Blog

It must have been nearly twenty years ago when the visionairy head of Moulsecoomb Primary Charles Davies invited a fledging forest garden team into the school to help transform a derelict garden. Moulsecoomb was built as a garden estate but the spacious school grounds were typical green desert with lollipop trees dotted round endless grass. Nothing to fire the childre’s imagination, no where to shelter from the rain and sun. But Mr.Davies could see the potential and how children, especially… Read More »DEEP ROOTS

Would you like us to help us build up records of the wildlife and plants growing on Home Farm Field? From birds to butterflies, wildflowers to fungi, wildlife records help us to better understand the health of the wider environment. Home Farm Field is the large L-shaped field that goes from the edge of Hollingbury skate park, runs parallel to the golf course up to the dew pond and down to Queensdown Woods. The information we collect will feed into… Read More »GO WILD ON HOME FARM FIELD

We all know children have got a lot of catching up to do. Not the heads in a book/computer screen type, but the get-out-in-the-fresh-air-and run-round-like-crazy kind. The garden and surrounding woods are the perfect place to do this, so we held our first Easter camp. We only offer these schemes to Moulsecoomb Primary children because it is where we have worked for nearly twenty years. It’s where we have built relationships and where we feel as a small charity we… Read More »CATCHING UP – IN THE WOODS

My young head gardener hadn’t had the best of mornings and wasn’t very talkative. So we went to the forest school area where he busied himself making a den out of whatever wood he could find while I pruned the mulberry in silence. Half hour later we were clearing paths and chatting until the rain beat us inside. Then, with very limited tools – a wet bit of paper, some chairs, a book to act as a ruler and a… Read More »A SUMMER OF PLAY

Well that was a year we won’t forget. A year where we can be proud of how the garden adapted to an ever changing situation. If there’s one thing this pandemic has highlighted is that you can get a lot more done when you work together. As the first lockdown loomed, we joined a meeting of organisations across Moulsecoomb and Bevendean to discuss how we could support the most vulnerable. So when we had to make the tough decision to… Read More »LOOKING BACK 2020

This week Countryfile launched Plant Britain, a campaign with the goal of planting 750,000 trees – one for every UK primary school starter in 2020. It showed people across the country digging and planting and waxed lyrical about how this will inspire future generations. Moulsecoomb Primary School was always ahead of this curve. Twenty years ago, former visionary Head Teacher Mr. Davies transformed the school grounds from green desert to thriving ecosystem. Hundreds of trees were planted which are now… Read More »AHEAD OF THE CURVE

While we stayed busy during lock down it’s been great to open the forest garden gates again and welcome back some of our volunteers. Of course there’s had to be a few workday changes. The sessions are shorter, we are working and eating in smaller groups and only our designated cooks can make lunch – and wash up! We are also back at Brighton Aldridge Community Academy and Moulsecoomb Primary. At Moulsecoomb we have a couple of hours with Year… Read More »LIMITED CAPACITY

Covered in mud and busy pouring water into a leaf filled hole he’d dug with sticks, next to the woodland camp he’d built with friends ‘I’m proper natured’ he told his mum as he proudly showed off his new home. It was the last day of our three week summer camp, where over 30 children mainly from Moulsecoomb Primary had come along for a couple of days. Like a mini outdoor festival where for a few hours children could make… Read More »‘PROPER NATURED’

When the corona virus pandemic hit, we had to close the garden to volunteers, visitors and schools but a skeleton staff began growing as much food as possible to supply the Bevy community pub’s meals on wheels service, which has delivered over 5,000 meals locally, including to some of our volunteers. Rhubarb, runner beans, broad beans, french beans, onions, potatoes, courgettes, shallots, peas, black and red currants, lettuce and rocket have been used in meals or delivered directly to people… Read More »EMERGING FROM LOCKDOWN