Category: Shaun the Sheep

Twenty years later.

Posted on by andy.winfield
A sea of earth with the outline of paths dug out. The Botanic Garden as a work in progress.
The area now called Phylogeny.

This year marks the twentieth year the University of Bristol Botanic Garden has been at The Holmes.  I started working for the Botanic Garden twenty-four years ago when it was on the edge of Leigh Woods; I had no idea I’d be at the Botanic Garden for as long as I have, or that I was signing up to huge moving operation, none of us did. I could spend a long time describing how we moved the Garden from one place to another, the hours and hours of digging, creating, and planting; but in a moment where we can stop and ponder the passage of time, I think the main thing we’re all most proud of is what the Garden has become. (more…)

We came for Shaun, we stayed for the Garden

Posted on by andy.winfield
I had water,  snacks and my ‘Shaun Spotter’ app primed and ready to go. Everything my son and I needed for a few hours of Shaun in the City hunting. Friends were seeking out Shauns in Bristol’s City Centre while we did the Downs Trail – there would be some healthy competition on Facebook.
Our first stop was the University of Bristol Botanic Gardenas I knew that Shaun had been eagerly awaited by the Garden staff and I wanted to see how things were going. We met Shaun in the Jungle near the welcome hut. Morgan (my son) dutifully posed with Shaun so I could take a couple of pictures, but then he asked (closer to begging really) if we could go into the garden and have a look in the pond. Inspired by finding a newt in there a couple of years ago, he can’t resist looking in every time we go. (more…)