Our charity partner Thrive helps a range of clients at its Reading centre and gardens. The charity’s clients have a wide range of conditions, including physical or learning disabilities, mental health support needs, sensory loss or autism. Thrive’s trained horticultural therapists work with clients so they can enjoy the health benefits that gardening and spending time with nature can bring. Read on for Nick’s story:
Introducing Nick
Nick has been coming to Thrive since he was a teenager and enjoys the physicality of gardening and how it helps his fitness. He does a variety of jobs around the garden at Thrive’s centre in Reading, but particularly enjoys pruning, strimming, lawn mowing and digging. He enjoys turning the compost, a heavy-duty job that increases his arm and core muscle strength – it’s a process that can take hours as there are several bins to work on.
“We have a system”, explains Nick. “We use natural material to make the compost, like garden waste but can include things like eggshells, banana skins and tea bags. This is all good for the soil.”
Nick isn’t fazed by dealing with rotting vegetation and food, admitting it is smelly but “in a good way”. “It’s amazing how my fitness has changed. Doing the compost is so active.”
Nick has his own raised bed at Thrive where he has complete freedom to grow whatever he chooses and he’s a big fan of veg, growing tomatoes, potatoes, beans, carrots. He takes his produce home to cook with including spinach which he loves especially when combined with eggs and some bacon thrown in too.
Being at Thrive has helped Nick learn about the nutritional value of vegetables and helps him eat healthily in pursuit of his fitness goals. Nick feels that “coming to Thrive has changed my life so much. This is a good place to make people feel relaxed, to make the garden so nice, and to change your life.”