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Sow and grow Pots ‘n’ petals Winter in the garden

February 2012

February 2012Page 2

WelcomeIt’s a bitterly cold day today; but there are promises of spring wrapped up in those tiny green shoots in the Thrive garden and it’s good to know we’ll soon be enjoying sunshine; and winter will be a memory.

2012 will be another challenging year for us – costs are rising and income is more difficult to find. We remain absolutely committed to our disabled gardeners because we know from the positive changes in the many people who come to us that Thrive’s approach works. And that is thanks to the enormous talent, creativity and commitment of our horticultural therapists and the volunteers who work with them.

But we couldn’t achieve anything without your support; we know how difficult it is to find a little extra to give to

charity these days. Your gifts to Thrive are so greatly cherished and are very carefully used. We work hard to make sure that our gardening programmes continue to provide the best possible outcomes for the disabled people we support and 97 pence in every £1 we receive is spent on them1.

These pages contain pieces about our work with disabled people, what’s happening at Thrive, some seasonal gardening tips and some stories about the wonderful people who are supporting us. So, settle down in the warm with a cup of something hot and enjoy... and if you have the chance, when the summer comes, do visit us at our gardens in Beech Hill or Battersea Park and see Thrive for yourself, we’ll be here to welcome you with a smile and a thank you for continuing to support Thrive.

Sue Tiplady Editor, Thrive News

Landscape Juice is an online forum for landscape gardeners and designers throughout the UK. ‘The Many Faces of Fu Man Pugh’ was an event when members of the network around the country were encouraged to dress up as their favourite characters and raise money for Thrive. Landscape Juice members came for tea and a tour to Trunkwell Gardens and brought us a cheque for £1,421.

Sherfield Show is a popular event close to Trunkwell and the organisers of this annual produce show kindly decided to support Thrive with a donation of £200.

Mystery donors Last year we received £7,423.52 in anonymous donations, we don’t know who you are but your gifts are gratefully received, thank you!

The sweet taste of fundraisingBees make honey... and money for Thrive. Marshalls installed a beehive at their Halifax site, staff care for the bees and the honey has been sold in aid of

Thrive, raising a total of £480.

We were delighted to receive a donation of £500 from the Walton Open Gardens Group who open their gardens yearly for charity in Walton-on-Thames. Members visited Thrive at Trunkwell to present the cheque to Fiona Rackham.

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Jelf, the Insurance Brokers are great friends of Thrive, they donated £1,190 from their

Golf Day last summer, and another £200 instead of sending Christmas Cards. Thrive is their charity of the year for 2012 and Mike and Steve from Jelf will run with the Thrive Team in Reading Half Marathon on 1 April – Steve’s manager was so impressed he agreed to pay for our running shirts, nice one Steve!

Charitable hand out – the Worshipful Company of Glovers have given Thrive a 170 pairs of gardening gloves, with thanks to Richard Morris.

More sticky stuff Legend speaks of treacle mines below the Hampshire village of Tadley and every year at the annual Treacle Fair is organised by Loddon Valley Lions Club, proceeds from last summer’s event were donated £4,200 to Thrive for The Journey Garden, one of our Garden Gallery Gardens.

The AWE Community Committee have donated another £1,000 to Thrive, with thanks to everybody who made this donation possible.

Adam Panter, a designer from Hertfordshire, will be amongst the 36,000 runners on the streets of London on 22 April 2012 raising money for Thrive.

Adam’s initial motivation to run was to get fit and lose weight after a friend commented that he looked like he had ‘eaten all the pies’ so seven half marathons later and two stone lighter, Adam is ready for the next challenge – the Virgin London Marathon.

Thrive and Adam are the perfect match for a few reasons. Firstly, Sarah (Adam’s wife) works as a Horticultural Co-ordinator teaching disabled adults the skills required to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. Through her Adam has seen the way horticultural therapy has helped people cope with both physical disabilities and mental health issues. Secondly, his step son Bryn has Cerebral Palsy and although he is wheelchair-bound, Bryn loves spending time on the allotment sowing seeds, enjoying the fresh air and, ultimately, enjoying the fruits of his labour.

We would all like to wish Adam and Susie the best of luck for race day on 22 April.

Marathon Man...

