​Colin Porter reports on the garden cultivated by members of Denbigh Men’s Shed, one of the most successful Men’s Sheds in Wales.

A few weeks ago I attended the annual meeting of Men’s Shed UK in Worcester.  There are now over 400 Men’s Sheds in the UK which provide a workshop space where men (and sometimes women), usually but not exclusively of retirement age, can carry out renovation projects, craft work and community projects.  ​

Video: Horticultural Therapy and The Military - The Next Chapter

It would be difficult to argue with Grounded Ecotherapy’s description of itself as ‘one of London’s most unique horticultural therapy projects’.  Part of Providence Row Housing Association – an organisation that helps those recovering from addiction or who have known homelessness – the project offers training and support while at the same time, improving our public spaces.
 
Grounded Ecotherapy was founded 12 years ago, by Paul Pulford and Kelvin Barton. At the time, Kelvin was a Mental Health Co-ordinator for Providence Row and Paul a former resident of its Hackney Road hostel.  After seven years of living on the streets, Paul, with Kelvin’s help, rediscovered gardening, something he’d enjoyed as a child.  His first project was the creation of a small garden in the hostel grounds.

‘Drop the labels and design for everyone’ is the advice of garden designer, writer and television presenter, Mark Lane.  Indeed, it’s almost his mantra. We should sit up and listen to what Mark has to say, not least because he has direct experience of the immediate and long-term benefits that gardening can bring to our physical and mental health.

The words of Margaret Mead are often quoted when individuals join together to make something happen.  The Lady Ryder Memorial Garden near Henley on Thames illustrates the great anthropologists point perfectly - we should ‘never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can make a difference’.

​We know that the vitality of our food has a big impact on our health, but could this vitality increase if we interfered less with the soil? 

Four years since it was published in Outside Magazine, Florence Williams' article, Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and call me in the morning continues to be an excellent introduction to the idea that spending time in Nature is something we all need.