Secondment update to Andover Mind

Month one complete with Andover Mind and we are making good progress.

The initial phase of the project is to identify potential sources of funding for the project which includes reaching out to philanthropists wishing to donate their time, money, experience and/or skills to the project, creating a fundraising campaign to enable individuals and businesses to make financial donations, and identifying a fundraising event which is linked to health, wellbeing and the great outdoors. On top of that, we are looking at grants which the charity would be eligible to apply for on this project.

So let me tell you a bit about the project

The project is the design and development of an Education, Health & Wellbeing garden in Longstock, Hampshire to support Andover Mind’s Mission is to empower anyone with or at risk of experiencing a mental health issue and all carers to access the right advice, information and support.?

Located in the heart of the Test Valley, the garden will be ideally located for the Andover Mind gardening club, which sees volunteers and service users from Andover, Romsey and the surrounding villages come together in nature, providing much needed respite and therapy for mental ill-health. While Andover Mind are leading on this project, the intention is that the garden will provide a welcoming, relaxing and inspiring outdoor space for the whole community to benefit from, with plenty of opportunities for other local charities and organisations to get involved.?

The last few years with the covid pandemic and present financial crisis has emphasised how important nature is for our mental health and wellbeing. In addition, the extreme climate events across the world really highlight the importance of outdoor space and the necessity to work with nature to preserve the natural environment and support the health and wellbeing of all fauna and flora on earth, along with the need to stop exploiting the natural resources. The proposal is to create a garden that not only provides the opportunity to support mental health and wellbeing, but also to help educate on the climate change challenges and Biodiversity loss.?

The aim of the project is also to showcase some, if not all of the following (dependent on funding):

● Developing/increasing habitats - bug huts, nest boxes, bog garden

● Rain water harvesting - water butts, underground water harvesting systems

● Drought tolerant/low maintenance lawns & alternatives to grass lawns - clover lawn, camomile lawn, thyme lawns, wildflower lawns, sedum ground mats.

● Drought tolerant drift planting/seasonal succession planting, right plant/right place i.e. Piet Oudolf design principles working with nature

● Edible Planting (Sow, Grow, Eat, Repeat)

● Sensory planting

● Carbon & Nitrogen sequestration - Trees, mosses, algae and lichens

● Plant selection for different aspects of gardens - shade tolerant, full sun etc.

● Pollinator planting for all year round.

● Hard landscaping options using donated/salvaged paving.

So what have we achieved to date…..

Firstly I am delighted to announce we are launching the fundraising campaign for the project “Garden for Mind:? Cultivating Health & Wellbeing”?

In addition we will be fundraising for the project by taking part in the Rotary Club of Romsey Test “Walk the Test Way 24th Sept 2023”. The walk is suitable and fun for all ages and abilities and you’re able to choose how many miles you wish to walk,? 25.5 miles, 16 miles, 11 miles, 8 miles or 5 miles. Please do sign up to join our fundraising team and help us raise money for this project. ? Whether you live in the area or not, this is an event that enables participants to get out and appreciate nature, embracing the great outdoors to support your health & wellbeing. Do take a look at this leaflet produced by Hampshire County Council with the assistance of Test Valley Borough Council and Totton and Eling Town Council https://documents.hants.gov.uk/countryside/walks/TestWayleaflet.pdf which tells you all about the different sections of the walk.

Please do sign up to join the Andover Mind team who will be fundraising for the Garden for Mind:? Cultivating Health & Wellbeing project or if you are unable to participate any donations to the Andover Mind team would be gratefully received. It is a fabulously organised event and if you raise ￡100 or more for Andover Mind you will be able to join our sea of blue Andover Mind t-shirts as we take part in the event.?

How to sign up to Walk the Test Way for Andover Mind

To Walk the Test Way with us, you’ll need to follow the steps below.

• Head over to Just Giving and set up your own Just Giving fundraising page.
• Register on the Walk The Test Way website and pay your entry fee.
• Secure your place before 31 July for the early bird discount: adults pay just ￡12 under 18’s pay ￡6 Book your place after 31st July: Adults pay ￡15 under 18’s pay ￡8
• During the registration process you will be asked ‘How are you going to raise sponsorship’. Select ‘Participating in a corporate or specific charity fundraising scheme’ then select ‘Andover Mind’.
• You will also be asked ‘Do you want to join or create a team?’. Select ‘Join a team’ and you will find us in the list ‘Andover Mind – Garden for mind team‘?
• Follow the instructions to complete your registration, proceed to basket and checkout!

With regards to the garden design this is also progressing, looking at how the project can be phased so if there are elements of the design we can’t afford to incorporate in the initial build phase we will aim to incorporate in a later phase. In order for the garden to offer multi-purpose use we will be looking to install a statement building that can be multi-functional for a variety of uses from group mental health support sessions, to bingo and creative activities for the dementia support group, to the younger service users counselling sessions . So, if there are businesses out there that would like to get involved in this exciting project then please do reach out to me or tag any organisations you think may be willing and able to help with the project.

Finally, from a grants perspective last week I have submitted an initial grant application to Natural England and am also investigating the application criteria for Community Asset Fund Grants and Business Partnership Funds with local authorities and the utilities.? Should anyone have other recommended funding sources, it would be great to hear from you. #gardenformind #andovermind #fivewaystowellbeing #togetherwemakeithappen #communitymatters #naturetherapy #mentalhealthmatters?