"So many incredible opportunities have arisen from just one small seed, and that's before we've even mentioned the broad range of skills acquired within these tasks that develop each person's sense of wellbeing."
Livability is a disability charity that connects people with their communities, tackling social isolation and the barriers that can cause this in the lives of disabled and vulnerable people. From gardening, forestry therapy, arts and ceramics, bird watching, walking and accessible camping, visitors can benefit from an inclusive and supportive community.
Within Livability Holton Lee, Flourish is a horticultural therapy project and Susan Davison helped explain a little about what the project was doing.
“We support people, who are living with a range of issues including illness, disability, loneliness, social withdrawal and addiction. The project encourages people to develop relationships, build confidence and self -esteem and tackle social isolation through the learning of new skills including horticulture, forestry and conservation.”
They were looking for support to purchase some seeds to plant and grow produce, a key part of the project which allows people to participate in enriching and inclusive horticulture activities including potting on, transplanting and planting out, plant maintenance and care.
We were able to help support the purchase of an extensive number of seeds, includeding Leek, onion, shallot, Lettuces, spinach, chard, sorrel, French, broad and runner beans, mangetout, peas,Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Squash, courgette, cucumber, pumpkin, Beetroot, carrot, radish,Aubergine, tomato, chilli, peppers, Basil, parsley, chive, coriander, dill, Borage, calendula, cosmos, marigold, nasturtium, sunflower and sweet peas!
Susan recently got in touch to let us know how successful this project is been.
“We currently support 30 vulnerable people with physical and intellectual disabilities and those recovering from or living with ill health such as stroke or brain injury. The benefits for mental health and wellbeing of working with plants and being in touch with nature are well documented and these activities are needed more than ever since the pandemic. Purchasing these seeds has significantly helped our Flourish horticultural project to keep running, a vitally important project that connects this group of people, helping them to make friends, learn new skills and improve their mental and physical health “