Next week is National Allotments Week which focusses on the benefits of allotment gardening in our communities.
At Workbridge, we really believe in the power of gardening to promote positive change. Gardening is a massive part of our Workbridge therapy sessions – helping adults with learning disabilities, mental illness, autism or brain injuries learn skills and gain in confidence.
We thought we’d share with you some of the more recent activities our service users have been taking part in across horticulture at Workbridge… and the benefits gardening can bring to ourselves and the communities we live in!
“We want to provide different opportunities for service users in their sessions. Teaching them about plants and how things grow, and understanding where food comes from is a really good life lesson.” ~ Helen Morgan, Vocational Skills Instructor.
Helen continued... “The pandemic gave us an opportunity to look differently at the type of session we provided service users at Workbridge Garden Centre. Working in an outside space was particularly important and so working on outdoor projects across our site made lots of sense.”
Raised Beds (outside Workbridge Coffee Shop on Bedford Road)
Service users in Workbridge Garden Centre consulted on the re-design of the central raised beds outside Workbridge Coffee Shop. The most popular views from our service users was planting that complimented insect life and supported pollinators like bees.
Over the course of 2 weeks in June, service users lifted the old plants, prepared the beds and replanted with their choice of annual and vegetable plants – including giant sunflowers, African marigolds, beetroot, artichoke and much more!
“It’s really important for service users to see something tangible and say I did that! Customers tell them how much of a good job they do and they really take pride in this.”
Courtyard Gardens at Workbridge
Our popular courtyard gardens which are accessible to staff and service users at Workbridge were given a spruce up this summer. Service users and patients from St Andrew’s Healthcare visited to clear the weeds, plant up containers and brick beds, and thoroughly enjoyed being outside in such a peaceful environment.
“This was a huge task broken down into manageable tasks each week. It showed that people are more than capable of big garden projects. They are able to see what it is possible to achieve.”
Workbridge Garden Centre projects
Our plant nursery attached to Workbridge Garden Centre has a runner bean bed running across the fencing, as well herb and strawberry beds. Earlier this year service users planted up potatoes in containers and took great pleasure this month, unearthing the potatoes!
Follow us across social media for more updates from Workbridge and Workbridge Garden Centre this National Allotments Week 9th - 15th August 2021.
Get in touch to enquire about attending vocational sessions at Workbridge in gardening, catering, retail, woodwork, ceramics and much more!