...and Woman!Susie Rees, a new Thrive volunteer, has just told us that she’d like to use her

marathon place for Thrive.

You can read more about Adams story on his just giving page www.

justgiving.com/Adam-Panter and help us reach the fundraising target.

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Thrive Events 201217–18 March (for Mothering Sunday) Children can paint a pot and fill it with Thrive plants, flowers and gifts for sale at the Herb Garden, Albert Gate entrance, Battersea Park.

8 May Worshipful Company of Gardeners Charity DinnerIn aid of Thrive and Perennial, at Gibson

Hall, City. Tickets: £120 each. See the Thrive website for details.

12 May Spring Fair at TrunkwellGarden tours, shopping, refreshments, activities for children. 11.00 am–4.00 pm with hanging basket demonstrations.

9–10 June Open Garden Squares Weekend at the Herb Garden, Albert Gate Entrance, Battersea Park Garden fête: raffle, tombola, plants and herbs for sale, delicious refreshments, children’s activities include flowerpot painting, a bug hunt, tombola, face-painting and a painting competition. 11.00 am–5.00 pm

24 June Open Garden at Trunkwell Tours, plant sales, afternoon tea, 2.00pm–4.30 pm

1 July Open Garden event at TrunkwellTours, plant sales, afternoon tea, 2.00pm–4.30 pm

15 September Harvest Festival at TrunkwellGarden tours, shopping, refreshments, activities for children. 11.00 am–4.00 pm with hanging basket demonstrations.

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Challenge yourself

Ever wondered what it is like to skydive from 10,000 feet, trek the Great Wall of China or cycle from London to Paris? Others have and took the challenge to mentally and physically push themselves to achieve great things all in the name of charity.

If you would like any further information or would like to

visit us and see what we do, please get in touch at

info@thrive.org.uk or by calling on 0118 988 5688.

‘Discover Adventure’ and ‘Skyline’ are a couple of companies who organise all of the logistics of such life changing trips and have many different fundraising challenges to inspire everyone. The costs vary depending on the scale and location of each challenge and a decent percentage of the money raised is paid to the charity.

Thrive has been fortunate enough to benefit from people with a thirst for adrenalin and last year we saw Emma Terleske reach the summit on Kilimanjaro and in September 2012, Matthew Jones (pictured) will also be making his way up (and safely down again!). It doesn’t matter if you have never done anything like this before; as long as you are prepared to train in advance it is possible to achieve your goals.

We can help anyone with ideas for fundraising and provide promotional material to reach your targets and raise the most money possible.

Help us raise some much needed funds and take on your very own exciting journey.

for Thrive

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Pots ‘n’ PetalsWorking with young people who have disabilities is an important part of Thrive’s work. Some of the young people visiting Thrive have “profound and multiple learning disabilities” (PMLD), we help them through a programme named Pots ‘n’ Petals...

Pots ‘n’ Petals

Pots ‘n’ Petals is designed to stimulate the senses and engage young people with simple activities in the garden. The programme runs throughout the year with weekly sessions lasting two hours and accompanying carers are always included in the activities which are carefully tailored to each individual.

Becky, the Horticultural Therapist in charge of the programme says. “Because the children all have different needs and capabilities we provide a choice of activities. Tasks are varied and include sowing seeds, harvesting herbs or raking leaves, the emphasis is always on the sensory aspect of the activity. These are offered to the young people using pictures and with support many of them are able to choose what they would like to do.

“Activities are designed to fit in with the seasons; there is enormous scope just using leaves for example. Scuffling through them; wheeling over piles of fallen leaves; feeling their shape; matching their colour. Bending, reaching for leaves; sitting or lying under a tree’s canopy, seeing the sky through the leaves, watching them fall and feeling them land. Also smelling leaves and feeling the warmth in a pile of rotting leaves.

“Wherever possible an element of play is included in any session, whether it be hurling leaves in the air, spraying each other with water or walking in long grass with bare feet and doing roly-poly down a hill. Play, after all, is the basis for all learning.”

How can gardening help young people?

Evidence shows that experiences of nature can bring significant benefits to children, contributing to their mental and behavioural, creative and imaginative and social well-being (The University of York, Taylor et al. 2001).

