Bereavement happens to us all, but it can feel as if there’s nothing to be done when it does. The intense emotional pain of losing a loved one can often go hand-in-hand with anxiety, financial insecurity and isolation. Recovery is often left to be a matter of time – which can leave many facing extended periods of suffering. It’s well documented that collective gardening provides an effective and cost-efficient therapy for those facing long term mental and physical health issues. It’s also been shown to improve the wellbeing of those recovering from bereavement. At Communigrow we know that it’s a powerful tool, and that’s why we’ve got a great track record of delivering gardening as therapy. Waiting lists for NHS support for bereavement are at least 6 months in our area; so, we want to start a bereavement recovery group as quickly as we can. We’re going to try and use our ‘birthday money’ to do it; meeting our target will allow us to start securing our staff training with THRIVE.

What we'll deliver:

• Reach out to local health providers and community groups to find people waiting for bereavement support
• Train our existing staff so they're confident to deliver gardening as therapy for bereavement
• Create a bereavement recovery group at Communigrow Gardens, to meet, garden, talk, pause, recover and drink lots of tea
• Explore delivering to groups and individuals who otherwise can’t come to the Gardens
• Prepare to do it all again – if we reach our target we will branch out with new recovery groups

Why it's a great idea:

The death of someone close is known to be one of the most stressful things that can happen to an individual. Gardening has been shown to decrease stress levels during any stressful period in life and is particularly effective in helping during bereavement. One recent study indicates that people who garden every day have stress levels 4.2% lower than people who do not garden at all. (*Science Focus). Incredibly, soil has even been found to contain antidepressant properties — brain cells were activated by bacteria in the soil to produce serotonin. The NHS states that for every £1 spent on ‘green activities', the NHS saves £ 6.00 on medial /health support. With waiting lists climbing in the area, we believe we can bring much needed solace and support to local people. One thing we really value about community gardening is how it builds communities. The groups and networks that learn, volunteer, socialise and heal at Communigrow go on to create and maintain new communities.

Steps to get it done:

• Month 1 – Meet with GPs and local bereavement groups to determine group size, timings and specific requirements
• Month 1 – prepare Communigrow staff with extra training or refreshers
• Month 1 – Schedule staff time, finalise initial intake, begin advertising group to wider community
• Month 1 – Plan group’s gardening activities and projects for short, medium and long term
• Month 2 – Start delivering the recovery group. The first 6 weeks will function as a testing and feedback period
• Month 3 – renew delivery of improved recovery group. From now on we’ll gather feedback every quarter
• Month 4 – 12 – deliver the recovery group, continue advertising & partnership to help as many people as possible
• Month 5 – if we exceed our crowdfunding target (thank you!), now is when we’ll start designing new recovery groups

2024 celebrates Communigrow’s ten-year anniversary since our registration as a charity: our tenth birthday! We think this is the ideal opportunity for our first and only crowdfunding campaign. We’re asking the guests at our Birthday Open Day, our local supporters, our volunteer network and YOU if you’ll consider giving us ten quid (or a little more, if you want to) to celebrate ten years. We think we stand a good chance of meeting our crowdfunding target, which will pay for us to deliver the recovery group for at least a year. We already have a trained counsellor among our volunteer cohort who will run the group with us, but we would like to also secure appropriate training for existing staff. If we’re lucky enough to exceed our target, we’ll use the money to create more recovery groups.