WHS Gardening Clubs

March 2020, lockdown began and with it a host of questions, as we all readjusted to our new lives: how would school life in its wider sense adapt? Would co-curricular activities exist anymore? When would everything go back to normal? Well, the Biodiversity team of our very own Eco-Committee at WHS was just hatching a plan to start up a new club, when the reality of lockdown came crashing in... 

Poorna (Year 10), a member of this team, had come up with the idea of a Gardening Club inspired by previous experiences with the Junior School club, which harboured many good memories. By observing many people’s lockdown obsession with gardening, she decided to adapt and continue with her pre-lockdown plans. Before you know it, a Teams group was set up where students and staff alike could share their gardening triumphs. The summer term was filled with gardening tips and tricks and, before long, September came around, presenting new hopes and plans for the now well-established Gardening Club.



Up until this week, we have been meeting up on Teams weekly to discuss further plans, e.g. the transformation of a small plot by the Junior Hall. This small plot was the location of our first in-person meeting (all socially distanced of course!), where we tackled the rose bush. In Wednesday’s session, Ms Sinclair taught us how to effectively prune a rose bush as well as combining a lesson on plant biology. When I asked fellow gardening club members what they thought about our first session, they really seemed to have taken this extra-curricular club as a wonderful way to escape the usual routine of lessons and school stress. It also turned out to be a great opportunity to meet people from different years (again, all from a two-metre distance!). 

The Junior School have revived their own Gardening Club, thus having a chance to get their hands dirty! Junior School girls have greatly enjoyed discussing earthworms, along with the chance of getting involved with these more environmentally centered pursuits. We are so excited to see how the societies progress and expand, at both levels of the school. As someone who was also in Gardening Club both in Year 5 and now Year 10, I’m so happy to see it re-emerging and allowing more students to create the happy memories Poorna and I made in the past.

By: Bianca P-M, Year 10 student