Thrive wins London in Bloom Award

Thrive’s Herb Garden in Battersea Park has come third in The London in Bloom’s Community Garden Award out of 25 entries.

Thrive is a small national charity that uses gardening to help disabled people. This is one of three gardens managed by Thrive in Battersea Park. Thrive has been managing The Herb Garden since 2002. It is planted and maintained by Thrive’s disabled gardeners with a range of disabilities from early onset dementia, stroke, mental illness to learning disabilities, from across south and west London.

The design concept behind The Herb Garden is to show the diversity and beauty which can be achieved in a garden with plants which are culinary, medicinal and therapeutic.

Whatever their challenge in life, Thrive’s Herb Garden helps disabled people learn new skills and improve their health and wellbeing through gardening.

Thrive’s Battersea Garden project has helped over 100 disabled people in south and west London this year. Thrive is currently redeveloping its facilities at the project and will be able to support over 300 disabled people by 2012. The charity needs to raise a further £360,000 for a new building and to revamp the main garden.

The London in Bloom awards supports and encourages gardening, horticulture and environmental sustainability across greater London.

London in Bloom praised Thrive’s Herb Garden for the :

• precise planting of labeled herbs and vegetables
• variety of medicinal and culinary plants
• immaculate condition of plants and weed free beds
• superb greenhouse which is used as a classroom
• managed compost beds
• enthusiastic volunteers and disabled workforce of 12 people
• plants grown on site are being sold on Saturdays.

Anne Holman, Campaign Manager from London in Bloom says "Thrive have good reason to be pleased with winning 3rd prize in the London in Bloom Community Garden Award. This garden won an award because it was well planted, well labeled, in immaculate condition with enthusiastic volunteers and disabled gardeners."

Susan Stuart, Thrive’s Battersea Garden Project Manager says "We are extremely proud to have done so well in these prestigious awards. I would like to say a big thank you to all our disabled gardeners for all their hard work making this garden so spectacular."

If you would like to visit The Herb Garden, it is open to the public 7 days a week. Access is from the Albert Gate entrance of Battersea Park and The Herb Garden is just on the left hand side.

If you would like more information about Thrive, would like to volunteer or make a donation, please contact Thrive on 0118 988 5688, email them at info@thrive.org.uk or visit their website at www.thrive.org.uk

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2 December 2009

For further information, please contact:

Janet Carruzzo
T: 0118 988 5688
M: 07788 141 997
E: Janet.carruzzo@thrive.org.uk

Notes to Editors

1. A photo to accompany the article is attached. Further images are available on request.

2. A spokeperson from Thrive is available on request.

3. Thrive is a small national charity whose vision is to enable those touched by a disability to transform their lives using gardening.

Thrive helps disabled people who want to garden at home, on an allotment or in a community setting or who may want to access structured horticultural therapy programmes at its sites in Battersea Park in London and Beech Hill, near Reading.

Gardening can bring profound change, from improvements in physical or psychological health and wellbeing to adjustments in beliefs, attitudes or behaviours to the transformation of skills, knowledge and abilities.

Thrive Registered charity no. 277570

Thrive offers free help and advice to disabled gardeners through its
Information Service over the phone 0118 988 5688, by email at
info@thrive.org.uk or through its new website
www.carryongardening.org.uk.

For more information please contact: Thrive, The Geoffrey Udall Centre, Beech Hill, Reading RG7 2AAT. T. 0118 988 5688. email: info@thrive.org.uk. Websites: www.thrive.org.uk and www.carryongardening.org.uk