Kent Community Oasis Garden is a project run by a collection of students, staff and community members working to create a sustainability hub centred around growing food and connecting with nature.
This year, KentCOG has had 4 student ambassadors; George, Selby, Simon and Lily. They are all third-year students who found the garden, embedded themselves in the community and made it their space to share and spend time in as often as possible. The student ambassadors act as the student voice for the garden and aim to make sure that every volunteer feels safe, seen, connected and welcome in the garden so that everyone can feel the benefits from KentCOG that they have felt.
The ambassadors have shared their highlights from this year at COG:
Selby
“It’s hard to pick specific highlights as a KentCOG ambassador because I have so many happy memories from the garden. I suppose the biggest achievement while I’ve been an ambassador has been acquiring Hothe Court Farmhouse and being able to gradually make it our own. It’s an amazing space, especially in winter. In the run-up to Christmas 2025, we had a performance by Folkshop there which was brilliant; loads of students, staff and community members came to watch and celebrate the end of term with us. That’s what’s so great about COG: I’ve met and made friends with so many people that I probably would never have talked to otherwise. I also love getting to see the garden flourish in spring and being able to think “We helped do that.” My favourite recent projects have been making hibernaculums and building the bat buffet plant beds because we could all spend time together outside, work as a team and feel like we’d accomplished something at the end.”
Simon
“Being a student ambassador this past year has been an incredible way to engage even more with COG. Experiencing an entire year of the garden is so rewarding, from the abundant summer to all the preparations we do in winter. I love welcoming new people to the garden and seeing people’s confidence grow. A big highlight has been gaining access to Hothe Court and expanding the potential of the garden and seeing the start of a long process of making the space our own. In March, I also got to contribute to a short reportage about young people’s relationship to growing vegetables, and it’s been amazing to be able to share that passion with people in so many ways.”
George
“I think for me, one of the best parts about COG is the ways we build a community and include people as best as we can. You get to meet such a lovely range of people here and everyone’s talents are welcome. Having a community space to express my artistic side has been super fun too, painting parts of the garden and Hothe Court with my friends and even getting to do a performance with Folkshop was great fun!”
Lily
“For me, the highlight of being an ambassador has been being able to spend time outside with all the volunteers and just making sure everyone has a good time and feels like they have got something out of the time they spend here. I think it’s so important that people have access to a community space, and I really enjoy being a part of that, and seeing what it means to other people who volunteer at the garden.”
(From Left to Right: Lily, Simon, George, Selby)