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Last Friday saw the grand unveiling of plans for a Secret Garden in the heart of The University of Central Lancashire, Preston campus.

The Secret Garden will be a Forest Garden in the heart of the university campus.

Once finished it will provide students and staff with fruit trees, green surroundings and outdoor seating.

There will be four areas on campus that will be totally transformed through the student-led project – the first time students have been offered the opportunity to take ownership of the campus in this way.

Part of the Student Unions’ Green Ladder Project, the Secret Garden is one of 25 national projects taking part based in Universities to be funded through the NUS Student Green Fund.

£200,000 was given to UCLan Students Union to set up volunteering in the community, as well as looking to transform the university area in order to embed sustainability into the campus, and students’ lives.

Emma Bartlet, Green Ladder Project Manager, commented: “This is the first time students have been given the opportunity to take ownership of the campus in this way and they’ve really put a lot into it. The project has attracted a lot of students who are new to volunteering so it’s fantastic to see them engage with the University and learn new skills at the same time.”

Over 40 UCLan students have given up their time to take part in this first stage of the project which is due to be completed by Spring 2015.

There was a BBQ and a tour of the site describing the changes that are due to take.

Have a look at the short file that students made about the project.

Also look at their project blog: http://greenladderproject.org/

Images thanks to UCLan