the cooler weather

Now that colder weather is approaching there's plenty to be doing in the garden, whether it's planting bulbs, harvesting vegetables before the first frost, sowing hardy annuals, or pruning and tidying, so Thompson and Morgan have put together their top gardening tasks for October.

For free information and advice please visit the Thompson and Morgan website here.

A red admiral butterfly enjoying the late summer sun

Common lizard and slow worm basking in the sun

Sunflowers helping to brighten up our grow your own scheme

Not sure what this is but whatever it is....its a big one

Relocating slow worms to our wildlife areas with RSPCA volunteers

Feeddback from our cook and eat workshop trainer

Some most welcomed feedback from Jennifer Lauruol of Carpe Diem Gardens who facilitated for our summer programme of free cook and eat sessions.

"I was privileged to provide 12 workshops about Healthy Eating and Cooking Skills at Green Heart Den Community Garden in Barrow. The workshops took place during July and August 2015.

There was a wide range of people who attended, including children, adults and some people with additional needs.

Participants learned about eating a healthy diet including creating nutritious vegetarian meals from fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and dairy. The sessions included harvesting fresh fruit and vegetables from the garden, preparing these, and sharing the meal together.

I observed that over the course of the sessions many people became interested in the different ways to cook vegetables and enjoyed preparing and tasting new recipes.

At the final session the feedback forms included very positive comments, including that several people felt they had learned a lot, enjoyed themselves and decided to improve their diet.

Three members of the the group, all of whom were overweight, had also been motivated to join Slimming World, a local slimming club.

I believe the sessions provided value for money and as the workshop leader I am very pleased at the positive outcomes for the people who attended the sessions, particularly as some of them are from social groups which suffer considerable disadvantage"

Funding to enable the free sessions was provided by Cumbria County Councils Healthy Weight Grant

Feedback from our summer programme of cook and eat sessions

Among the feedback we received following our free programme of cook and eat workshops included:

“I became aware of the benefits of fruit and vegetables and the importance of growing your own”

“I feel I have developed a healthier diet”

“I have learned not only about edible leaves but about cooking techniques too”

“I have learned how to eat a little healthier”

"Very enjoyable, happy atmosphere”

“I learned there is more fruit than I thought”

“Really enjoyed the whole sharing and learning experience”

“Growing, harvesting, preparing and cook fresh food together is fun”

Funding to enable the free sessions was provided by Cumbria County Councils Healthy Weight Grant.