Miss Yaffe’s Gardening Club has been going from strength to strength since the Summer Term and is a popular club for our students. Echo (11W) shares their review of what's been going on at the club.

This term in Gardening Club, we have seen the numbers grow quite a bit.

Last summer, we planted sunflowers, runner beans and pumpkins and we returned in September to see their progress. The sunflowers had grown considerably and, much to our surprise, the pumpkins grew as courgettes. The beans we had planted on a structure my friends and I built had crept right up to the top, and they towered over everyone in the club.

With autumn came the harvest and we were able to take some of what had been growing home. I made a rhubarb crumble with the rhubarb I brought home, and it was very nice.

Two weeks ago, we made bird feeders using pine cones and lard. We hung them from trees so the birds can access them easily. This is important to do during winter because of food shortages and also fats are necessary to keep birds warm during the cold winter months.

Another thing we have been working on recently is organising a bake sale to fund our club activities. We have been designing posters and figuring out how much money we need to raise for seeds to plant next year. We also hope to either paint our shed or get a new one!

Overall, I like going to Gardening Club because the switch between school work and being outside, immersed in nature, is very relaxing, especially when I am stressed. It’s also rewarding, as I can make food with the plants I grow, but also when we do things such as making bird feeders it helps the environment as well.