Growing wellbeing together

When people hear about our Gardening for Wellbeing project, they often assume it's about gardening.

Of course, gardening is a big part of it. We plant flowers, grow vegetables, create wildlife habitats and spend time outdoors together.

But for me, the project has always been about much more than gardening alone.

It's about people.

The project began in 2020 as a response to the social isolation many people experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It provided a safe opportunity for people to come together outdoors, connect with others and spend time in nature during a particularly difficult time.

When I joined Gloucester Cathedral in 2022, I had the privilege of helping develop the next chapter of the programme.

We renamed it Gardening for Wellbeing to better reflect what we were seeing every week: people growing in confidence just as much as they were growing plants.

We also introduced the AQA Unit Award Scheme and began shaping activities around the Five Ways to Wellbeing – Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.

Since then, participants have achieved around 2,500 certificates, recognising everything from practical gardening skills to environmental projects and teamwork.

What makes me most proud is not the number of certificates, but the people behind them.

Some participants have been attending since the group first started in 2020. Over the years, I've seen confidence grow, friendships form and people discover strengths they didn't know they had.

I've watched participants who were once nervous to join a group become active members of our community.

I've heard stories of friendships continuing outside our Wednesday sessions and seen people take their first steps into volunteering and other community activities.

I've also had the pleasure of developing our Sowing and Growing programme, a gardening for wellbeing initiative designed for children and young people with additional needs.

Working alongside Gloucester Schools Partnership and Paternoster School, we piloted sessions with primary-aged pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and secondary-aged students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Using gardening activities to support the Five Ways to Wellbeing, the programme helps young people build confidence, develop new skills, connect with others and spend time outdoors in a supportive environment.

The response was overwhelmingly positive. One child told us, "Before I came to gardening I felt unhappy, but now I feel happy." Another said they felt "bold." Sometimes the simplest feedback says the most.

That's why I'm so excited that, thanks to generous support from Barnwood Trust, we can now expand this work over the next three years.

Together with participants, schools, community groups and local partners, we will create a fully accessible sensory garden within the Cathedral grounds.

What makes this particularly special is that it is being designed with participants, not simply for them. Earlier this year, people helped us imagine their ideal garden and many of those ideas have directly influenced the plans.

Thanks to Barnwood Trust's support, we can now expand this work significantly. Alongside our weekly adult Gardening for Wellbeing sessions, we will work with up to three schools each year, giving more children and young people the opportunity to take part in nature-based wellbeing activities, contribute to the development of the new sensory garden and achieve AQA certificates that recognise their learning and achievements.

The new space will include accessible raised beds, sensory planting, wildlife-friendly areas and opportunities for learning, creativity and social connection.

We will also establish a Community Voice Panel to help shape the future of the project and ensure people with lived experience remain at the heart of decision-making.

The garden connects strongly with Gloucester Cathedral's wider commitment to wellbeing, inclusion and caring for creation.

As an Eco Church, we are committed to helping people engage with nature, biodiversity and sustainable growing practices, while creating opportunities for everyone to enjoy and benefit from the Cathedral's green spaces.

Ultimately, I hope this project creates more than a garden. I hope it creates a place where people feel welcome, valued and able to belong; a place where confidence can grow, friendships can flourish and people can experience the wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature.

And that's something worth growing together.

If you would like to find out more about Gardening for Wellbeing, explore partnership opportunities or discuss getting involved, please contact: lizzy.hathaway-white@gloucestercathedral.org.uk