Thanks to the kind and generous donations Northamptonshire Health Charity has been receiving throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we have been able to fund a multi-purpose workspace to enhance activities and experience for mental health patients in the county.
Over the summer months, this huge outdoor space has been providing a number of therapeutic activities for the patients at the acute mental health unit at St Mary's Hospital in Kettering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8MRZCUJ3DU The Welland Centre is a purpose built inpatient facility for adults of working age.
There are four wards within the Welland devoted to this as well as a 136 Place of Safety Suite.
The gardening therapies this charity-funded project has been offering are being continually developed further by including education on horticulture, ecologically sound methods, planning and maintaining, in addition to an understanding of the health benefits.
Patients have been growing their own vegetables, running experiments to see how they can grow things best and using the produce in cooking therapies too - known as the "ground to kitchen" project.
Thanks to the charity funding the purchase of a huge shed, the garden project can continue to develop as well as staff being able to start up a much-anticipated DIY project.
This will encourage the use of basic DIY skills to complete small projects, repurpose old furniture and with the help of skilled volunteers, introduce new skills.
Gardening and outdoor activities have provided a real lifeline to patients who have felt increasingly isolated throughout the pandemic.
Charity funding for projects like this - all thanks to your donations - has also helped the staff in so many important ways because they've been able to ensure they can offer more to their patients.
Check out the video above from the wonderful team at the Welland.
It features a lovely message of thanks to all of you who have supported Northamptonshire Health Charity throughout COVID19.
Sue Birchall, Lead for inpatient Therapies and Therapies Assistant, Kelly Ann Barkhuizen also show you what funds raised have been spent on at the centre and the impact the garden project has had (and continues to have) on the mental health patients that stay with them.
Without your kind and generous support all this wouldn't have been possible.