The allotment group was the brainchild of one of our social prescribers, Georgia. She set up a task group, comprised of staff and patients, where the initial plans for the allotment space she had been allocated were formed. She sourced funding for several raised beds, a shed, various pieces of gardening equipment and lots and lots of topsoil. She then got as many as the staff as possible involved in building the raised beds, filling them with soil and building the shed. The group was very quickly well-attended by patients registered at the University of Nottingham health service. Lots of planting was completed by the group and very quickly the site became vibrant with various flowers, fruits and vegetables. The produce was shared among the group and with the health centre staff which promoted healthy eating and the benefits of gardening all round. The patients involved in the group benefited from a place to engage in nature, socialise in an informal way and gain peer support from group members that were struggling with similar issues of stress, low mood, social isolation, reduced engagement in hobbies and interests and reduced physical activity.
The group had a short hiatus when Georgia moved on to, professionally, bigger and better things. It was then taken over by our newly employed social prescriber, Kerry, who did a lot of work around planning for the next planting season and searching for additional funding to update our very well used set of equipment and fast-diminishing store of seeds.
Kerry decided to move on to a role elsewhere in February 2023 and I was asked to take on the allotment group as the management knew I already had a keen interest in gardening and the environment which was complimented by my occupational therapy training and experience which has given me various skills in running therapeutic groups.
The allotment group and the space at the back of the health centre where it takes place has gone from strength to strength. We've added new raised beds and successfully grown a wide variety of vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruits. Some of these are taken home by the group members, some are offered to the staff for healthy additions to their lunch and most of the large vegetable we've grown are donated to the Guru Nanak mission in Nottingham to be added to the meals they cook for the needy twice a week. The produce we've donated mainly comprises of courgettes, tomatoes, onions and kale.
The space where the allotment group is held has become a calm spot for staff to take a break or have lunch and is open to all those who visit Nottingham University campus. We often have people walking through and remarking on what a lovely space it is. We also have a large population of insects that call it home and, slightly begrudgingly, share some of our produce with the resident rabbits and birds who pop along for a snack quite regularly.
We also try our best not to buy anything new unless absolutely necessary and, instead, reuse old food containers as pot saucers, newspaper as plant pots, shiny packaging as bird scarers and drinks bottles as mini greenhouses.