Sarah Powell’s shift from outdoors to horticulture

It was after experiencing a series of health problems that Sarah Powell knew something needed to change with her life. She had enjoyed a long career as an outdoors instructor, working with disadvantaged groups. but it was very physically demanding and something needed to give.

The 48 year-old suddenly found herself needing to reconsider all she had taken for granted, what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go next, questions she had never thought she would need to ask herself again.

It was following a chance visit to an SRUC open day that her mind was made up however, horticulture was the only way forward,

“Academia and I have never been friends in the past, I didn’t go to university, I never really considered it an option” she said. “I thought I’d go to the SRUC open day, and see what it was like, what they’d say.

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“The horticulture team there assured me that my life experience, everything I’d done to that point, was worth more than a couple of Highers I didn’t have. So off the back of that, I applied to start.”

Once she started, she took to it like a duck to water, boosted in no small part by a community of staff and students who really got to know her and made her feel welcome. Despite this, her health problems continued, and others surfaced,

“I was pretty sure, from my past experiences, that I had dyscalculia” she said. “I spoke to study support and they ran some checks, so it wasn’t a surprise when they turned out to be positive.

“What was a surprise was that I have dyslexia too. It was good to find out, they made adjustments and gave me support and both have been brilliant.”

None of this dented her determination to succeed, to excel in her studies and take advantage of every opportunity which came her way. Some were more unusual than others however,

“It was during lockdown that Beechgrove Garden started trying to contact me” she said. “I’m on social media but don’t use it much, so I found out through SRUC that they wanted me to present a segment.

“I ended up doing pieces on people in urban environments creating green spaces, I worked on five episodes all from my flat. I found it enjoyable, but surreal to be honest, it was all a bit mad.”

Not content just being on TV, Sarah also found a hobby which clicked with her sensibilities: Roller Derby.

“My health was starting to improve, and I missed that adrenaline element from my old job” she said. “Another student at SRUC was talking about it, I thought why not, and I signed up to the learning class, which is called ‘Fresh Meat’.

“They don’t smash as hard there, that’s for when you finish and make it to the main league.”

In her fourth year, she had another significant downturn in her health, which she hadn’t expected. Her ability to complete coursework and come to class was badly affected, but with the support of staff she was able to make it through.

“I had been on track for getting a first, based on the years before, so it was really difficult when I had a massive blip” she said. “The lecturers were great however, they were really good with finding alternatives and solutions, they really helped me get through it all.”

Now that she has finished, she has her sights set on something she would never have expected when she started her degree, a PhD,

“Especially since I hadn’t been in academia ever, it was unexpected when I was in third year and people were always talking about why I should do a PhD” she said.

“They said you should really think about that, and initially I was like, hold your horses! Now I think about it, I think it’s something I'd really like to do.”

And on the prospect of whether others should follow her path, in her head there’s no doubt,

“If you are a mature student, if you are thinking of making a change, it’s been so worth it. I wish I’d known just how much support I’d get, what could be done to help, it’s been great. So I say if you are thinking about it, just go for it.”