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  • Blog
  • August 8 2025

Giving our animals a taste of the good life

From leaves and herbs to carrots and strawberries, our education garden has a large area set aside dedicated to growing animal-friendly produce. Our gardening volunteers have been hard at work growing lots of things that have been requested by our animal care teams.

Sowing the seeds for better nutrition

The purpose of the garden area is two-fold. Firstly, it enables us to grow some of the food our animals enjoy eating in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Secondly, it provides us with an opportunity to share information with visitors about good nutrition for animals, such as what is safe and healthy for them.

Opening a dialogue about food and nutrition means we can also help to dispel some of the myths surrounding what animals can and can’t eat – like the fact that whilst rabbits enjoy eating carrots, they are high in sugar and should only be given in small amounts rather than being their staple diet.

Sowing the seeds for better nutrition

The purpose of the garden area is two-fold. Firstly, it enables us to grow some of the food our animals enjoy eating in a sustainable and cost-effective way. Secondly, it provides us with an opportunity to share information with visitors about good nutrition for animals, such as what is safe and healthy for them.

Opening a dialogue about food and nutrition means we can also help to dispel some of the myths surrounding what animals can and can’t eat – like the fact that whilst rabbits enjoy eating carrots, they are high in sugar and should only be given in small amounts rather than being their staple diet.

Homegrown and healthy

During the Spring and Summer months we saw our education garden flourish with produce ready to be picked and the animals at Raystede got to reap the benefits.

Everything in the garden is clearly laid out and labelled. There’s cabbages and pumpkins for the equines, leafy greens and celery for the small animals and some calming herbs for the dogs.

We’ve also catered to the discerning palettes of our birds, with lots of varieties including rainbow chard, kale, cherry tomato, peas, beetroot, runner beans and rocket. We have even got a vine growing following a request from our Aviaries Team for grapes!

The success of the education garden is all down to the hard work of a small but dedicated team of volunteers who come in to tend the garden regularly. We’re incredibly grateful for their efforts, and we’re sure that if the animals could talk, they would thank them too!

Visiting the garden

Visitors to Raystede can see our education garden as you walk along the path towards our goat enclosure.

On Family Learning Days, the garden is open to visitors and will also often have a trail or activities for youngsters to enjoy while they are there.

Visiting the garden

Visitors to Raystede can see our education garden as you walk along the path towards our goat enclosure.

On Family Learning Days, the garden is open to visitors and will also often have a trail or activities for youngsters to enjoy while they are there.

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