Our First-Ever Pick-Your-Own Harvest Event Was a Smash!
What do you get when you mix a field full of orange pumpkins, a community buzzing with excitement? You get our College’s first-ever Pumpkin Picking and Autumn Event, and what a day it was!
The air was crisp, the sky was bright, and the smiles were endless as we opened up the field to the community to pick their perfect pumpkin.
These weren’t just any pumpkins – they were the pride and joy of our Animal and Land-Based students, who have been nurturing them from seeds to glorious giants all season. It was fantastic to see the fruits of their labour put to such fun use!
The fun didn’t stop once the perfect pumpkin was picked. Right next to the field, we had a tipi tent set up where once inside people could get stuck into the messy yet super creative part: the carving!
Inside and out, the campus was alive with autumnal activities. Our outdoor area featured a classic hook-a-duck stall, and a runway for a spectacular fancy dress competition that brought out some truly creative (and spooky!) costumes.
If you weren’t looking for a pumpkin, the Land-Based students also had set up some baskets where they were selling other freshly grown veggies ranging from cauliflowers, turnips, peppers, runner beans and some chillies, as well as some beautifully handmade bird boxes. Talk about sustainable shopping!
Inside the main building, it was a proper market extravaganza! Local makers and companies filled the halls, offering everything from beautiful crochet gifts and sparkling crystals to scented candles and wax melts. We also had an amazing face painting station transforming kids into tigers, butterflies, and ghouls, all while shock waves radio station filled the halls with music and good vibes.
Perhaps the biggest – and definitely the wildest – hit of the day was the Animal Care Unit, which was fully decked out in a fun, Halloween theme! With carved pumpkins and lights lining the halls, decorations hanging from the ceiling, cobwebs were hanging around enclosures, there was even some themed decorations in with some of our residents!
Our Animal Care students were incredible hosts, guiding visitors through the decorated halls and showing off some of our amazing animals, which people could hold if they felt brave enough!
We had a spooky-cute photo opportunity set up in the small mammal room with hay bales, pumpkins and a backdrop where you could hold one of our animals like our Guinea pigs or rabbits, but the real thrill was getting hands-on.
Visitors got to hold and interact with some of our calmer residents, including the tarantulas, bearded dragons, some of our snakes. The meerkats even got a special treat thanks to visitors who got to feed them – a moment that brought huge grins to everyone’s faces!
It was an absolutely lovely day, and it was genuinely heartwarming to see so many happy, smiley faces all around campus. A huge thank you to all the students, staff, and community members who came out and made our first-ever Pumpkin Pick such an overwhelming success.
We absolutely can’t wait to do this again next year!