Lovein theopen air

At Stonehill Community Garden near Abingdon,

Oxfordshire, wellbeing isn’t about traditional therapeutic modalities. It’s about good old-fashioned togetherness – and having something useful to occupy your time.

“Meaningful activity is so important,” says garden manager Libby Curthoys. “Not just make-work nonsense, but proper meaningful tasks, carried out in a team, that make a difference to the environment and animals.” The three-and-a-half-acre charity garden welcomes casual volunteers alongside people referred by NHS community prescribers and mental health services. They grow food, share lunch, and care for the garden’s rehomed hens. For volunteer Phil Walker, Stonehill became a “life saver”. He discovered the garden while caring full-time for his terminally ill wife, and it gave him somewhere to meet people, contribute and breathe. When his wife passed away, those relationships became essential. Libby believes the hens deepen our sense of connection to our fellow living creatures – and the daily rhythms of nature many of us are far too busy to notice. “We forget we’re animals too,” says Libby. “Hens help us rediscover that connection to the natural world.”

“Meaningful work is so important. We need that connection to nature.”