Ancaster Station Adoption
Introduction
Who are you and where are you from?
Lynda Awcock and Mr Newton from Station Adoption Group, students from Ancaster Primary School and Mr Moody from Sustrans East Midlands.
How did this partnership come about?
Ancaster Station Adoption Group asked the students if they would like to help rejuvenate the station. The first thing we did was to make raised beds outside the platform gate. Mr Moody provided the funding and labour.
What has the group done since then?
After a big conversation, the kids decided on a wildlife/ forager’s garden. We held a design competition to show which plants would survive best and benefit wildlife. Since then they have sewn seeds, grown plug plants, learnt about wildlife habitats and designed and planted a rainwater harvesting overflow trough.
"It has really let the children shine"
- It helps children to understand what food is and encourages them to enjoy food that they may not normally wish to eat
- If organic, it benefits the environment through reduction of harmful chemicals and also (recent studies show) carbon sequestration in the soil
- It means that people are more likely to eat certain items that they may avoid buying as they come in large bags in the supermarket, meaning that they go off before being used up – this is especially true for people who live alone or in small families – thereby widening their nutrient intake
- It encourages people to eat food that is really fresh and therefore more nutritious
- It cuts down on packaging and food miles thereby again benefitting the environment
- It provides healthy, outdoor exercise with plenty of stretching and muscle-building
- It gets kids out and about instead of on the computer
- It provides volunteering opportunities for young people seeking to complete their Welsh Baccalaureate or Duke of Edinburgh award
- It gets people involved in their community and helps people to break down social barriers - we are open to disabled people and those with learning difficulties as well as kids from public and state schools, foodbank clients, those recovering from illness or addiction and people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds etc.
Achievements
- We won an ACORP bronze award for one of the best new station gardens and were in the Sleaford Standard as well as the Grantham Journal for the opening of the garden.
- We have attained the RHS Level 5 and sent off an entry form for Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust Young Environmentalist’s Award.
- The opening ceremony was in September and the ACORP awards in October.
- Finally, a big thank you to Sustrans East Midlands and Project Dirt for their funding and supporting us in this journey.
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