We would use this fantastic funding to buy gardening and growing resources for out Time Out Tuesdays Group (TOT) based at Redburn Community hub.
Our new TOT sessions will focus on using our local green spaces to grow fruit and vegetables and allow people to link up and tackle post COVID social isolation. By growing and sharing our produce we will help tackle climate change, the Cost-of-Living crisis and promote healthy and active communities.
TOT will promote positive MH&W by providing nature based activities for all ages with a focus on taking some time out, relaxing and recharge.
Proposed on behalf of: The TOT Group will deliver weekly activities for all ages with a focus on taking some time for yourself to relax and recharge. Gardening and spending time outdoors is the main aim of the programme and the benefits below as well as building stronger communities, linking people up and food share to help with climate change and the Cost-of-Living crisis are some of the many benefits form taking part in will help support the local community. Soil is an antidepressant: just the smell of a microorganism found in it lights up neurotransmitters that release mood-lifting hormone, serotonin. Time spent exploring nature has other vast health benefits. Just 15 minutes in a natural setting is enough to regulate a person’s blood pressure and that one day of ‘forest therapy’ is enough to maintain the regulated blood pressure for five more days. Additionally, after only 20 minutes in the forest, people’s level of the stress hormone, cortisol, was greatly reduced. This funding will give us a fantastic opportunity to expand and upgrade local green spaces and growing areas to empower vulnerable adults and families who are struggling with mental health issues, isolation, low confidence and self-esteem and many other MH&W issues while giving them ownership of the creation of a support network that can continue long after the end of the programme. The programme will run form February until September (using the NAC MH&W funding) supported by LL and staff from Redburn Community Hub. We are actively looking for funding for staff to continue but the hope is that the group will be able to run itself with support from LL and Redburn staff rather than being led by them. The initial session will involve tidying up the areas around the Hub and at Castlepark Community Garden and Centre. These areas often are littered with broken glass and dog mess. From previous experience LL has found the more the community sees an area improving the more they take ownership and look after these previously unusable areas. We are expecting other community groups as well as schools and nurseries will also access the programme to help sustain it ongoing for the future.
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