Over 30 trainees worked on the Load of old Rubbish garden from all areas of the college. Joiners, painters, decorators and horticultural students all put the garden together at the show, the stores and warehousing students moved everything to and from the show and the accountancy students used functional skills to look at the garden’s budget. As they say in their college brochure Finchale, as a college which trains those with disabilities for full time employment, considers worth, not appearance, as the best way of measuring value. As with the discarded items in their garden, they reshape marginalised and overlooked individuals into valuable and fully functioning members of society.
It takes approximately a fortnight to set up the show which is 240miles away from the college. They don’t create a pre-garden but they do a test run by putting all the plants in place whilst in their pots. Some things are built first at the college then transported, other are built at the show.
The RHS Tatton Park Flower Show is the highlight of the year for students as it brings them together. The kudos of achieving an award is unparalleled and something a college can never emulate. Jane Allen, Head of Multi-disciplinary Services at the college said, ‘The emotional well being of trainees improves by about 700%, though obviously this is not something that can be measured although it is the most important aspect’.
The achievement of manning the flower show is a big deal in itself as it gives the trainees social skills they may not have had the opportunity to explore otherwise as the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show receives around 750 000 visitors each year. On their programmes the college has stories about trainees backgrounds so members of the public can identify with them, and in some cases realise, ‘I can do this too’.
After the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show the Load of Old Rubbish garden is taken to the local Gateshead Flower Show in the Autumn. Ex-students often come and visit at Gateshead to be part of it for a day and enjoy the camaraderie. Although the college does not know where the Load of Old Rubbish garden will go after the flower show, they are looking for a suitable location. Their previous RHS Tatton Park Flower Show entry is now part of the Durham Crematorium and provides a quiet place to relax and reflect.
The Load of old Rubbish garden was awarded a silver medal at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show. Regardless, during Ecominds visit to the garden, we overheard many members of the public stating that the Load of old Rubbish was their favourite garden as it was really peaceful and they loved the riot of colours.