Battersea Park gardens to help health and wellbeing this winter

This autumn and winter a gardening campaign is being launched by a horticultural charity in their gardens in Battersea Park to help people's health and wellbeing.

The charity Thrive will run social and therapeutic programmes for hundreds of people across its four gardens.

Gardeners can attend their therapeutic gardening programme in the Main Garden, the Herb Garden, the Winter Garden and the Old English Garden, in the park.

Gardens can play a vital role this time of year to get people out and engaged with nature.

Damien Newman from Thrive told SW Londoner: "Combined with uncertainties about Covid, this time of year can be a period when some people feel greater stress and anxiety."

Gardening has proven health benefits, as witnessed and experienced by people during lock down.

This November Thrive published a calendar for people to follow and complete tasks each day.

Each activity is connected to the five ways to well-being promoted by the NHS: be active, connect with other people, give, learn new skills and take notice.

Mark Lang, Thrive's communications and PR manager said: "Sometimes with our stressful lives gardening can be really helpful as a way of alleviating stress and anxiety."

Thrive was set up in 1979 by Chris Underhill and was originally named the Society for Horticultural Therapy and Rural Training in Frome.

Underhill was inspired by his work with people with disabilities and his voluntary service in Africa.

They have regional centres and programmes in Reading, Birmingham and London.

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