The Learning Garden - a perfect business model?

I have got to take my hat off to Fairweather's Garden Centre for 'thinking out of the box' with their Learning Garden.

In a time when Garden Centres are turning into out of town pot pourri malls, Fairweather's have created something with the aim of giving something back to the community so that a visit to the garden centre or to the wholesale nursery can quite literally be a learning experience.

Chris Packham, the wild life presenter opened the garden on the 20th June by ceremoniously pulling a beetroot.

This excellent project has been part funded by New Forest National Park Authority's Sustainable Development Fund.

The aim of the Learning Garden is not one of profiteering but education and with the help of volunteers who are under the stewardship of the head gardener Julian Leon, it is hoped that the project can help in the development of youngster who can come to the Learning Garden, as part of the national curriculum, and get their hands dirty whilst learning how food crops actually grow and how it gets to their dinner table - there will also be an emphasis on insect identification and composting - Beaulieu were the first Primary School to take part in this fascinating project.

I think that nursery owners and garden centre managers can very much learn from this example and I really hope that it will be well supported so that the project can thrive and become a strong feature of the community.