Natural World Products hosts Family Gardening Workshop at Bushcraft Centre

Hosted by the Natural World Products Community Outreach Team in partnership with Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, the workshop is one of a number of community events that are presented at the vegetable garden at the Bushcraft Centre throughout the year to demonstrate the benefits of using peat-free compost.  

Activities on offer to Family Gardening Workshop participants included a ‘mini-beast hunt’ in the pollinator garden, making wildflower seed balls, harvesting vegetables to take home, playing the ‘Spud in the Mud’ game, and sampling tasty tomatoes, cucumbers and homemade bread. 

Sharon McMaster, Community Growing and Outreach Manager with Natural World Products reflects on the success of the workshop and the garden:

“At Natural World Products, we transform household food and garden waste into high-quality peat-free compost, helping communities across Northern Ireland grow more sustainably. 

We created the vegetable garden at the Bushcraft Centre nearly three years ago, as an educational resource.  Through our community outreach programme, we provide engaging environmental education and hands-on gardening experiences for people of all ages and abilities, encouraging healthier lifestyles and a greater connection with nature.

Our recent Family Gardening Workshop was a huge success.  We could have filled it three times over, which just demonstrates the huge interest in ‘grow your own’ and the demand for accessible community horticultural workshops.”

Fiona Fry, who attended the workshop with her son, two-year-old James, said:

“James had such a great day at the workshop, there was plenty to do and he absolutely loved running about finding bugs in the garden and digging for spuds! So many sensory activities and great to be burning off energy outdoors.  It was also a great opportunity to meet and socialise with other families.”

There will be horticultural workshops running this autumn at the Natural World Products ‘No-Dig’ Garden.  Details of these events will be released on their website at www.naturalworldproducts.com/our-community  

For further information on New Leaf Compost, visit www.newleafcompost.com/