22-28 February: Student Volunteering Week

Student Volunteering Week 22-28 February 2010

Thrive, the charity that uses gardening to help disabled people, knows the added value both volunteering and gaining horticultural qualifications and skills can bring.

Gardening can change people’s lives by making people feel happier, more confident and healthier in so many ways. It can improve not only emotional health through being outdoors and working with plants but also physical health. It can be a very social activity which helps people connect and being outside getting fresh air and seeing things grow is important to us as human beings.

Nicola Carruthers, Chief Executive of Thrive says

"Thrive offers a wealth of opportunities for volunteering and to gain recognised horticultural qualifications. We help disabled gardeners at our two garden projects gain qualifications and skills to increase their employability in paid or unpaid voluntary work and we help volunteers gain qualifications and skills to work in horticultural therapy."

Karen Edwards is a great example of someone who is disabled who has gained a qualification and skills in horticulture and has now gone on to be a volunteer at The Vyne run by National Trust in Hampshire.

Karen has mild learning difficulties and was very quiet and shy, with low self-esteem and no self-confidence when she first came to Thrive. Being at Thrive and taking a qualification in horticulture has increased her confidence and lead to this fantastic volunteering opportunity. She is also going to be part of a team of disabled gardeners growing and nurturing plants for use in Thrive’s small urban garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year.

Karen says "Coming to Thrive makes me feel excited. It means I meet lots of people and it makes me feel good about myself."

Thrive also encourages the learning of life skills through gardening including using initiative, co-operation and concentration as well as numeracy and literacy all of which are useful in all areas of life. Of the 83 volunteers at Thrive, Vicki Parker-Scott is a great example. She started as a volunteer with Thrive in 2004. She had always loved gardening but suffered from ME for almost 10 years.

One of the long term effects was depression, osteoporosis and long term damage to her back. She was determined the illness would not beat her and was referred to STEP Forward, an organisation who helps people with depression or other mental health issues to gain employment. As part of this programme they recommended volunteering.

Her love of gardening led her to Thrive and she has since gained sufficient confidence to take and pass the RHS Certificate in Horticulture. This now enables her to not only be a volunteer but also to be a freelance Horticultural Therapist for Thrive one day a week.

Vicki Parker-Scott says "It never ceases to amaze me how clever plants are and how much joy and fulfilment gardening can bring."

If you would like to find out more about Thrive or are interested in volunteering at Thrive, please visit Thrive’s website at www.thrive.org.uk, call Thrive on 0118 988 5688 or email them at info@thrive.org.uk