{"id":62939,"date":"2022-10-25T14:54:27","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T13:54:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=62939"},"modified":"2022-10-27T20:52:31","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T19:52:31","slug":"group-gardening-gives-people-a-place-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2022\/10\/25\/group-gardening-gives-people-a-place-to-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental health charity uses gardening to help people cope with increasingly shorter days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">With darker days and temperamental weather looming, gardening offers people with mental health conditions an opportunity to keep active outside<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-293x165.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-770x433.jpg 770w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/10\/Ben_ActiveMainPhoto-293x165.jpg 293w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Volunteers collect fallen apples following the aftermath of the autumn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Newport mental health charity Growing Space is using horticulture as a way to keep volunteers with mental health conditions feeling positive by working outside during the winter months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The year-round problem solving element of gardening is helpful for those with seasonal affective disorder (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mind.org.uk\/information-support\/types-of-mental-health-problems\/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad\/about-sad\/\">SAD<\/a>), which affects around 2 million people in the UK according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsinform.scot\/healthy-living\/mental-wellbeing\/low-mood-and-depression\/beating-the-winter-blues#:~:text=It%27s%20thought%20the%20winter%20blues,depression\">the NHS<\/a>. Making the most of the natural light is essential self-care for people with SAD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With days getting shorter, gardening is an effective way of keeping people active outdoors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Brian Hanlon, horticulture enthusiast and charity supervisor for Growing Space, said: \u201cWe like the idea that [gardening] changes with the seasons, so it never stays still.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing Space, formed in 1992, is based in Tredegar House, Newport, and helps manage and maintain areas of the site\u2019s historic gardens.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said: \u201cThe scale of the gardening is quite large so we naturally bring groups of people together.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The charity\u2019s gardening work happens all year round, closing only for the Christmas and New Year period, so there is always work that needs to be done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horticulture also takes place within the garden\u2019s polytunnels, so activities can be planned around the increasingly rainier weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hanlon said: \u201cThere are always things that need to be tended to, plants that need to be cared for, vegetables that need to be grown, so there\u2019s constant problem solving there.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about forward thinking, and with mental health that\u2019s crucial\u2014most people can get stuck in the present or dwelling on the past&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to plan for when that vegetable is coming to harvest, you\u2019ve got to get the soil ready for spring when you\u2019re in the autumn.\u201d Brian said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Horticulture supervisor Olivia Phillips said: \u201cAutumn is the busiest time for gardening, there is a lot of planning to do.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing Space will continue its gardening work through the winter, tidying the gardens from the impact of autumn, maintaining shrubs before the weather gets cold, and preparing beds for the spring months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Newport mental health charity is using horticulture to keep volunteers engaged in group activity through the changing seasons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":919,"featured_media":63077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,5503,6],"tags":[131,3220,206,734],"coauthors":[7691],"class_list":["post-62939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-home","category-active-lead","category-active-life","tag-charity","tag-gardening","tag-mental-health","tag-sad"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mental health charity uses gardening to 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