Sustainability
Our ordinary little allotment group has given each member a role and a purpose they didn’ t know was missing. But the most meaningful of all is the reaffirmation that their recovery is achievable, through doing and connection.”
Sustainability
Feature what clinicians thought we could offer in future. From this, it seemed that we had previously offered some green therapy, but it was very much because of specific clinicians being interested in it personally.
Previously community gardens had been set up at both of our inpatient sites, but had fallen into disuse. Often this was because the member of staff who originally set them up had moved on and no one had taken over. This was one challenge to overcome: how to make green therapy more sustainable.
One unique feature of this role has been that I sit within the sustainability team, but work with clinical colleagues; this has been a real help in getting things going.
Our ordinary little allotment group has given each member a role and a purpose they didn’ t know was missing. But the most meaningful of all is the reaffirmation that their recovery is achievable, through doing and connection.”
Older people’ s community mental health
One of the few areas of the trust where green therapy was already established was older people’ s community mental health. The team had been intermittently running a gardening group for several years before this project started.
However, they had run into several barriers, including health and safety red tape and the fact the site they were using was closed for renovations.
One of the first goals of the project was to get this group up and running again, by making sure they could use our own community allotment and that they were well resourced. Once this had happened, we eventually managed to get them back to the now renovated community garden centre.
This group now runs every Monday afternoon from there, with the benefit that we also have access to an indoor space for when the weather is bad. The group has doubled in numbers and we always looking to allow more service users to join.
Following on from the success of this allotment group, we decided to set up a similar group for the adult team on our own allotment. This took several months to get set up, mainly because of the first aid courses staff were required to take to be able to use the allotment.
Eventually, in September 2024, we launched the group, deciding to meet once a week on a Wednesday morning.
When we launched it, we had no idea just how popular it would prove to be. From the very start we have had attendance of between eight to 12 service users, who’ ve really helped to shape the activities the group does.
While focused on growing and gardening, we have varied sessions including nature arts and crafts, nature photography, music jamming and bingo. We also like to have themed sessions including Halloween pumpkin decorating and Christmas wreath making.
This group have really become a tight knit support group, the success of which has helped lead to nature programmes with external organisations and to the potential creation of a group service users can attend after discharge.
Kelly Speed, an OT in the Adult Community Mental Health Team, said:‘ Our ordinary little allotment group has given each member a role and a purpose they didn’ t know was missing. But the most meaningful of all is the reaffirmation that their recovery is achievable, through doing and connection.’
The Canal and River Trust
The first collaboration that was established was with the local Canal and River Trust, which was keen to get more integrated into healthcare using nature.
I had originally presumed any activities undertaken with them would have to be based along a canal and / or river, but they also carry out educational activities elsewhere. Therefore, the first programme set up with them was on our inpatient wards.
This was part of their lottery-funded Water Ways Nature Connection Programme. We set up an eight-week programme for both our Bracken ward( older peoples) and our Dementia Assessment Unit.
Each session would focus on different nature activities related to our rivers and canals. These included craft sessions, nature quizzes and virtual reality trips along the canal.
These sessions proved to be very popular with our service users and led to at least one service user setting herself a discharge goal of
Main photo left to right: Kebba Jadama, Support Worker, Nadine Gale-Coleman, OT, Kelly Speed, OT and Joe Courtney, Green Therapy OT, in front of sunflowers grown by service users on the community allotment in Keighley
September 2025 OTnews 19