College students join forces to build a garden of reflection.

Students from a number of courses across Anniesland College joined forces to create a garden for service users at Southbrae Resource Centre, Glasgow.

some of the students and lecturers who helped create the garden

The 'Garden of Reflection' was created to allow a quiet space for Southbrae Day Centre's service users and their carers and used donations received by families and friends of former service users and carers. Throughout the garden, there are little tributes to remember former service users, carers and staff members.

Margaret Halstead, depute manager of the resource centre didn't want the garden to be a sad place. "We wanted the garden to be bright, and beautiful and full of life."

"Everyone has worked really hard. It's been a great partnership between the college and the centre"

The garden, built by students from Anniesland College's Landscape Design and Construction course, not only provides a tranquil place full of colour and wildlife, it will also be used as an ongoing teaching tool for students from Anniesland College's special programmes horticultural course.

Based at Southbrae Centre, the college's special programmes horticulture course teaches students with additional learning needs about growing and caring for plants. Plants are grown by the students and sold at Southbrae's garden centre with the proceeds being returned to the centre for the benefit of the service users.

The garden was a real collaborative effort with assistance for additionl fundraising, IT and marketing materials provided by students from Anniesland's business school. From Special Programmes at Anniesland, the horticultural students planted up the garden and will undertake ongoing maintenance, students from woodwork made bird boxes and a wooden arch and art students provided screens and mosaics with a garden theme.

For the landscape design and construction students, it was an ideal opportunity to put into practice the skills they have learned whilst on the course. A good percentage of the landscaping students go on to set up their own businesses so it was a worthwhile experience for them as well as a chance to create a garden which they know will be well used and appreciated.

The garden began as an unused piece of grass and now includes a grass/paved walkway, double brick rose arch, raised bed for wildlfowers and a large collection of trees and shrubs. It will take around two to three years to reach maturity.

The Work in Progress

For more information on courses at Anniesland College: Anniesland College Website

To find out about Southbrae Garden Centre: Southbrae Resource Centre

For more gardening news items, visit the Gardenzine news archive.