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Tech students travel to Scotland

The students at Kirroughtree Forest Visitor Centre in Galloway Forest Park. From left to right, back row: Dr. Melinda Anderson, Dr. Steven Frye, Kaleob Ashley, Sierra Delon, Brianah Castleberry, Hailey Stults, Courtney Brooks. Second row: Kassee Christian, Madison Phillips, Katherine Wright, Hannah Petty, Allison Rison. Photo by Dr. Dennis Duncan. 

This spring break, ten Tech students traveled to Dumfries, Scotland with the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology to improve a primary school’s garden and experience local culture.            

The students were tasked with remodeling the garden at Saint Andrew’s Primary School, where the garden is used for after-school programs. New raised beds, a new roof and shelves for the potting shed and some compost bins were installed. The garden was worked on over the course of three days.

The students at Saint Andrew’s were very excited to see the Tech students. During lunch they were more than happy to sit by them and talk. 

“You sound like a cowboy!” one boy informed a student upon hearing her southern accent. 

On the first day of the project, several children came up to the garden gate to watch the Tech students work. Many of the younger children were upset when they saw the Tech students ripping up the old raised beds, but were quite happy to learn that new beds would be installed. 

In addition to service learning, the students were also able to experience much of the local culture, from the historic Globe Inn and Saint Michael’s Church to the University of Glasgow. 

The students were given a tour of the University of Glasgow’s Dumfries campus, where they were able to explore the school’s community garden and gain inspiration for the Saint Andrew’s project. 

The group stayed in Glasgow for the final day of their trip, where they toured the University of Glasgow’s main campus as well as the Huntarian Museum. 

The program was run by the college of agriculture and human ecology, though students from many different majors were involved, from business, to pre-med, to agriculture and human ecology. The journey was led by Dr. Dennis Duncan of the College of Agriculture and Dr. Melinda Anderson of the College of Human Ecology. They were also accompanied by Dr. Steven Frye of Tech’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies.

“This project was a great opportunity to share our gifts and talents with students and teachers in Scotland,” said Dr. Duncan. 

The garden at the beginning of the project. Photo by Madison Phillips. 

The garden at the end of the project. Photo by Madison Phillips.