Green social prescribing

Growing together

Growing food with other people can bring connection, purpose and a little calm. We help local groups get a community growing project off the ground.

Start a conversation

What it is

Why growing together helps

Green social prescribing connects people to nature-based activities, such as community gardening and growing food, to support their health and wellbeing. Health professionals, social prescribing link workers and community groups can all help people find a place to start.

It is practical and friendly and it gets people outdoors with others.

Rows of young lettuce seedlings in dark soil beside a drip hose

The evidence

What the research says

Gardening and wellbeing

A review of 22 studies found that gardening was linked to lower depression and anxiety and to higher life satisfaction, quality of life and sense of community (Soga, Gaston and Yamaura, 2017).

Soil and serotonin

In laboratory studies a harmless soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, activated serotonin-producing neurons in the brains of mice and produced effects similar to antidepressants (Lowry and colleagues, 2007). The lead researcher said the findings leave us wondering whether we should all spend more time playing in the dirt, but whether soil microbes can lift mood in people still needs to be tested.

References. Soga M, Gaston KJ and Yamaura Y (2017) Gardening is beneficial for health: a meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine Reports 5, 92–99. Read the paper. Lowry CA and colleagues (2007) Identification of an immune-responsive mesolimbocortical serotonergic system: potential role in regulation of emotional behavior. Neuroscience, doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2007.01.067. Read the paper or the full text. University of Bristol press release (2 April 2007) Getting dirty may lift your mood.

Who can benefit

Growing is for everyone

Many people find community growing helps when they feel:

Lonely or isolated

A regular, welcoming place to be, with people to chat to and jobs to share.

Low in mood or anxious

Time outdoors with simple, absorbing tasks and no pressure to perform.

New to the area or retired

A way to meet neighbours and feel part of something.

Curious about growing

Learn to grow your own food alongside people who've done it before.

How we can help

Support to get you started

Volunteer support

Willing hands to help get a scheme up and running.

Free advice

Practical guidance on turning a small patch of land into a growing space.

Site visits and workshops

We'll come and look at your site and run a session with your group.

Fundraising help

Guidance on finding funding to set up a community garden or green social prescribing project.

Citizen science

Add soil testing and biodiversity counts, so a community garden also gathers real data.

Training

For people who want to set up and run a project or community garden.

See it grow

From an empty bed to a harvest

An empty wooden raised bed frame lined with cardboard
1. A raised bed goes in, lined with cardboard.
Hands arranging branches and soil inside a raised bed
2. Branches and soil build the bed from the bottom.
Three planted raised beds with canes and young crops
3. Planted up and growing.
Raised beds full of tall sweetcorn, beans and squash plants
4. Ready to harvest.
Glossy green chard leaves with bright orange stems
Two heads of purple sprouting broccoli growing in the garden
A close-up of a lettuce heart curling into a spiral
Rows of red and green lettuces beside a woodchip path

Our experience

Experience you can draw on

Our work in community growing and green social prescribing goes back to 2016. What we offer comes from real projects:

  • Develoment of a community garden at a local hospital to support a green social prescribing initiative
  • Support for a community agriculture farm
  • Guidance and training for students who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) or have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and work experience placements.
  • Regular weekly support for green social prescribing projects at two commercial farms

We are keen to visit other community farms to see what works and share what we learn.

Hands opening dried pea pods over a glass to collect seeds

We believe in sharing knowledge, skills and resources. Saving seeds, protecting biodiversity and building community resilience are at the heart of everything we do.

Do you have a patch of land?

Let's grow something together

Do you have a small area at a surgery, hall, church, school or care home that could be given over to growing? Tell us about it and we'll talk it through, with no obligation.

Start a conversation

cheryl@iamtheuniverse.earth