VITAL INSIGHT INTO GROWING VEGETABLES
The Morphy Richards Engineering Education Centre is used to deliver in-house STEM workshops for school groups and to connect young people with hands-on experiences and advice by industry experts.
The Pierburg Building and Education Centre is used to deliver training in horticulture and healthy eating programmes to visiting primary school groups, while the adjacent Kauffman Education Gardens gives pupils the opportunity to plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables for use in cookery classes.
The gardens are set to receive full organic status next year.
Karen Alexander, head of education at Dumfries House, said: “It has been a pleasure to welcome hundreds of pupils from Glasgow schools, through the Cordia programme, to the estate.
“We are really encouraged by the way school staff and pupils embraced the activities offered by our staff, engaging in different elements of cultivating vegetables and cookery.
“We have been heartened by the reports from staff at schools who have visited, who say that pupils have been so enthused by the programme that they have begun to cook at home.
“Our aim is to ensure the children leave our estate inspired to engage in similar activities back at school and at home, and, of course, to return to Dumfries House in future.”
As well as the food programme, Dumfries House estate is proud of other Glasgow links.
In Dumfries House itself, a programme runs in conjunction with Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland whereby young people are given the opportunity to access professional, specialised dance and music tuition.
In the attic, or Atelier, Future Textiles at Dumfries House is run in collaboration with Glasgow Clyde College and Ayrshire College, aiming to address a skills gap in the textiles industry by providing training workshops for secondary school teachers and pupils, as well as those seeking employability skills.