We held our second open day of the year on Sunday. Due to work load we had delayed it but this meant we had a lovely day rather than it pouring with rain. As usual I acted as greeter as all our staff were busy doing things. We had over 300 cars so that is about 600/700 people over half of whom were children. Everyone leaving remarked how much they enjoyed themselves and one little lad harassed his parents for half an hour to find me and personally ensure he thanked us .
The idea of our days is to display horticulture and farming to the public and in particular try to reconnect them with “where their food comes from”. This message is to reinforce their behavior to buy English Fruit and Vegetables not least by children power !!
Although you may think of STC as a Technology Facility (which growers own by the way) we also do lots of work like this to expand the overall awareness and image of fruit and veg. I would like to thank all our staff who give up their time to do this. Just read the letter from the new visitor to evaluate if it works.
Graham Ward
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Insect Stand Review – STC Open Day 17.10.10
The entomology stand proved a great success on the day and was ‘buzzing’ with interest throughout. The stand itself featured a range of insect homes, information leaflets, a ‘Life in the Undergrowth’ exhibit and a ‘Guess the Number of Wasps’ competition. All proved popular with one lucky winner receiving their own insect home as a prize for their wasp counting efforts. Also popular was the ‘STC Bee Buddy Project’, launched on the day by the 96 young visitors who each planted a lavender to help feed the STC bees. Participants as young as 2 took part, ably assisted by Andrew and his spade where needed, with each receiving an ‘STC Bee Buddy’ pack as a thank you. Finally, following contributions from many a budding entomologist and architect, a new ‘mini-beast mansion’ was created to provide cosy lodgings for numerous insects over the coming winter.
David George, Pat Croft, Luke Tilley and Andrew Ellis
Glasshouse Tours
A lot of interest on the glasshouse tour with people of all ages. Some had not been to Stockbridge since the early 1960’s. Overall they were impressed with the facilities and also the range of work we do.
Julian Davies
Children’s cookery Sessions
They were well attended and each session was full. The children all seemed to enjoy producing a small pizza and some muffins to take home.
Generally lots of positive comments from visitors, who all seemed to be enjoying a look round and the activities that were available.
Cathryn Lambourne
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