CELEBRATING BRITAIN
All over the country, green spaces are helping people and communities blossom
Outdoor classroom, green gym, calm de-stressing zone, friendly meeting place… A garden is full of possibilities for people looking to harness new skills, socialise, get fitter and connect with nature. As part of what might be called a ‘Natural Health Service’, lots of green havens have been springing up around the country to help their communities flourish. Here are just three inspiring examples.
Wimborne Community Garden, Dorset
This quarter-acre garden in Wimborne Minster was set up in 2022 to provide fresh produce for the local food bank. Created on a playing field donated by Beaucroft College, a place for students with special needs, it’s a corner of calm and positivity for all the community, from nursery-age children (who have their own veggie patch) to food bank clients, who can pick their own produce from the abundant vegetable beds, fruit cage and mini orchard.
For Beaucroft’s students, it’s a place to have fun and learn how to grow. The delicious harvests are used to supply the college cafe, which is open to the public. The rest goes to the food bank, where it’s used to make low-cost meals and offer fresh produce to over 3,000 people in need.
Fiona Clarke, 56, has volunteered at the garden for over a year and loves it. ‘I work as a mental health therapist and, during the pandemic, I was working seven days a week,’ she says. ‘By the end of it I was burnt out. Ironically, I realised all the things I advised my clients to do – be outdoors, connect with people and nature – were missing from my life. I saw an ad for the garden and knew it was something I needed to do.
‘Everyone here is so welcoming, and each session ends with a chat and cup of tea made on the camping stove. I’ve discovered that working together with purpose and giving back to the community is so good for me.’
THRIVE, KINGS HEATH PARK, BIRMINGHAM
In a corner of Kings Heath Park lies a two-acre plot of billowing herbaceous borders, vegetable beds, glasshouses and TV gardens, where Pebble Mill and Gardeners’ World once broadcast. This is the green home of Thrive Birmingham, a charity that offers therapeutic gardening programmes for people with disabilities, socially isolated groups, and folk recovering from major illnesses. ‘People learn all aspects of gardening, from planting seeds to harvesting fruit and veg,’ says Sarah Bowers, 50, who manages the site. ‘It gives them structure, purpose and a sense of achievement, and helps people suffering with mental ill health to connect with something positive.’
