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Pupils, teachers and the local community come together for wildflower harvesting at Morgan Academy

The Eden Project brought students, teachers and members of the local community together at Morgan Academy in Dundee yesterday (Wednesday) for a seed harvest in its wildflower meadow.

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 Students, teachers and members of the local community join the Eden Project team at Morgan Academy for a seed harvest in its wildflower meadow.

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Around 40 people took part in the event, which saw swathes of wildflower seeds collected by hand, using only scissors and paper bags.

During the harvest, participants also carried out cut tests using hand lenses and magnifying glasses to check the viability of the seeds and assess if they would germinate next year.

The meadow was sown in May and bloomed over the summer as part of a wider Eden Project National Wildflower Centre initiative to help bring colour and biodiversity to Dundee with the planting of a series of wildflower meadows covering 14 hectares of land across the city.

The programme is part of Eden’s commitment to Dundee during the development of Eden Project Dundee, the new attraction proposed for the city.  

Eden and Morgan Academy plan to provide seeds from yesterday’s harvest to other organisations such as Clepington Primary, Stobswell Community Forum and Mayfield Community Partnership, who will use them in their own wildflower projects.

Caishlan Sweeney, Eden’s Project Engagement Manager, said: “We had a great day yesterday, harvesting the meadow we sowed back in early summer - and the sun came out for us too.

“It was so wonderful to see pupils, teachers and the local community out again, working together and showing that this is just the beginning of the story of restoring nature within this amazing community.”

Johnny Lothian, Head Teacher at Morgan Academy, said: “This harvest event is an important part of our care and maintenance of the Morgan Academy wildflower meadow. Our students and community members participated in the sowing of the meadow in May and as a community we watched with pride as the meadow came to life and bloomed over the course of the summer.

“We chose to participate in this project to create a natural community environment to provide a focus on nature and sustainability, while also strengthening the connection between our community and the natural world. At harvest, the meadow continues to provide us with opportunities to learn about nature and biodiversity.

“Students involved in the harvest yesterday are thinking about how we can sustain the future of the meadow and through the harvest we will provide seeds for other partners and groups to invest in their own wildflower projects nearby.

“In this way, the students of Morgan Academy can demonstrate our school’s commitment to a future for our children that has sustainability and the environment at its heart.”

Eden Project Dundee, which is due to be built in the former gasworks on East Dock Street, moved into its second phase of development earlier this year following a £7.6m injection into the project.

The current, ongoing work includes everything that is needed to get the project ready for construction, including detailed design and development work as well as the submission of a planning application.

Eden Project Dundee is projected to attract more than 500,000 visitors every year, generating £27m of economic impact on the region annually. The project will create 200 direct jobs and support an additional 300 jobs in the supply chain and connected businesses. The construction phase is projected to bring an additional £171m to the regional economy.