Fresh herbs help students stay healthy (From Worcester News)

Fresh herbs help students stay healthy

2:50am Saturday 15th August 2009

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FRESH herbs have been planted around the grounds of the University of Worcester’s St John’s campus ready for the return of students in September.

Following on from the successful vegetable box scheme and the new allotments that are available for students to use, the University of Worcester is creating herb gardens around the campus’s halls of residence.

The first garden has been planted at the foot of a tree next to the Wyvern Halls with herbs such as mint, rosemary, coriander and basil growing there. There are plans for several more herb gardens throughout the grounds.

Katy Boom, the university’s head of sustainability and development, created the gardens. She said: “The idea of planting the herbs is part of the university’s ongoing commitment to a lifestyle that is not only sustainable, but healthy too. Making locally-grown produce available to the students means that the university is supporting local businesses and reducing food miles.”

Lena Almumaiz, an MSc nutritional therapy student at the university, has developed healthy recipe cards that encourage students to use herbs and vegetables.

There are recipes for a selection of tasty dishes such as vegetable pasta with pesto, and carrot and lentil soup. She said: “I try to make recipes that help students learn how to include vegetables in their cooking. Now that the university provides herbs as well as the vegetable boxes, the students can get all the ingredients they need for my recipes without having to leave the campus.

“I also hope that the new gardens will encourage students to use herbs for their natural health benefits.

“For example, the mint that we grow also can be used to aid digestion, hence the tradition of eating it after a large meal.”

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