UP CLOSE: Co-op supports Kingston community garden helping people explore anxiety through nature
The Psychosynthesis Trust's Exploring Anxiety Programme is Co-op's new Local Community Fund Cause for 2024. The free course, based in Kingston's Hogsmill community garden is helping individuals explore their anxiety through connecting with nature.
Co-op membership helps support Co-op's national charity partners and Local Community Fund causes. When you buy selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p for every pound spent goes to you and Co-op gives the same to local communities. See www.coop.co.uk/membership
It's a damp autumnal day in early November and Kelly and Julie are in a community garden.
Just next to Hogsmill River, past Kingston School of Art, the garden is still lush with green plants and vegetables.
A wave of calm washes over as you push the metal gate open and step into an earthy playground.
Studies show spending just two hours a week outside in nature can decrease your heart rate, improve your serotonin levels and decrease blood pressure.
Latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data estimated 1.1 million fewer people across the UK gained health benefits from spending time in nature in 2022 compared with two years earlier.
The value of those lost health benefits was estimated at around £390 million to the NHS, equivalent to £356 per person on average.
Kelly says: "Lots of people feel anxiety because they feel isolated or disconnected to themselves or other people.
"Nature is a great place because it doesn't judge. It's accessible to us all even if it's just a flowerpot on your window or a beautiful garden like this. When you just sit there and be still and really connect and ground yourself.
Kelly Tyler, Social Impact Director of the trust, has been running programmes exploring anxiety in and around London and wanted to branch out into other areas.
Psychosynthesis Trust is an educational charity which professionally trains counsellors and psychotherapist, as well as offering counselling.
Kelly launched 'The Exploring Anxiety Project' in 2022, based on a year of research into society's main social needs linked to psychological needs.
"Everything seemed to have this golden thread of anxiety," she said. "Whether it was covid, poverty or isolation or being judged."
Mental Health Association's theme for 2023 was anxiety, campaigning that it is never "just anxiety" and encouraging people and organisations to understand the difference between anxiety and anxiety disorders.
"Anxiety is so prevalent it's like the new pandemic. Six in 100 people are diagnosed with anxiety, but that's a clinical diagnosis. I'd say eight out of 10 people are walking around with anxiety symptoms without diagnosis," Kelly added. "It's a silent epidemic."
The 10-week programme starts with a full-psychological and wellbeing assessment, and then another assessment at the end to see the impact of the course.
Meeting at a community garden, 10 individuals have two hours and experience psychosynthesis-informed activities in nature and explore themes in discussion. The structured themes include: Developing a connection with self, being present and grounded, connecting with nature, creating boundaries and creating a building block of trust.
Open to anyone over the age of 18, Kelly says her last course in Kingston had people from 24-83. These ranged from students, people worrying about their energy bills, to older folk with mobility issues.
Of course, visiting a group of strangers for the first can be anxiety-inducing for anyone. "We say the first session is the most anxious session they will ever experience," Kelly explains. "It's a new environment, most people don't know the location and they don't know each other."
However, once the participants have jumped that hurdle, Kelly says the "most beneficial" thing that comes out of the course is the group.
"They stay connected in the WhatsApp group, continue volunteer in the garden, still have that connection with their people, they make friends, and they feel connected to their community again," Kelly says.
Julie is present at the first and last sessions so participants can have a point of contact with the Hogsmill garden and sense of continuation.
By introducing people to the community gardens, they have a place to go and have some peace. Even if people are not able to volunteer, the gardens are open to sit and have a cup of tea and chat to people.
Hogsmill Community Garden has been going 10 years now. "It was a bit of derelict land owned by the environment agency," says Julie Blythe who runs the gardens. "I approached them not thinking we'd get anywhere but community gardens were becoming more recognised."
Julie comes from a horticultural therapy background. She explains Hogsmill has always had that aspect of adapting tasks to make it successful. "It's really important people always feel a sense of achievement."
Passionate about gardening, Julie and her volunteers are happy to train people who are eager to learn techniques and grow in knowledge. Hogsmill runs evening sessions, meditation classes, socials, as well hosting school visits at least twice a term.
One of the most important things for Kelly is making the course accessible for those who are deprived and isolated. "Lots of people can pay for programmes but if you don't have the ability then you never get that access," Kelly says. "I like to look at who's disadvantaged in the area, who's being overlooked, who doesn't have a voice a lot of the time. and those are the people who I'd like to invite onto the course."
Anecdotally, Kelly has provided the Exploring Anxiety programme online for social agoraphobics who are too anxious to leave the house. Alternatively, there are individuals on the course who have mobility issues and struggle to garden; instead, she paints signs for Hogsmill so she can still "feel part of things".
Exploring anxiety programmes are free to the public but requires £3,000 to run each programme with the resources and facilitators who are also trained on the course. Paid programmes are also offered to corporate groups to help with high performance anxiety; part of the money contributes towards a community programme so organisations can give back to the locality.
Co-op membership helps support Co-op's national charity partners and Local Community Fund causes. When you buy selected Co-op branded products and services, 2p for every pound spent goes to you and Co-op gives the same to local communities. See www.coop.co.uk/membership
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