Wellbeing garden opens to combat isolation

5 hours ago

Naj ModakNorth East and Cumbria

News image — The outdoor area in Yarm will officially open to the public on Saturday

Supplied Nine men and women using gardening tools to fill raised wooden flower beds with soil. They are also adding plants. There is an old stone building in the background. — The outdoor area in Yarm will officially open to the public on Saturday

A new garden is to be unveiled dedicated to improving the wellbeing of residents and combating social isolation.

The outdoor area at Yarm Wellness, on the corner of West Street and High Church Wynd, will officially open to the public at 13:30 BST on Saturday.

Volunteer Linda Fisher, 68, discovered the hub two years ago when she was "socially isolated" and said the garden "will be an ice-breaker for people walking past".

The community garden, which is a work in progress, will be made up of three separate spaces to include raised plant beds with disabled access, flower beds and benches.

Fisher looked after her family and worked long hours in healthcare during the Covid-19 lockdown, but after retiring found herself "not knowing anybody".

After five attempts to reach out to the charity were hampered by low confidence, she was invited to the hub which, she said, changed her life.

Supplied Linda Fisher is on the right with brown hair and a blue top. There are two woman next to her with blonde hair, one with a white and grey stripey top and another with a white top. They are all wearing blue aprons and standing in kitchen. — Linda Fisher (right) said she was "looking forward to growing things"

She became a volunteer and said she had since made new friends and was no longer "feeling alone".

"I've got my group of friends now and an amazing community in Yarm who I mostly met through the Wellness centre," she said.

"[The garden] is going to be transformational.

"I'm looking forward to growing things, it's good for your mental health."

Supplied A brick building with a large white arch window. There are planters on a concrete floor. There are large stone arches to the right behind a brick wall. — The garden will include a shed project, sensory garden and outdoor yoga and mindfulness space

The centre provides a weekly programme of peer support groups, drop-in cafés, creative and musical sessions and wellbeing classes.

The new outdoor area, developed on adjacent arches secured from Network Rail, will expand provision to include a Wellness Shed project, a sensory garden with raised beds and an outdoor yoga and mindfulness space.

Supplied Four men and women using gardening tools to create a raised wooden flower beds area. There is an old stone building in the background, a brick building with four large windows and a brick wall. — The outdoor area will officially open to the public on Saturday

Volunteer Richard Barker, 82, who runs the centre's Creative Art for Wellness session, lost his wife 13 years ago and after his children moved away for work he said the facility was a "lifeline".

"It gave me a purpose in life to actually get out and do things," he said.

The former electrical engineer said of the new garden: "I can't wait to sit outside, I would love to see the plants growing."

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