Gardens provide restorative environments and environmental psychology shows that the natural environment promotes recovery and helps restore the ability to focus attention. Research also shows that children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are better able to concentrate following contact with nature.

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Pots ‘n’ Petals

Charlie (not his real name) attends Pots ’n’ Petals and the experience has helped him enormously.

Charlie chooses not to use his voice to communicate most of the time and he is often reluctant to move about. But at Thrive he loves his wheelbarrow and spends time pushing it around using it to support himself whilst raking and gathering leaves and throwing them in the air. One day he particularly enjoyed a pile of bark chippings which he had spent some time shovelling into

his barrow and wheeling to the pile; he climbed up, brushing off his support assistant’s offer of a ‘hand up’ – for Charlie this was an extraordinary achievement. His teaching assistant said: “I’ve never seen Charlie so animated or so happy as he was this morning, ever,” and added that, “he is like

a different child at Thrive – happier and more communicative; using symbols and single words to describe what he does here.”

Pots ’n’ Petals provides excellent therapy and sees the young people we meet making choices, learning to use their bodies and getting used to being in a different environment, what seem to be tiny adjustments in behaviour and awareness in these young people represents huge personal achievements for them. Pots ’n’ Petals costs £12,000 a year and supports around 18 children between the age of 14 and 16 from three local centres, given more funds we could extend Pots ’n’ Petals to support more young people like Charlie.

“Working with his hands he found a place to express his creativity and showed an eagerness to learn. In gardening he was able to come to terms with and manage his feeling of anger,” Mother of a 16-year-old boy.

“Play is the basis for all learning.” Horticultural Therapist.

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P rO j E C T u P DAT E S

Thrive at Basildon Park

Thrive’s Growing 4 Life project has just started work on a six month conservation programme at a National Trust Estate near Pangbourne in Berkshire. Basildon Park is a historic House set in more than 200 acres of beautiful parkland and woodlands. Under the supervision of the Trust’s Area Warden, Granville Nicholls, our volunteers will be using traditional woodland management techniques, like hazel coppicing, to help manage the woodlands there. The group will work together, learn new skills and contribute to the upkeep of this much loved and visited Estate. In the spring and summer, Thrive will be working on the Trust’s chalk grassland sites near Streatley helping to manage the grazing areas to encourage the colonies of naturally occurring wildflowers.

The Growing 4 Life project supports adults who have had any experience of mental distress to be part of a friendly group doing gardening and conservation activities. It particularly encourages participation by older adults. The project is Lottery funded via the Ecominds scheme which is part of the charity ”Mind”.

Thrive Calendar 2013 can you help?We know it’s early to start thinking about 2013 but we’re already planning our Thrive Calendar for next year...

Our 2012 calendar featured lovely photographs of Thrive Gardens and for 2013 we would like to feature Thrive’s supporter’s gardens too. We’re also looking for recipes to share – so if you have a favourite recipe for sweet or savoury treats using garden produce; send them along and you may well find your recipe featured.

Send your recipes to fundraising@thrive.org.uk putting 2013 Calendar Recipe Idea in the subject line, or post them to us at Thrive, find our address on the back of Thrive News.

To submit a photograph, please send a digital photo, of less than 6 megabytes (MB) by email to fundraising@thrive.org.uk – putting Thrive Calendar Photo in the subject line. We’ll be choosing the best photographs early in the summer so please send us your photo by the end of June 2012.

And please remember to include contact details so that we can let you know if we want to use your photo or recipe.

Find out more about Growing 4 Life by contacting Carl Harney, Project Officer at Thrive , or email carl.harney@thrive.org.uk

Find our how Ecominds is helping people across the country by visiting http://www.mind.org.uk/ecominds

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P rO j E C T u P DAT E S

Sow and Grow in 2012! Isla Goldsmith joined Thrive last September, with fellow project officer Paul she has been busy delivering the 8 week gardening programme for those aged 50+ all over Hampshire, Berkshire and South Oxfordshire in rural community venues. Sow and Grow provides gardening sessions for people in their local area. The groups are really successful, people find friendships and are inspired to garden at home, help each other out, or take responsibility for a garden in their area.

