Study garden opens at St Luke's

It was created following an award of more than £4,800 from the Annual Fund. The Fund is made up of donations from University alumni and other supporters to help individual projects which will enhance the student experience.

Alumnus Henry Briggs, who was on the panel which decided the study garden should receive funding, performed the ribbon cutting at the ceremony.

He said when the original application came to the panel a photo of the area in its then state caught their attention, and they decided to support it.

“I think it is a great use of a small space and it has made an area which was rather sad into something which is rather uplifting,” he said. “It is a great use of the space and it looks very attractive.”

Stephen Mossop, Head of Library Customer Services said: “We know that students like to study in a range of different ways and the library teams across all our campuses work hard to try to provide as many of those opportunities as possible.

“That’s why we applied for funding for this study garden and we are really pleased with how it looks now. It may only be a small area but it’s a tranquil setting, which we believe many students will find enjoyable as they study.

“We’d like to thank all those people who have donated to the Annual Fund for this support.”

Work to create the new area was carried out by the University grounds team and they will continue to maintain it.

Director of Grounds Iain Park said: “We always welcome the opportunity to improve areas of the campus for our students, so we were delighted and grateful for the funding to do this.

“The garden is a little shady spot, so we’ve brought in plants which are happy in those conditions. We’ve also introduced species which will flower at different times of the year, so that students will be able to enjoy some colour when they’re working there – whatever the time of year.”