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MtG gardening services available to all...
The Community gardening project ‘Minding the Garden’ are now making their services available to all in the local Hart area. As of July 2011the ecotherapy project, which provides a safe and fun environment for a first step into volunteering, opened their gardening maintenance service to all residents with very competitive rates.
A member of our gardening team will arrange a free assessment visit to your garden to discuss your requirements. Please contact Guy to arrange an appointment on 01252 815652 or Guy@hartvolaction.org.uk
The team look forward to helping you in your garden soon
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(Work in progress MtG open day 2012)
Project Progression
Minding the Garden has worked in over 110 gardens of the elderly and disabled and 8 community sites throughout Hart, in this its third year. Over 85 volunteers have enabled us to do this.
"I felt I benefitted more from the experience of working on the project than from the NHS treatments I had received. There can be long waiting lists for talking therapies which can be frustrating and take a long time with no guarantee of a positive outcome. I really like the combination of working outdoors and helping other people and found 'ecotherapy' to be an effective alternative to anti-depression medication, which didn't really work for me."
Due to the project's success we have also started our Flower Pot Club. This is an additional support session that allows its members to gain further skills and create their own gardening ornaments i.e. bird boxes and "Autumn" plant containers(instructions for which can be found below!)
How to create an "Autumn" Plant Container
In order to gain more awareness in the local area Minding the Garden has also used market stalls at local events such as Fleet Festivities. This enabled us to inform people in the area of how we can help them and what we aim to do.
| Click | to obtain help in maintaining your garden. |
| Click | to become part of our supported volunteering team. |
Blogging!
If you’re thinking of either joining our volunteer team or alternatively would like some help with your garden, but would prefer to find out a little bit more first, why don’t you take a look at our weekly blog. Alternatively our Gallery contains lots of images about what we do – including some before and after pictures of local gardens.
Flower Pot Club
The Flower Pot Club is Minding the Garden's new scheme which allows its supported volunteers to gather in a social enviroment and create their own things for the garden. Some things created include bird boxes and Christmas Wreaths.
(Here are some examples of what the club has created)
If you would like to learn more about the club and may like to get involved feel free to contact us at amanda.c@hartvolaction.org.uk.
Flower Pot Club Tour of Four Seasons Hotel in Dogmersfield
The Flower Pot Club recently visited the Four Seasons hotel for a tour of their wonderful grounds including their botanical garden. They are looking forward to returning when their vegetable growing area is up and running.
(Photos of the visit)
We would like to say a big thank you to the Four Seasons for the tour and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Yateley Industries Workshops
In recent weeks we have also began working with Yateley Industries; delivering some of our workshops to their residents. The worskshops we deliver range from woodwork and craft to growing and planting different plants. These include building bird boxes and making mosaic tiles and pots or aarranging plants that each person gets to take home with them.
(Mosaic plant pot and Spring Hanging Basket)
Planters
We have also recently began building and selling planters. They are made to order, built with responsibly sourced timber and there are two types:
- Box planter/Raised Beds - prices start from £35
- Tiered planters - prices start from £150
All of our planters are hand built by our volunteers. They are simple, multi-purpose and year round growing environments allowing you to grow anything from fresh fruit and vegetables to herbs and flowers. They are a great way to increase your growing space if you have a small garden. Also the perfect height if you are a wheelchair user.
Contact us if you are interested in purchasing one of our planters.
About the project
Hart Voluntary Action's Supported volunteer project 'Minding the Garden', provides a first step to volunteering within the community for Hart residents who have experienced either mental distress or learning difficulties
With one to one support, individuals are introduced to volunteering as part of a safe, friendly team, delivering a much valued gardening service in the community.
Volunteers are encouraged to:
| M | eet new friends. |
| I | mprove their skill set. |
| N | urture newly found confidence. |
| D | evelop a plan for the future. |
The project's future
Recent research has discovered that one in four people are experiencing depression, anxiety or stress in their lives. With this being the case, we believe that more action needs to be taken to help local people manage and overcome these factors. Minding the Garden is at the forefront of making this happen within the district of Hart.
This year our funding from Ecominds will cease. However, we will be taking the project forward as a social enterprise. This means our work in the community can continue and the people we help will not be disappointed.
Find our page on Facebook for updates on the project
You can also follow us on Twitter @MTGHVA
Ecominds
Following a successful and well received ‘pilot’, the ‘Minding the Garden’ team were delighted to learn that they had been successful in securing three year funding from Ecominds.
The grant has been awarded by Ecominds, a scheme set up by Mind with £7.5 million funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme.
Ecominds helps thousands of people across the country to improve their mental well-being by encouraging them to go outdoors and be active.
The £150,000 awarded to ‘Minding the Garden’ will be invaluable in helping to transform the lives of local residents who are experiencing mental distress, whilst providing a vital gardening service to vulnerable elderly and disabled residents within the district.
