RHS Tatton garden relocated to University campus
An award-winning show garden from the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park has been relocated to the University campus where it will be used to support research and education and also benefit staff, students and the community.
Unveiled this week, (9 October) ‘Chained to Tech’ first appeared at the event in 2023 to raise awareness of the impact of technology addiction on mental health amongst younger people.
Dr Liz Braithwaite and Dr Lucy Walker from the School of Psychology at Manchester Met, were first approached by plant and bulb retailer J. Parker’s to provide expert information and advice around the garden’s theme and went on to collaborate with them on studies around the impact of taking breaks in nature on mental health.
The original concept came from garden designer, Rachel Platt who took home the Silver Gilt and Best Construction award for her work at the show. The garden is a mix of hard landscaping which has been re-used from the original, along with dense planting in different colours and textures representing issues around poor mental health and technology addiction.
Now, the garden has been installed at the University’s Birley Fields outside the Brooks Building campus, it will be put to good use with staff and students using the garden as part of ongoing studies looking into the impact of nature on mental health and stress, connectedness to nature and levels of wellbeing.
It will also be used for teaching as a calming environment for students to learn in while staff, students and members of the local community will be able to access the garden as a space for relaxation and reflection.
Dr Lucy Walker, said: “Research explains how spending time in nature has a huge impact on both our wellbeing and productivity at work. Having our own garden here on campus at the Brooks Building gives us an exciting opportunity to investigate this further, making use of a dynamic green space on our doorstep in order to demonstrate the beneficial effects both in staff and students and visitors.
“Students will be able to engage with the garden through both their own independent research projects in addition to time spent using the garden as an innovative teaching tool.”
