Clare Hall has a strong commitment to sustainability, and has been making a conscious effort to reduce its environmental impact in all departments. This week, in honour of World Environment Day, we are spotlighting the work of our gardens department.

Clare Hall is known for its beautiful gardens: the autumnal colours that welcome new students, the cherry blossoms that come alive in the spring, and the green spaces that are open for everyone to enjoy. The gardening team works diligently every day to not only preserve these vibrant gardens, but also actively promote sustainable practices.

The gardens of Clare Hall in the autumn, winter, and spring.

The gardening team maintains large compost bins at the 5 Herschel Road and West Court sites, where they collect leaves, grass cuttings, and old plants from previous seasons. The compost is moved every year and mixed in with new layers, which eventually produces a material that can be used in flower beds and other areas of the gardens. This strengthens plant growth, and allows the team to avoid purchasing peat-based compost. The gardeners also refrain from using chemical-based products like pesticides, and choose natural materials wherever possible.

Compost bins at Clare Hall, with this year’s garden waste (left) and mature compost that is ready to use (right).

The team makes a conscious effort to purchase plants that are resilient and can be regrown, such as the geraniums that line Clare Hall’s courtyards. Cuttings of these plants can also be replanted in different areas of the gardens, reducing the need to purchase new plants. Where necessary, the gardening team sources plants locally and supports organisations like the NHS Darwin Nurseries, a farm shop that empowers adults with learning disabilities and mental health challenges to become integrated in the community.

We aim to keep the gardens nice for everyone in our family-friendly College. Throughout the summer and winter, we try to bring lots of colour to the gardens while sourcing plants locally and using cuttings.

-Head Gardener David Smith

A recent addition to the gardening team’s sustainability efforts involves a focus on conservation. At the entrance of Clare Hall by the Porters’ Lodge, there is a chalkboard that features the wildlife seen in our gardens. Louise Ellis-Aylott, a member of the gardening team, has been updating the chalkboard for the past couple of months, and would like to encourage people to ask questions and have conversations about wildlife at Clare Hall. There have also been educational materials added to the magazine rack by the College’s notice board, including butterfly and bird spotting guides, activity booklets for children, and RSPB magazines for borrowing. Louise has expressed that she hopes to foster more curiosity towards wildlife, which would then motivate people to care about the environment as a whole.

Looking forward, the College hopes to continue showcasing the work of the gardening team through our social media and other platforms, and promote a culture of caring for the environment.

Louise’s chalkboard displayed outside the Porters’ Lodge (left) and the magazine rack with educational materials (right).