Plymouth textile experts launch unique sustainable dye garden

Academics and students specialising in textile design at Arts University Plymouth have created a new plant garden for natural dye as part of their project ‘Of the Ground’.

The project is developed in collaboration with National Trust Saltram, one of the South West’s most loved National Trust properties, and sited at Plymouth’s community farm, Poole Farm, based in Derriford Community Park.

The ‘Of the Ground’ project, which is supported by Research England’s Knowledge Exchange Funding and builds on a collaborative project initiated in 2022 by the arts university and National Trust Saltram as part of the Green Minds project, which is a partnership led by Plymouth City Council and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, Urban Innovative Actions initiative.

BA (Hons) Textiles Design course leader and textile designer, Emma Gribble, came up with the idea for the project.

Closely supported in the planning and planting stages by technical demonstrator Fiona Lloyd, Emma led her students in work to establish a natural dye garden at Poole Farm, combining Arts University Plymouth’s commitment to teaching sustainable processes with the use of local heritage-informed planting.

The National Trust supported the project research and shared a planting list from Saltram’s archives, containing details of species used in the creation of the house’s original garden. The use of heritage-inspired plants will create a colour palette firmly rooted in Saltram and its surrounding landscape.

The textile design students and academics, who will manage the dye garden on an ongoing basis, recently visited the garden to plant and sow seeds in preparation for Spring. They were joined by volunteers and staff from Poole Farm and the National Trust, with expert guidance on planting from Dr Martin Stott, head gardener at Saltram.

Planted in raised beds, the ‘Of the Ground’ dye garden will include a variety of plants such as woad, dyer’s coreopsis, daffodils, weld, marigolds, tansy, and madder, all sourced by local suppliers in the South West. The selection of plants were chosen in consultation with natural dye plant experts Nature’s Rainbow and natural dye guru Jane Deane. The beds were designed and constructed by the staff and volunteers at Poole Farm, including an accessible bed for wheelchair users.

Emma Gribble said: “As international awareness grows of how harmful many synthetic dyes can be to the natural world, I believe strongly that educators working within the textile and fashion industries have a responsibility to lead the way in teaching students alternative dye methods that are more sustainable and less damaging to the environment.

“This new partnership with National Trust Saltram actively investigates this. The project tests on a small scale how Arts University Plymouth can lead the way in encouraging students and textile practitioners to make more balanced decisions by building knowledge and awareness about alternative dye methods.”

As the ‘Of the Ground’ dye garden matures through the seasons, it will become a permanent resource, available for all Arts University Plymouth students to use. The range of colours it produces will be specific and unique to the local landscape.

Plymouth Albion rugby team had a convincing win against National League One leaders Reading Rams in March - while wearing a special kit designed by one of the pupils at Widey Court Primary School.

The match coincided with the St Luke’s Men’s Day Out through Plymouth, ending at Albion for a pasty and a pint and, of course, the rugby.

This year, Plymouth Albion and St Luke’s joined forces to run a competition for children aged 11 or younger to design a special match kit for the game.

Widey Court pupil ten-yearold Lia came up with a colourful design based on ice creams and her favourite flavours and toppings. On the day, staff and children from Widey Court went to watch the game and to meet the players afterwards.

“Lia’s kit has helped Albion raise thousands of pounds for St Luke’s and we’re so proud of her,” said Shaun Nicholls, headteacher at Widey Court. “We had a great day in spite of the weather, and for many of our children it was the first time they had been to see Albion play so it was a real treat all round, especially when they won.’

Widey Court Primary School is part of Connect Academy Trust and has excellent sports facilities.

Stuart Bellworthy, chief executive at Connect Academy Trust said: “We are keen to help children and their families to take part in community life and one of our core values is ‘nurturing.’

“This is an excellent example of one of our family of schools getting involved and making a difference. I was delighted to be there on the day and see the kit in action and we all thoroughly enjoyed the rugby too.”