Harvest Haven at SRWA, The Sir Robert Woodard Academy Upper Boundstone Lane, Lancing (2026)

21/04/2026

🌿 Growing Together - Harvest Haven at SRWA

There is something grounding about getting our hands in the soil. Yesterday was a day of beautiful transitions—clearing away the over-wintered brassicas to make room for the next chapter.
Our greenhouse and polytunnel are officially coming to life! Along with sowing Mangetout, Courgette, and Runner Bean seeds, we’ve been busy prepping our strawberries. Seeing those first green shoots standing tall gives us a real sense of momentum for the season ahead

🦋 A Sanctuary for All
Our vision for Harvest Haven extends beyond the harvest; we are creating a sanctuary for the local ecosystem. By gardening thoughtfully, we are providing a home for:
Pollinators & Insects: Creating a haven for the bees and butterflies
Birds & Small Mammals: Ensuring our green space offers food and shelter for the wildlife that shares the space with us

🌱 Help Us Grow
As we kick off this season, we’d love our friends and neighbours to be a part of the Harvest Haven story! We are looking to build up our supplies and would be so grateful for any donations of spare:
🪴 Peat-free compost
🌻 Seeds (veg, herbs, or wildflowers)
🧺 Seedling trays or sturdy pots
Every little bit helps us keep this project growing and ensures we can provide even more for our local wildlife and community

✨ Working Side-by-Side
Working together does more than just lighten the physical load; it boosts our collective spirit. It’s wonderful to see the project come to life with people like Sophie and her son getting involved—reminding us that the best gardening happens when we share the experience across generations.
Shared Inspiration: Every tray represents a collective dream for a bountiful, green summer

A Natural Boost: The energy of being outdoors together is transformative. The connection we feel with each other and the land is just as vital as the water and sunlight

Community is the best fertilizer. When we work together to support our neighbours and our local wildlife, the possibilities are endless

About Us:
Harvest Haven at SRWA is a community group that uses an allotment at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy on the Lancing/Sompting border. We grow food to take home and work with Nature. The project is mentored by Andy Brook, a support worker at SRWA

Get in Touch:
Please contact us either by a direct message or visit our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/ to use the Contact Form

31/03/2026

Harvest Haven at SRWA is a community group that uses an allotment at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy on the Lancing/Sompting border! Families and individuals pop along to grow food to take home, create friendships and boost wellbeing

Following our recent session Ann Marie writes
"The allotment is looking fabulous! We started a list of jobs we can work through. Andy cleared some space in the poly tunnel, I cleared some space in the raised trough, where I found radish and chives sprouting from last autumn. I put in 3 broad bean plants that had started growing in the green house too. We have leeks growing from last year and purple sprouting broccoli is ready to harvest. We admired the rosemary, lavender, bluebells and forsythia and figured out we have a winter honeysuckle blooming near the trough. 😁".

Would you like to pop along, take a look and perhaps join us? We have space for a couple more gardeners. Everyone joining has to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check (we pay for that)

Please send a direct message or visit our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/ to use the Contact Form to get in touch....

01/08/2025

What a journey it's been at Harvest Haven at SRWA! 🌿 From near-drought to yesterday's downpour, our amazing team of gardeners—including some fantastic children — have shown incredible resilience. Despite the weather's ups and downs, our crops are thriving, and we're looking forward to continued harvests of potatoes, runner beans, tomatoes, and courgettes! 🥔🍅

It's been a joy to watch our community grow. Our gardeners, include five wonderful individuals and families, who have formed a tight-knit, encouraging group. The children, in particular, are loving every minute, digging into the soil and discovering the magic of Nature firsthand. This project isn't just about growing food; it's about connecting with the earth, fostering a love for wildlife, and helping children understand where their food comes from. We’re so proud to see our efforts attracting bees, butterflies, and other vital wildlife to the garden! 🦋🐝

We're already planning for autumn and winter, getting ready to install some new raised beds that were generously gifted to us. We’re so grateful for the support of Mr. Scanlon, the Site Team, and everyone who has donated. 🙏

Do you want to be part of our gardening family? We have space for one more gardener or family group! If you're interested in digging in and helping nature flourish, please send us a Direct Message or email [email protected]. 📧

Can you help us grow? We're always grateful for donations of spare plants, compost, or seeds to keep our garden thriving. Every little bit helps us continue this important work. 🌱 Thank you for your support! 🥰

Harvest Haven at SRWA is a community project mentored by Andy Brook. The plot is inside The Sir Robert Woodard Academy. All are DBS checked. Parental approval has been given for photos of the children to be included

