Dedication and Engagment of volunteers at Eutin Casle (Germany) and at Twickel (The Netherlands). Social impact of kitchen gardens
The dilapidated kitchen garden of the early eighteenth-century baroque Eutin Castle was restored in 2006. The garden came to life during the Landesgartenschau 2016. Since then, a group of sixty volunteers have been maintaining the kitchen garden together with head gardener Kerstin Imogen Vieth. The volunteers are also the driving force behind the further development of this kitchen garden, which is an important part of the village community. The kitchen garden consists of several parts such as a herb garden named after Hildegard von Bingen and a garden aptly named ‘new roots’ that is maintained by (Afghan) refugees. The kitchen garden also hosts the Eutin Castle Kitchen Garden Experience where education and fun go hand in hand. Here, for example, preschoolers learn where vegetables come from. In her presentation, Kerstin Imogen Vieth talks about the history of the garden and especially about the dedication of the volunteers and how she keeps them involved. text slides video (Kerstin also appears inRenske Solkesz’ video)
The nineteenth century kitchen garden at Twickel Estate in Ambt Delden has a very interesting history. The original kitchen garden was moved twice and the present kitchen garden narrowly escaped being turned into a parking lot. Renske Solkesz, head of gardens, talk about the history of this kitchen garden and its historic greenhouses. Engaging volunteers now and in the future is a major topic at Twickel. Renske Solkesz will also discuss the social relevance and future of the kitchen garden. text slides video (with comments by Kerstin Imogen Vieth)