Boot Up! First Birthday

Bright blue September skies greet Boot Up!'s first birthday. Trees heavy with apples, damsons and plums and the vines dripping with grapes reminds us of the first day we arrived to look round the site. We knew then, without a doubt that the site at Barras Moor Farm was the right place for us, and how right our intuition was.

The last year has been, in some ways an uphill struggle, both with the garden site itself and getting the education programme up and running, however, the sheer delight and pleasure derived from the project by the youngsters, teachers, students and staff alike has far exceeded our wildest dreams.

Happy summer days spent whittling wood, paining and printing and making home-made crafts in the sunshine under the big white umbrella were truly enjoyable and memorable.

Memories and friendships were made and trust and caring relationships built, all in the context of the garden, our safe space, our special place.

Cold days in March now reflected upon, the struggle with the straw bale build, the huge sense of achievement felt by all when the roof went on and the build was secure. The anticipation of autumn workshops to get the job complete, to do the decorating and get the space usable for the long winter months.

Gardening and our first harvest , albeit sporadic and a little spartan, produced some good results and an encouraging sense that next year we will be better.

The theme for this year is Water-Ways and the TAP project (The Apprentice Project) and with the help of our 3rd year 3D Design Students and maybe help from the Eden Project, we are going to devise a practical and human-powered water transportation system to feed the allotments. She has already designed a lovely map for the first workshop, that is laser-cut into wood.

The Boot Up Team look forward with anticipation to the fun we are going to have in our raincoats and wellies :)