Gardening Projects

There is growing evidence demonstrating that green exercise provides substantial benefits for health and wellbeing.  At Worthing and Arun Mind we have taken this on board in a big way over the last few years and our gardening projects have played a big part in this. 

Our three centres all support gardening activities: a small front garden in front of the Hollies (and an even smaller herb garden at the back), a larger garden at Rivendell including a flourishing vegetable patch and polytunnel facilities at the Mind Centre, now specialising in herbs and healing plants.

Parks and Minds is a new venture offering outdoor work, support and training for volunteers and paid workers with mental health problems and an opportunity to help improve the local environment by making local public gardens and spaces more attractive.

Parks and Minds has been granted three years funding from Ecominds (see below) starting April 2009.  We will be working closely with Worthing District Council and their contractors, Continental Landscapes, at  Denton Gardens in Worthing and at the shingle gardens on the beach nearby. 

Ecominds is an open grant programme run by Mind as an award partner of the Big Lottery Fund. The programme has £7.5 million to distribute to around 125 new and existing projects focusing on mental health and the environment around England.

Ecominds aims to help people with direct experience of mental distress become involved in environmental projects that improve mental and physical health and local communities.

Ecominds will help reduce the stigma surrounding mental distress and help create a society that treats people with experience of mental distress fairly, positively, and with respect.

Garden Minders has been in existence for nearly eight years, providing a pathway to training and employment for people with mental heatlh problems, and offering a valuable service to the community in Worthing. The project provides quality gardening services at competitive prices to clients in Worthing and the surrounding areas.

Both Parks and Minds and Garden Minders provide:

• Opportunities to work and train on a voluntary basis
• Regular paid work on a sessional basis
• Benefits advice to ensure people can maximise their income
• A supportive working environment
• Plenty of fresh air and exercise
• The opportunity to provide a valued service to the community

For further information, please contact:

Stef or Sam

8 - 10 Durrington Lane,
Worthing
BN13 2QG

01903 695861