There are plenty of great opportunities to get involved with sustainability initiatives across Manchester. In this blog, we hear from two student organisations currently working with the Firs Botanical Gardens, a hidden gem in the heart of Fallowfield Campus.  

The Botany Society hosts community volunteering, socials, and other events for green-thumbed students at the University of Manchester. To get involved with BotSoc, you can follow them on Instagram or visit the SU website. 

Botany Society statement:  

The Manchester Botany Society have been working hard to prepare some interesting events in the coming year for students with a green thumb to get stuck into! 

Working closely with Firs Botanical Garden, BotSoc will run volunteering sessions weekly. Carrying out a variety of tasks: from potting plants and getting physical with weeding and landscaping, to cataloguing the collections and helping to plan the rockery and exciting new areas for the botanical gardens – there will be something for everyone. All the work being done by the volunteers is vital to keeping Firs the beautiful conservation and research site that it is and making it more attractive to visitors.  

Arrangements are being made to invite interesting speakers to give talks to those involved with BotSoc. The society hopes to offer talks about plants, sustainability and gardening for people with a keen interest in plant science, or those hoping to take a break from stressful Uni life and learn something new. 

BotSoc will also be arranging nature walks and garden visits, giving members a chance to get a glimpse into the wonderful gardening and botany community in and surrounding the Manchester area.  

We have lots more exciting things coming up, including collaborations with other societies like Incredible Edible and Manchester Food Partners, and activities like plant pot painting. We can’t wait to share the new and improved Botany Society with Manchester Uni students!

The new vegetable beds with nasturtium, radish and winter greens growing this autumn.

Manchester Food Partners are a student-run organisation who provide sustainably grown food for communities in need. You can get involved with their work through the Volunteer Hub, or by following them on Instagram. 

Manchester Food Partners statement: 

Manchester Food Partners: Commit to Community (MFP: C2C) is entering its second year at the Firs Botanical gardens. The efforts of last year’s committee (& founders) are being continued by three new leads and a, so far very hardworking, group of keen students. The summer months were very successful with an abundance of tomatoes, salads, beans and courgettes donated to our friends at Oldham Foodbank.  

As this summer crop comes to an end, we’ve been busy getting ready for the winter. With the help of this year’s new recruits the old plants have been cleared and seeds saved as part of our closed loop initiative ready for next year and the beds have been turned over to welcome winter crop. Over the next few weeks, we will be transplanting our kales, spinaches, cabbages, potatoes and other winter veg. 

As new leads of MFP we are very grateful to be working with the knowledgeable staff and beautiful facilities The Firs has to offer. MFP allows us to develop our passions of sustainable food growing whilst connecting with nature and helping communities to access nutritious food. We hugely encourage any students with a remote interest in gardening or sustainable food to come and get involved with one of our volunteer sessions. All skill levels and abilities are welcome to help us grow the sustainable food initiative. More information can be found on our Instagram, @mfp_commit2community.

The Firs welcome students, staff, and members of the community alike to get involved should they be interested, everyone is welcome! To find out more visit the Firs website, or get in touch via firs@manchester.ac.uk.

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