An advanced nurse practitioner working in a GP practice in Worcestershire has created a ‘restorative garden’ to be used by staff and patients to help improve wellbeing and better engage with nature.
Elaine Bevan-Smith’s garden project is among five nurse-led garden initiatives to be awarded funding by the Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN).
The projects, which are part of the NGS Elsie Wagg Innovation Scholarships, funded by the National Garden Scheme, and the QICN’s wider Community Nurse Innovation Programme, will benefit from up to £5,000 in funding and a year-long programme of support from the QICN.
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They are all led by community nurses in various specialisms and focus on the potential of gardens to improve the physical and/or mental health of a particular group of people.
Ms Bevan-Smith’s project at her GP practice in Worcestershire – the ‘Restorative Community Garden’ – aims to support all those connected to the surgery, including patients, staff, and rehabilitation groups, by engaging with nature to enhance physical, psychological, and emotional wellbeing.
The initiative hopes to provide a ‘calming environment’ that reduces anxiety, depression, and social isolation, while promoting physical activity, balance, movement, and social connection.
It is also intended to offer a ‘peaceful retreat for primary care staff under pressure’.
The other four approved projects are:
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Grounded in Growth, led by project lead Helen Phelan, operational lead nurse based in Bradford. The project aims to establish a ‘healing garden’ for individuals experiencing homelessness in an intermediate care setting and including those in temporary accommodation, to improve physical and mental health through therapeutic horticulture.
Kerdhva Sawmeant: A Healing Walk, led by Susan Greenwood, a modern matron based in Cornwall. The project aims to use nature exposure to reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and rumination through gardening or siting and fostering mindfulness.
Nurture with Nature, Heart and Soil, led by Weston Muranda, a registered nurse based in Nottinghamshire. The overall aim of the project is to explore how improved and increased participation in garden activity can influence the health and wellbeing of residents living in a nursing home.
Bushcraft for the Betterment of People, led by Lucy Smart, a practice nursing officer based in North Yorkshire. The aim of this project is to give people a place to reconnect with nature, with the woodlands offering a setting to ‘get away from work’ and relax in the tranquil surroundings afforded by the area.
Dr Amanda Young, the QICN’s director of nursing, said the competition for funding was ‘very strong’.
‘This shows just how important this programme has become, and the appetite among community nurses to improve people’s health in a sustainable and imaginative way,’ she said.
‘The QICN is perfectly placed to bring these nurses together and to nurture their ideas with a year-long programme of expert support.’
Dr Richard Claxton, chief executive of the National Garden Scheme, added: ‘We are immensely proud to support this unique scholarship programme which helps to promote the health benefits of gardening and garden visiting to a wide cross section of the community and health care settings.’
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The Elsie Wagg Scholarships are named after the QICN Council member whose inspiration led to the creation of the National Garden Scheme in 1927.
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