24 July 2024

Happy news! The MindSpace Wellbeing Garden will be opening its gate to children this summer holiday. Every Wednesday morning during August, the Garden’s usual ‘Sow & Grow’ session will be open to families to attend and will include child-friendly activities such as scavenger hunts, colouring and crafts and seed sowing alongside the usual gardening workshops for adults.

“Many of the people who drop in for the Wellbeing Garden sessions are parents, and we don’t want them to stop coming over the summer because they have their children with them,” says Kay Harrington, MindSpace’s Garden Lead. “When we’ve held family events in the past at the Garden, children have injected a lovely energy into the space and it has become a really joyful place to be. We have put lots of thought into activities that are child-friendly and we hope that lots of families drop in to experience the beautiful environment and that children can have a fun outdoor learning experience too.”

Kay goes on to say that the mental health benefits of being in the outdoors and engaging with nature apply to both adults and children. “Children especially benefit from time spent outdoors, when so much of their time spent can be screen-related. They develop curiosity, creativity and critical thinking skills just by playing and being outdoors. For the same reasons as connecting with nature benefits adults, being outside in the fresh air can reduce stress and anxiety levels and improve mental health and emotional wellbeing in children too. MindSpace’s overarching aim is to improve the wellbeing of everyone in our town, and our Garden is the perfect place for this to happen.”

The ’Sow & Grow’ sessions planned for adults over the summer include how to collect and store seeds from the garden, making pine cone bird feeders, making mini nature tiles using air drying clay, leaves and flowers. For details of what is happening week to week, keep an eye on MindSpace’s social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

The Wellbeing Garden ‘Sow & Grow’ sessions take place every Wednesday from 10am to 12noon, are free of charge and refreshments are provided. Everyone is welcome, with or without children!

The location of the Wellbeing Garden is at Uffington Road allotments, Uffington Road, Stamford PE9 2HD, with the allotment entrance just opposite Mole Valley. What3Words location is saving.toward.fruit. For more detailed directions, visit mindspacestamford.com/garden.