18/07/2025

Gardening can be tough! 🧑‍🌾 We all see those perfect fruits and veggies in the supermarket, but they come with hidden costs – not just for our wallets, but for the planet too (hello, air miles and pesticides!). New gardeners often face disappointment with pests, bad weather, and poor crops, making the "persevere and prosper" mantra feel a million miles away.
In our modern world, we're used to instant gratification and easy fixes – just swipe or delete what we don't like. But gardens don't work that way. Blaming external factors or reaching for aggressive solutions can actually destroy the joy we sought in the first place.
That's why our project is called Harvest Haven. It's about more than just growing food; it's a philosophy. When you garden thoughtfully, nature becomes your ally. Predators help with pests, water butts challenge the weather, and nature herself embraces your efforts. It's about working with the garden, not against it, finding a haven in the harvest.
What's your biggest gardening challenge, and how do you find your "haven" in it? Share your thoughts below! 👇

29/05/2025

Harvest Haven: A Season of Growth, Goodness, and Growing Partnerships!

Spring is beautifully transitioning into summer at Harvest Haven at SRWA, and our project is flourishing — a testament to our fantastic team and some exciting new collaborations that are truly making a difference!

Our diverse bounty is a sight to behold: the polytunnel is bursting with the following plants, salad tomatoes, courgettes, French beans, early potatoes, spring cabbage, herbs, and rocket. In the greenhouse, sweetcorn, squashes, and tomatoes are diligently germinating, promising a future harvest.

Outside, our beds, trugs, and deep beds are teeming with life: cooking onions, runner beans, garden peas, garlic, pumpkins, melons, courgettes, chard, beetroot, and fennel are all thriving. Our established grape vines are showing great promise, and we're seeing fruit emerge on our apple tree, gooseberries, and raspberries, with strawberries just beginning to blossom!

Beyond the edible, the garden is a vibrant sanctuary. Our sweet peas and lavender are a treat for the senses, while dahlias and marigolds are steadily progressing. We're also excited to see ox-eye daisies, cosmos, calendula, cornflowers, and Corn cockle germinating, adding splashes of colour.

Now, for some exciting news on the collaboration front! We're embarking on a fascinating trial with the school Geography department, sharing two very large deep beds. Our section is almost full with maincrop potatoes planted in early April. We're also trialling a gardening method from the USA, "The Three Sisters" (also known as "The Widows"). Picture this: half a dozen sweetcorn plants providing natural support for runner beans, with pumpkins scrambling at ground level. It's an ingenious system, and we can't wait to report back on its progress!

But the story of our growth isn't just about what's in the soil; it's about the incredible support we've received. With no mains water, the exceptionally dry spring was a real challenge. While recent rain offered some relief, the biggest breakthrough came from the kindness of Louise and Lance from the school team. They went above and beyond, fixing guttering and fascias on our shed so we can now harvest precious rainwater – how generous and resourceful is that? Louise also brings up coffee grounds from the staffroom for our compost, and after half term, we'll even start composting peelings from the kitchen. This partnership is invaluable!

And we owe a huge thank you to the teachers as well! Their generosity in buying vegetable plants we've grown for their own gardens, in return for a donation, has been very helpful. These contributions have directly enabled us to purchase more essential composts and seeds, keeping our green momentum going. This truly shows the power of our school community working together!

The following have been spotted on the plot/area, Painted Lady, Blue, Comma, Speckled Wood, Pack and Red Admiral butterflies. Wasps, various Bees and Hoverflies. Woodpeckers, Sparrows, Thrushes, Blackbirds and T**s.

Inspired by our progress? Want to be part of the Harvest Haven journey? We'd love to connect!
* Visit us: See the magic for yourself!
* Get involved: We welcome donations of spare plants, seeds, compost, or tools.
* Reach out: Direct Message me or use the Contact Form on our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/

Harvest Haven is a project at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy on the Lancing/Sompting border in West Sussex. Families and individuals grow food for their own table without cost. We practice sustainable, chemical free growing with an emphasis on working with and encouraging Nature

16/03/2025

Discover the heart of Harvest Haven at SRWA, nestled on the Lancing/Sompting border. More than just a garden, it's a testament to the power of shared growth.

Witness the harvest: new potatoes thriving in pots and beds, vibrant spring cabbages, and seeds of future salads, beans, and peppers taking root.

This haven is a sanctuary, where a newly created Hoverfly Lagoon (registered with ) buzzes with life, frogspawn dots the pond, and bees dance among blackthorn blossoms. Our photos capture this vibrant ecosystem, a refuge for both people and nature.

Join us in fostering well-being and environmental kindness. Learn more and get involved via DM or our website: https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/

06/02/2025

New gardeners are welcome at HARVEST HAVEN AT SRWA, a community project where people come together to grow food to take home, and boost wellbeing. The project is inside the grounds of The Sir Robert Woodard Academy on the Lancing/Sompting border. Couples, families and individuals are welcomed. We are currently meeting 115pm to 245pm on Mondays, sessions are arranged by discussion. No costs are involved but you are welcome to bring along seeds to grow/compost. There is a large shed, tools, greenhouse, a polytunnel, borders and beds to be used. There are plans for a mini orchard in 2025.

