Is there a more effective activity for maintaining our wellbeing than gardening ?

Question

AH

Is there a more effective activity for maintaining our wellbeing than gardening ?

by

Alan Holland

8 years ago

1

I have been working in Social & Therapeutic Horticulture for over 25 years working across several different client groups . I am currently managing a Community garden project in Swindon , TWIGS for adults experiencing mental health issues . I am a qualified teacher & Horticultural therapist and also work as a freelance trainer for THRIVE as well as delivering my own certificated gardening course ,'Essential Garden Skills' accredited through OCN Credit4Learning.

Areas of particular interest include Agroforestry , Organic growing , Permaculture & helping people and plants to grow.

Gayle Buckley · Answer 1 · 17th September 2016, 16:34:59

Hi Alan. Really enjoyed reading your post. The job you have sounds fantastic and I would appreciate a link to your page. I have worked in social care and found that horticulture/environmental projects cannot be beaten for wellbeing. I suspect your question is rhetorical and you know the answer! When working with learning disability, the simple tasks such as encouraging an elderly lady to plant autumn pots to watch flourish outside her window gave her the ultimate pleasure - not just getting her out of the home for a while to breathe fresh air, but to give her something positive to focus on over coming weeks. I spent a lot of time with young offenders and the focus was always to divert energies from inappropriate and destructive behaviour. Growing vegetables was not just a healthy lifestyle option, but taught patience. I fondly remember one young gentleman refusing to touch anything that had flowers, saying that it was for girls. The reverse psychology - "You are not a man till you have had soil under your nails" worked a treat and he took so much pride in his growing after overcoming the initial hurdle. I look forward to reading more posts from you. Best wishes Gayle

Is there a more effective activity for maintaining our wellbeing than gardening ?

Is there a more effective activity for maintaining our wellbeing than gardening ?

Alan Holland

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