Like the cheerful ladies at the Henley 60+ club, Pamela described the sessions as “a very happy and friendly course”, Dolly said “this brings me back to my youth!”. Through the skills and confidence they gained they plan to enter for Henley-in-Bloom in 2012. Although they have a limited garden area outside their club, Friday afternoons in spring will see them meeting up to relax, drink tea, and of course, get their planters and hanging baskets looking the best they can.

“This year we are already booking up fast!” says Isla, with groups planned in Goring-on-Thames, Abingdon, Wantage, Thame, Nettlebed, Henley, Caversham Park Village, Winchester, Alton, Wargrave, Wash Common, Newbury, Oakley, Hartley Wintney, Woodley, Witchurch and Mortimer...

Please do contact us if you or someone you know might like to get involved.

Battersea Blog from Sue Stuart, Garden Manager at Battersea ParkPeople often ask me what we do in the winter. They assume that there’s nothing going on… but this couldn’t be further from the truth!

In the run up to Christmas the garden project turns into a whirlwind of activity. Last Christmas we made and sold over 100 wreaths and hundreds of cyclamen and hyacinths in decorative pots.

The Thrive gardeners also got together and from a mass of glue and glitter emerged fantastic hand-made Christmas cards, one for each of our volunteers. And that was just indoors. People who garden with us really do get hooked on gardening and being outdoors – even in the worst weather and on the darkest of days there is always something going on and someone out there!

Call Isla at Thrive on

0118 988 5688

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Trunkwell Tales from Sue Tabor, Garden Manager at Trunkwell When I stop and think I realise how much we achieved at Trunkwell last year. Two of the four gardens in our Garden Gallery are finished and we hope to complete the remaining two this spring. We’re really pleased that Reading Stroke Group will be coming to Trunkwell to use the ‘Gardening for Hearts and Minds’ garden as a weekly base for their members, they’ll also be working on two allotments. Last year’s four Open Days attracted over 1,500 visitors and Thrive was also invited to many local community events; a great opportunity to raise our profile.

We have continued our work with The Vyne, National Trust property nearby where we grow vegetables in the Walled Garden and help with conservation work in Morgaston Woods. Our youth projects, The Garden Gang and Pots’n’Petals have been a great success too. As always we have depended relied on our regular weekend volunteers and teams from local companies who have helped us with much needed ‘muscle’ to get the bigger jobs done in the garden, like clearing the pond and building composting systems. And before Christmas we offered a wreath making workshop which was such fun it will definitely be back in 2012.

WINTER IN THE GARDENjobs for the garden in winter with a few useful tips.

Sowing seeds Whether you sit or stand to sow seeds, make sure your work surface is at a comfortable height.

Sow your seeds into a modular seed tray filled with compost and then you won’t need to prick out the seedlings. These modular trays are divided into separate cells so that you sow one seed, or a very small pinch of seeds, per cell. Seedlings

are lifted out in their own cell of soil ready for potting up or planting out.

Pruning/cutting back Place a plastic sheet onto the ground where you are pruning to catch most of the trimmings.

Most plants and hedges need to be pruned at the right time of the year to keep the plant healthy, do a little at a time over this period to keep yourself healthy as well.

Having the right tool for the job is really helpful, you can get ratchet secateurs that need less strength or cut and hold secateurs that collect the trimming so you can put them into a bucket and not have to bend down to pick them up. Whatever tool you use keep them sharp and oiled as this will also make cutting a lot easier.

Raking/ sweepingA lightweight long handled dustpan and brush might be the best option to save you bending. Products from the multi-change range allow you to change the handle length

depending on the job you are doing.

Lifting, dropping and dragging the rake can jolt the arms and strain the back. Use a lighter rake and work in very short bursts, to reduce back strain.

And don’t forget the weeding and deadheading.

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This smart Thrive apron is available from our online shop at www.thrive.org.uk

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I would like to support Thrive with a gift.Here is my Cheque/CAF charity voucher/Postal Order for

£. . . . . . . . . . . . . (please insert amount) made payable to Thrive.

Financial SecurityIf you prefer to make a donation by credit or debit card; please do not send card details through the post – please call us on 0118 988 5688 and ask to speak to a member our finance team. Or donate via our website: www.thrive.org.uk/donate-to-thrive.aspxDonate using your mobile phone: text THRI02 and the amount of your gift to 70070

Gift Aid – make your gift larger at no personal cost: Using Gift Aid means that for every pound you give, Thrive will receive an extra 25p from the Inland Revenue. Just sign the statement below.

