Hounsdown kids' heritage garden

Hounsdown School's new garden

Broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham officially opened a new vegetable garden, transformed by a group of students out of a patch of disused land.

The project started life in a geography lesson in which students were studying land use in their local environment.

A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund's Young Roots programme of £23,000 meant the dream could become a reality.

The opening was the conclusion of 18 months of hard preparation work.

Having come up with the idea, working outside school hours, the young people quickly enlisted the support of a number of partners for the project; notably The Minstead Training and Study Centres, Totton & Eling Historical Society and Sunnyfields Organic Farm.

The project also involved researching the history of the site and the heritage of Hounsdown village as well as traditional methods of growing fruit and vegetables. They also learnt how to use traditional tools and to maintain traditional methods such as hurdling and pot throwing.

Autumnwatch presenter Chris Packham said: "I think this new heritage garden is absolutely fantastic - they've been learning about history, horticulture, and even doing a bit of wildlife.

"But the most important thing is that it's been done by the kids, for the kids."