“It’s very important to me to have the gardening group to come to, just that short time working together in the garden.”
As COVID restrictions began to lift and the services landscape changed, Ms R was feeling frustrated, bored and isolated as there wasn’t much going on, which was not helping her mental health. Luis (Social Prescribing Link Worker) and Abi (Alive Activities) suggested she volunteered at some Alive gardening groups elsewhere in the city, which Ms R really enjoyed but struggled with the transport to and from. She expressed a desire for a community gardening group locally. From befriending telephone support calls during the lockdowns Abi and Luis knew there was further need for such a project, as Barton Hill is a very built up area with limited safe, accessible, engaging green spaces, and a high proportion of local residents not having their own gardens, so lack of opportunities to grow fruit and veg and flowers and engage with nature. Together Abi and Luis put together a project outline for a group based at the Wellspring Settlement and when we were successful in gaining funding as part of the Green Social Prescribing Pilot. We contacted Ms R to tell her and invite her to the launch event and were thrilled to see how excited she was and how many ideas she came along with. After just a few weeks of coming along to the group and working with volunteers and other members of the community she said, “It’s very important to me to have the gardening group to come to, just that short time working together in the garden.” She also encourages other neighbours and friends to join, she sows seeds and pots on seedlings at home, and connects the group with other community initiatives she is involved with such as Connecting through Culture. Ms R had a hard spell with her mental health in early summer 2022 but knew she could seek solace in the garden throughout the week, watering at weekends, bringing friends to see the growth, and talking with the group staff and participants and feeling part of a community. Staff at the centre noticed how important the group was to her and when a small funding opportunity came up for a citizen led project they suggested we support her to apply for funding for one of her many ideas based around community and sustainability in the area. Ms R lives near a small Health Centre in Bristol which has garden space. We were already in conversation with staff about developing the space and supporting the local community to engage with it more, so Ms R suggested aiming to secure funding for this project. We wrote an application based on an afternoon spent in the Health Centre watching butterflies and working out her priorities, and were successful in gaining the funding for willow, plants, seating, bird feeders, and project support time. Ahead of the project we held a community consultation which Ms R chaired and noted local residents’ input. In addition a willow weaving workshop was delivered where Ms R helped share her love of willow with a large group of the community. She frequently suggests ideas for gardening activities, supports new participants and brings people she knows to join the sessions. She talks about the benefits of engaging with nature for mental health with a passion, supporting others to share the benefits and showing appreciation for the whole team.