NHC Community Allotment Achieves Level 5 RHS Accreditation

The NHC Community Allotment project has been awarded Level 5 accreditation in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Campaign for School Gardening – the highest level of award possible! The award is in recognition of the skills and knowledge our students learn through the project and the positive contribution they’ve made to the local community as a result.

To receive the accreditation, schools and colleges work to complete a series of gardening-based challenges. The challenges start from Level 1, where groups learn about the benefits of gardening and plan the area in which to start growing their plants, through to Level 5, where the garden is shared with the local community along with the skills and knowledge needed for others to create their own successful gardens. The NHC Community Allotment’s achievement recognises the success of the project in this area, and we’re proud to have the shiny new plaque to show our achievement to our visitors.

That’s not all! The RHS was impressed with the work that has been completed by the team of staff and students through NHC Community Allotment that they’ve been invited to speak at an upcoming RHS event to share best practices!

Paul Dee, Project Leader for the NHC Community Allotment, said: “I am so proud of what our students have achieved. They have made their mark in the community and are a credit to the College. Our supporters have helped make that possible. And the RHS are so helpful and supportive with this fantastic programme”

Paula Hodges, Child Development Studies Tutor at North Hertfordshire College, said: “The NHC Community Allotment project has enhanced NHC students’ skills enormously over several years. It has holistically improved the students’ mental wellbeing and their personal social development more than I could ever have imagined. Seeing them using their communication skills to share their knowledge and sell their homegrown produce was a complete joy.”

Nicki Ward, Support Coach and Mental Health Pastoral Lead at North Hertfordshire College, said: “It is great to see how some students ‘come alive’ on the NHC Community Allotment project. For many students, it is their first experience of growing things, and they take great pride in their achievements”