Forest Therapy and Social Ventures

Back in 2022 I heard about another Churchill Fellow, Lucy Duggan, who had researched the health benefits of nature connection. Keen to know more and wondering how this might fit with my care farming work I decided to sign up to her Forest Therapy Practitioner Course.

This accredited course covers group facilitation skills, leading safe sessions in nature and the impact of time in nature on our health as well the underpinning theories and research. I loved completing the practical sessions in nature and the synergies I discovered with care farming.

You may remember from previous blogs that forest therapy along with care farming, animal assisted interventions, social and therapeutic horticulture, eco therapy, facilitated green exercise and wilderness therapy are all part of the umbrella discipline of green care.

Forest therapy offers purposeful interactions with nature through a series of invitations that encourage participants to connect with their surroundings and senses. Sessions conclude with a cup of tea and possibly something small to eat. I find this a fascinating concept and wonder how this fits in with: food as part of a care farming session, food and a sense of place and food being used therapeutically...

This is something I find myself considering at present as I embark on an entrepreneurial incubator. In September I was awarded one of seven places in this years Social Ventures Programme from the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. The programme is for people looking to make lasting social or environmental change.

Since my Churchill Fellowship I've been working to create a tangible initiative that blends care farming, food and therapeutic interventions and with the support of my mentors and the academic staff at Social Ventures I look forward to bringing this to life in 2025.

Earthed and the popularity of Allotments

A few months ago I discovered the charity earthed and their wonderful education platform that offers a wide variety of nature based courses at beginner and advanced skill levels. Their focus is on supporting individuals who want to make changes in their own communities with topics such as activism, traditional knowledge and food sovereignty. I'm currently learning about No Dig Growing and looking at how I can implement those principles into vegetable growing.

A few of my friends have signed up for allotments to increase the variety of vegetables they grow and to boost their self sufficiency. About 15 years ago I briefly took on a local allotment, giving it up after a couple of months due to time commitments. The history of allotments in the UK goes back to Anglo Saxon times with spaces available for people to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Modern allotments continue to be measured with the Anglo Saxon rod system of ten rods which is roughly equal to 250 square meters.

Todays allotments stem from the 1845 General Enclosure Act and later the Small Holdings and Allotments Act of 1907/08, which gave councils the responsibility of providing allotments on demand to residents of the parish. During the First and Second World Wars people were encouraged to grow their own food with popular slogans such as Dig for Victory. This campaign to reduce food shortages produced 1.3 million tonnes of food from 1.5 million allotments during the Second World War.

The popularity of allotments has had a resurgence since the 1990's, with a focus not only on self sufficiency, but also growing food that is healthy and considers the environment. It also has the added bonus of being good for our mental health and wellbeing. The downside of this popularity is the lengthy waiting lists in some areas for allotments. 

The artist, historian and activist JC Niala has been researching and campaigning for more allotments in partnership with Greenpeace over the last few years. She discovered there were nearly 175,000 people across Britain on waiting list for allotments and set about informing communities of their rights to request land under the Allotments Act. You can find out more at The Truth About Britain's Allotment Waiting List.

If this has prompted you to think about an allotment take a look at RHS Guide to getting started and reach out to your council to join the waiting list.