A group of 40 young children, parents and carers came together recently to enjoy a Family Gardening Workshop in the Natural World Products No-Dig Garden at the Bushcraft Centre, Kinnego, Oxford Island.
Hosted by the Natural World Products Community Outreach Team in partnership with Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council, the workshop is one of a number of community events that are presented at the No-Dig Garden at the Bushcraft Centre throughout the year to demonstrate the benefits of using peat-free compost.
Activities on offer to Family Gardening Workshop participants included a ‘mini-beast hunt’ in the pollinator garden, making wildflower seed balls, harvesting vegetables to take home, playing the ‘Spud in the Mud’ game, and sampling tasty tomatoes, cucumbers and homemade bread.
Sharon McMaster, Community Growing and Outreach Manager with Natural World Products hailed the success of the workshop and the No-Dig garden.
She said: “At Natural World Products, we transform household food and garden waste into high-quality peat-free compost, helping communities across Northern Ireland grow more sustainably. We created the No-Dig garden at the Bushcraft Centre nearly three years ago, as a resource for education and outreach.
“The garden now grows food and is a thriving space used for educational workshops.Through our community outreach programme, we provide engaging environmental education and hands-on gardening experiences for people of all ages and abilities, encouraging healthier lifestyles and a greater connection with nature.”
Sharon added: “Our recent Family Gardening Workshop was a huge success. We could have filled it three times over, which just demonstrates the huge interest in ‘grow your own’ and the demand for accessible community horticultural workshops.”
There will be horticultural workshops running this autumn at the Natural World Products ‘No-Dig’ Garden. Details of these events will be released on their website at www.naturalworldproducts.com/our-community
For further information on New Leaf Compost, visit www.newleafcompost.com/
Find out more about the Kinnego Bushcraft Centre at https://getactiveabc.com/facility/kinnego-bushcraft-centre/