Gift Aid Statement I want Thrive to treat all donations I make from the date of this declaration until I notify you

otherwise, as Gift Aid donations. I understand the requirement is that I must pay an amount of income tax or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax deemed to have been deducted from this donation.

Signature ......................................................................................... Date ............................

Your details(We need your full address to process your donation for Gift Aid successfully and to acknowledge your donation)

Name: Mr / Mrs / Ms (please delete) .......................................................................................................

Address: ...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................... Postcode :................................

Telephone Number:...................................................................................................................

Email:.....................................................................................................................................

Please send a thank you by email (please provide your email address above).

I do not require a thank you letter this time.

The law around charities communicating with their supporters has changed and we need to have your permission to contact you again. Your support is very important to us, and we would like to keep you updated about Thrive.

If you are happy to hear from us until further notice please tick here: (Any personal information we collect from you will be handled under the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998). We will not pass on your personal details to any third party.)

Please return this form to: Thrive, FREEPOST (SCE 6522) The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading RG7 2AT. OR Thrive, The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading RG7 2AT.

Thank youThrive is a small national charity whose vision is to enable those touched by a disability to transform their lives using gardening.Registered in the UK as The Society for Horticultural Therapy Charity No 277570 Company No 1415700Source: FRNEWS022012

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Thrive

When you have finished with this newsletter, please pass it on to a friend or recycle it. Thrive News is printed on recycled paper. Thrive is registered in the UK as the Society for Horticultural Therapy. Thrive is a registered charity (number 277570) and a limited company (number 1415700).© Thrive 2012

Contact ThriveThrive, The Geoffrey Udall CentreBeech Hill, Reading RG7 2ATT: 0118 988 5688E: info@thrive.org.ukW: www.thrive.org.uk

I thought I’d better give it a go. I am

so glad I did because it has been just lovely.

You can help Thrive help more people:

Telephone: 0118 988 5688

Online: www.thrive.org.uk

By post: Fill in the form overleaf and return it to Thrive

Celia shows it’s never too late to Sow and Grow with ThriveSeventy-six-year-old Celia Carter was feeling lonely and isolated during at the beginning of 2011. She had been a widow for eight years, her beloved dog had died a year after her husband, and her only son lives away, winter weather had kept her inside and visitors were few and far between.

When Celia heard about Thrive’s new community gardening course – Sow and Grow* which was taking place in her local village hall she was apprehensive about going along.

“I wondered what on earth you could do with gardening in a village hall and I thought it might be full of people who knew lots about gardening,” she said.

“But the way I was feeling... and I do believe I was on a downward spiral... I thought I’d better give it a go. I am so glad I did because it has been just lovely.”

Meeting new people has given Celia back her confidence and she has made new firm friends.

“People who came along were all local so it means we still do things together, I see one lady twice a month for coffee.”

Celia also says her contact with Thrive has ignited an interest in gardening.

“When we made up the hanging baskets I decided to make more myself at home,” said Celia. “And when Paul from Thrive showed us how to make Origami pots out of newspaper for seedlings, well I had such fun that day!

“Thrive definitely helped me and came at the right time. It has made me more determined to do things and keep me mobile.

“I loved every bit about the course. Gardening is my new hobby!”

Gardening is now so important to Celia that she felt confident enough to enter her hanging baskets into the local flower show last summer – she won a certificate for the best blooms!

Now Celia is hoping to start volunteering at a local residential home helping out at tea and coffee mornings and she goes along to the Baptist Church every week as a result of hearing about it during Sow and Grow.

Thrive has delivered 15 Sow and Grow Courses to 120 participants with some great results:• 75 per cent are less isolated and socialise

more• 92 per cent developed an interest in their

wider community• 71 per cent feel happier and healthier as a

result of gardening with Thrive• 60 per cent gained skills and knowledge to

garden at home, in spite of a disability.

Read about our plans for Sow and Grow 2012 on page 9

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*Sow and Grow is funded by the Big Lottery Reaching Communities Fund.