It was a beautiful autumn afternoon when alumnus Fergus Corrigan (Class of 2009) joined Gardening Club last Friday lunchtime. A group of enthusiastic JBugs and First Year students, who regularly attend Gardening Club, were fascinated to hear how Fergus set up an organic lavender and flower farm in York just four years ago.
The farm is the largest organic grower in the country, with 70 acres of lavender, and they produce oil, flowers, candles, and cosmetics. Northern Lavender products are stocked in many of the world’s most exclusive boutiques and hotels.
Fergus shared his journey to owning the farm: from studying at Harper Adams, a specialist agricultural university, to working in large-scale vegetable production (which often involved 120-hour week and long hours in a tractor), to travelling the world and learning about farming practices across the Americas, Africa, and Australasia.
After his introduction, students and staff were keen to ask Fergus a wide range of questions, covering topics such as tips on growing lavender, the impact of climate change on agriculture, whether he makes lavender ice cream, the vital role bees play in the global food system and the well-being properties of lavender.
It was an insightful and inspiring session, and we’d like to thank Fergus for giving his time to Trinity and all the students for the lively discussion.
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The Trinity Gardening Club meets every Friday with students getting stuck into various hands-on projects, enjoying much-needed fresh air and time in green spaces. They’re currently using fallen leaves to generate mulch for free compost, clearing old plants from the summer crops, tidying up the strawberries and their runners, protecting the planted onions from small animals with netting, and collecting more plastic bottles to continue work on the greenhouse. Mrs Prestney has just learned that her application to the Woodland Trust’s tree planting scheme has been successful and in March, we will receive hedgerow plants for the garden. All students are staff are welcome.
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