The Nature Effect has been working with Barracks Lane Community Garden to develop a two year initiative “Plants, Place, People”. It’s a collaboration with the Oxford Spires Academy (OSA) Steps Programme, working with unaccompanied asylum-seeker young people aged 15 to 19. This project offers a chance for these young people to get involved in the community, learn new skills, and build connections—all while exploring the many ways plants are part of our daily lives.
What’s the Project All About?
The aim of the “Plants, Place, People” project is to support these young people as they settle into life in the UK. Through hands-on activities, the students will learn about plants and how they can be used in everything from food and medicine to cosmetics and even materials for building things.
At the same time, the project aims to help these students prepare for their next steps, whether that’s further education, employment, or simply feeling more settled in their new community. The aim is to help them feel supported, build new skills, and connect with others around them.
What’s Been Happening So Far?
Since January, the students have explored how to use plants in different dishes, discovering new flavours and techniques. Much of the cooking has taken place in the outdoors, using a campfire and outdoor tools.
sessions support the students in their learning of English, learning new words as well as putting existing knowledge into practice through writing down instructions. The sessions also focus on teamwork and problem solving.
‘The students have really enjoyed coming to the garden and engaged with all of the activities that have been offered. Making fish with rice and chicken kebobs were real highlights for them, as they were able to introduce elements of their own experience of food cookery, as well as learn some new ones. Just this week, they were making an accompanying couscous to go with the kebobs and one student was surprised that the recipe had fresh mint in it, as they were only used to drinking fresh mint in tea with their families. However, they really enjoyed the taste of it in the couscous dish.’
Tracy Walsh, Barracks Lane Garden Project Coordinator.
The students also took part in pebble painting with the team from Replenish and created collage artwork using maps in collaboration with Rana Ibrahimi from the Iraqi Women, Art and War project.
The students also took part in pebble painting with the team from Replenish and created collage artwork using maps in collaboration with Rana Ibrahimi from the Iraqi Women, Art and War project.
BLCG will be hosting an event to share and celebrate the work completed by this project from 11am to 1pm on Saturday 26th April. Please do put this date in your diaries – we will be sending round a formal invitation in due course.
Starting in February, the students will move on to a series of sessions focused around bushcraft. The students will learn outdoor skills such as wood carving, fire making and string making from bark. In April they will be helping to run a community day to share some of what they have learned with others.
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This project is funded in part by Kate’s Garden Fund—a legacy established to honour the life and work of Kate Jury, a fantastic local landscape designer, dedicated community advocate, and director of The Nature Effect. It follows on from Kate’s previous projects in this area. It follows on from previous projects Kate was involved with. We think that Kate would be happy to know that her fund is supporting the continuation of this work.
To find out more about Kate’s Garden Fund, or to become a supporter, please click here.