Please note that all adults joining the group will need to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check and brief Safeguarding/ Health and Safety training. These are legal requirements as Harvest Haven as SRWA is set in an Educational Establishment. We will pay for the checking.

Already Spring Cabbages, Garlic, Carrots and Broad Beans are growing and next week we are planting Onion Sets and more Garlic.

There is enough growing space for five families/individuals and we currently have three. To find out more please send me a Direct Message or visit our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/ to use the Contact Form there. Thank you

14/10/2024

Autumn is well and truly here on the Harvest Haven at SRWA project. This year it has meant rain, lots of it. Lower than expected sunshine amounts and wildly varied temperatures. Almost a frost last weekend and a promise of 20 Celsius this coming Wednesday.

Sustainability is a core principle and peelings from the Academy canteen will be regularly collected and added to our bank of five large compost bins. By mixing this "green" material with "brown" material like prunings and old plants in the bins the plan is to have our own beautiful composts in future years. Experiments with incorporating shredded paper and coffee grounds are on the agenda too. Green manuring will begin in late October on some of our beds where we will be growing specific seed mixes to fix nitrogen and trace elements into the soil to feed next year's crops.

An important task is moving seedlings on into modules and pots so that we will have crops from Spring 2025.

With an eye towards winter, over the next few weeks repairs to the polytunnel covering and greenhouse door need to be done.

Polite request. Are you or someone you know able to donate well composted (not fresh) horse manure, mushroom compost or garden compost to help us out please? We would be so grateful. Please Direct Message if you can. Thank you

Flowering
Sunflowers, Dahlias

Crops currently being picked
French Beans, Runner Beans, Courgettes, Tomatoes.

Growing well/Potted Up
Basil, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Chard, Beetroot, Spring Onions, Radish, Salad Leaves, Physalis

Sown/Planted
Broad Beans seedlings growing well and going out in November. Spring Cabbage now thinned out into modules and going out in November. Garlic planted out. Muscari and Crocus planted in pots. Sweet Peas and Stinking Iris seeds sown.

Wildlife
Red Admiral, Woodland Brown, White butterflies, Bees, Worms, Squirrels, Ladybird

There are now five family groups in the project, so we are not recruiting. However, you are more than welcome to come along to have a look around and meet us. Please send a Direct Message to organise that.

24/09/2024

A couple of wildly different weather weeks recently, so typical of this country. One week the polytunnel and greenhouse were down to 8 Celsius overnight which means it was three or so lower outside. The next week inside temperatures of 30+! All the water butts are brimming with water.

Our most exciting project at the moment is installing a second pond. We were recently gifted a 1.3 metre pond liner (Thank you ❤️) and we have begun to dig the necessary space for it, using the moved soil to begin filling the raised planter.

The great poet John Keats wrote that Autumn is "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" and with the latter in mind we have planted two grape vines (one outside and one inside) and next week we will be planting up two Blackcurrant bushes.

Flowering
Sunflowers, Dahlias

Crops currently being picked
French Beans, Runner Beans, Courgettes, Cucumbers, Tomatoes.

Growing well/Potted Up
Basil, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Chard, Beetroot, Spring Onions, Butternut Squash

Sown/Planted
Lettuce, Grapes Vines x 2, Blackcurrants x 2, Broad Beans

Wildlife
Red Admiral, Peacock, Woodland Brown, White butterflies, Bees, Wasps, Squirrels

We have space for another, family/individual/couple to join us. To find out more please Direct Message us or use the Contact form on our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/ Thank You.

16/08/2024

HARVEST HAVEN AT SRWA

A couple great mornings this week. Lots of gloriously warm sunshine and some very welcome evening and overnight rain to top up the water butts!

Crops currently being picked
New potatoes, Golden Sunrise tomatoes, Sweetcorn cobs, Cucumbers, Courgettes, French Beans, Runner Beans, Broad Beans, Red Onions, Radish and Blackberries.

Growing well/Potted Up
Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Italian Kale, French Beans, Chard, Radishes, Spring Onions, Marrow, Squashes and Lettuce.

Sown
Mizuna, Radishes and Lettuce.

Wildlife
Spotted a Blue Tit, Robin and a Green Woodpecker. Speckled Wood, Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral and Cabbage White (!!) butterflies. Bees

We have space for another, family/individual/couple to join us. To find out more please Direct Message us or use the Contact form on our website at https://harvesthaven.weebly.com/ Thank You.

Harvest Haven at SRWA

21/04/2026

31/03/2026

01/08/2025

18/07/2025

29/05/2025

16/03/2025

06/02/2025

14/10/2024

24/09/2024

16/08/2024

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