Enhancing Edgecumbe College

SCH’s Sarah Davidson has teamed up with Edgecumbe College’s Horticulture class to provide students with a hands-on learning experience like no other. The orchard is located on the school grounds and consists of 5 G3 (Sungold) plants, and 5 Hayward (Green) plants, aimed to provide students with a unique learning opportunity they can lead themselves.

Sarah is an Orchard Manager at SCH and looks after several blocks at their latest Edgecumbe development Eastern Rise. Sarah grew up in Edgecumbe and has a passion for the local community, leading her to be the person driving and managing this project. Phillipa the College’s Horticulture teacher is thrilled to have engagement from a local company wanting to provide training and education for her students.

The students were first brought to Eastern Rise and shown around by Sarah. The students were taken through the various stages of construction, establishment, and cropping, along with the mission and purpose of SCH. SCH’s construction team built the orchard at the college, complete with bays, and its own irrigation and frost protection system. Sarah has also provided the students with all the specialist tools required to help establish the orchard, including tape guns and stringing trolleys. Sarah will work alongside the students throughout the seasonal program to train them and support them in their horticultural development.

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