Scotland's Climate Week - Stories for Change
During Spring 2024, the Landscaping, Horticulture and Introduction to Countryside Skills classes worked on a joint project to help prepare and plant a selection of trees and mixed hedging on the Galashiels and Hawick Campuses.
The project was jointly funded by Borders College and the International Tree Foundation. The Level 6 Horticulture students created planting designs for the areas to be planted and helped carry out the costings for these areas across the college.
Rory Hill (Sustainability Project Manager) from EAUC-Scotland (The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education), assisted the college with the funding applications to gain the required funding.
Trees and hedging plants were selected to provide shelter and food for wildlife and flowers for pollinating insects. This project will help increase the biodiversity of wildlife and insects across the college’s campuses.
The project allowed the students to carry out a range of practical activities such as soil cultivation, planting, bark mulching and plant protection, such as installing trees stakes, tree ties, canes and spiral guards.
The newly planted areas have improved the aesthetics of the campuses and will improve biodiversity for years to come. This project will be extended to plant more hedging on the Hawick Campus this winter.
Horticulture Lecturer, Nigel Gibb, said:
“The partnership between the college and The International Tree Foundation will ensure we help meet our targets for biodiversity, with many trees and hedges planted in the college grounds over the coming years.”
“As well as increasing biodiversity and giving opportunities for education and engagement with environmental issues, this project will make the campus more beautiful and provide a green space that can be so beneficial to mental health.”
The college would like to thank everyone who has supported and worked on this project.