The Five Roots Garden

As the UK’s leading Metabolic Health Centre, Combe Grove embodies a strong ethos rooted in nature and wellbeing. Apprentices across various departments, from Horticulture to Marketing, have collaborated to create a sustainable and engaging pop-up garden for the Royal Bath and West Show at Shepton Mallet Showground. This project enhances the apprentices’ learning experience, providing an opportunity to work with other teams and deepen their knowledge of their chosen fields.

Following the brief of the five senses provided by Royal Bath and West, the team has integrated this with Combe Grove’s own Five Roots of Metabolic Health—Nutrition, Movement, Sleep, Mindset, and Environment—while prioritising sustainability and conservation.

The Horticulture and Countryside Worker Apprentices advocate permaculture practices through community engagement, producing wood chip from the on-site woodland, composting, and using animals to manage the land sustainably. For example, two Golden Guernsey goats help clear weedy and brash areas, and the badger sets on-site assist in turning compost located near their sets.