A green fingered Blackburn artist has used her passion for the great outdoors to create an innovative way of growing plants and crops.
Fern Nicholas, a 21-year-old final year Fine Art student at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) wanted to explore ways of living a more sustainable lifestyle for her final year project.
As a result, the former Blackburn College student has created a greenhouse made entirely of recyclable materials, including plastic bottles, animal cages and bamboo.
Suitable for use both indoors and outdoors, Fern’s concept, which was specially designed to be self-watering, is now housing a range of fresh produce, including sunflowers, tomatoes, spinach and parsley.
Her work has been under the spotlight as part of UCLan’s annual degree show which showcases the final year work of students from architecture, design, fashion and art courses.
"Sustainable living is something which is important to me, I think it benefits to be mindful of the environment, and learning to grow my own food has been fun."
Fern, who also volunteers at Blackburn museum in her spare time, said: “I’d read about greenhouses being made out of various recyclable materials and I wanted to test the theory to see if it could actually work in practice, and I’m pleased to say it has.
“Sustainable living is something which is important to me, I think it benefits to be mindful of the environment, and learning to grow my own food has been fun.”
Fern is hoping to pursue further studies with a Masters in Fine Art Site and Archive, and credits UCLan with teaching her to be self-motivated.
“Studying at UCLan has taught me to be independent and take control of my own achievements, it’s been up to me to focus and drive myself which is what I’ve learnt to do. The tutors have all been great too. Above all else, I’d say it’s important to enjoy what you do.”