Rusty’s Retreat is our brand-new community garden, located outside the North Wing entrance (from car park C), from the back of the Winter Garden (which is where the orchard will be).
90% of you said that the University needs more biodiversity… Rusty Retreat will welcome vegetable, pollinator plants (to encourage those bees), homes for the bugs so they’re not always eating our veg and add some much-needed greenery to the concrete jungle of High Wycombe.
Inspired from visits to working gardens, conversations, desire to teach skills, and add to the campus biodiversity (did you know, the UK has lost almost half of its biodiversity), Rusty’s Retreat is project and space of many opportunities. Whether that is learning how to sow, plant and grow crops, which plants are best, or how much watering a particular plant needs, you can also use this space to take time away from your studies by volunteering or making use of the seating. Another opportunity is using the crops grown here in your own home.
This space focuses on growing a variety of plants from vegetables to flowers and fruit trees in our orchard (did you know you only need a minimum of 5 fruit trees to be classified as an orchard, and we have 10!)
Take a moment in our relaxing and resourceful retreat (see what we did there?). From providing another quiet corner on campus, to learning valuable life-skills, this garden is aimed at welcoming our vast array of students. No matter if you’re an experienced green thumb or never had a house plant before, this space is for you.
You’ll be able to see the growth of these plants and even use the viable crops in your own kitchen or donate them to our other cost-of-living support initiatives. We’re looking to grow your meal favourite like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, chilies, and a variety of herbs to help spice up your meals! Have you got a crop favourite you’d like to have a hand a growing?
Looking to get stuck in? You can volunteer to sow seeds, paint, and design the space, as wellsupporting the day-to-day maintenance (like watering) of the garden, alongside our dedicated full-time staff and green ambassador.
We hope you can find a moment or two, to spend at Rusty’s Retreat, whether that is getting stuck in sowing, digging, painting, building, planting, or watering, or even sitting in our seating area to admire the work. Did you know spending as little as 10 minutes outside surrounded by nature can help to boost your mood, provide a sense of clarity and develop a sense of connection.
If you want to get involved at any time with the garden, please email volunteering@bnu.ac.uk or head to our office to find out more.