At Gardeners’ World Live, The Royal Horticultural Society provided our RSPB events team with a large space, free of charge; on the condition we produce an attractive, educational feature.Visitors were fascinated by the swallow facts displayed and were keen to Step up for Nature thanks to our Homes for Wildlife examples.
With the help of a fantastic team of extremely talented, creative, and enthusiastic volunteers we set about recreating part of the world, including an English cottage garden, the Alhambra Palace in Spain, the Marjorelle Gardens in Marrakech, a desert oasis (with Bedouin tent) and the Fynbos and Namaqualand in South Africa to a backdrop of Table Mountain.
Volunteers rose to the challenge of making a replica swallow nest from hundreds of mud pellets, a village signpost, Spanish steps, raised irrigated vegetable plot, willow wove raised beds and painstakingly carved and painted 50+ life-sized swallows (and a hobby!)
During the five days a brilliant recruitment team signed up 400 members, gave away 500 Homes for Wildlife Packs and numerous garden leaflets, including a discount voucher for our own peat-free compost.
As well as the dedicated team of volunteers, our enthusiastic staff helped by loaning props and plants from their garden. They even helped lay a turf lawn and paint some zebras, wildebeest and a rhino!
We were awarded 'Best Show Feature' by the RHS, which is excellent news, showing that the hard work paid off and a big thank you to all those involved.
Want to Volunteer? Ask me!