Incredible Edible Knowsley provides a Therapeutic Horticulture course for anyone who wishes to get into horticulture through their local community. Our programme is hosted by Michael, a member of Incredible Edible Knowsley since the beginning and a person who gives 100% to whatever he’s tasked with. Our current horticulture attendees very much enjoy their time spent here on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we asked them to answer some questions about their time here and their opinions on the people and their day to day experience.
1 – What is it you do here?
Here, the answers gave tasks you may expect such as gardening, filling raised beds, maintaining poly tunnels etc., but many unrelated tasks also came up such as making cups of tea, helping to tidy, stock shelves and generally help out anyone here in need of assistance. On their own time, our course members stated that they were more than happy to help out with things beyond just horticulture, expressing their commitment to the community they’ve become a part of as well as their selfless nature.
2 – Why do you come here?
The consensus on this was definitely that the social aspect of horticulture was the main contributing factors to visiting, something which Incredible Edible Knowsley would be nothing without. They found everyone here to be nice and able to have a laugh, making their time spent here feel worth it, no matter the task. However, there were some other answers that gave more personal insight, such as the fact that this course has helped people to stay away from trouble by surrounding them with good people, and giving them something to do when they may have nothing else otherwise.
3 – How does it help you?
Once again, the focus on the social aspect of horticulture and the community we’ve built here took centre stage. The ability to have a laugh was cited as a major benefit to our attendees’ happiness. It was also noted that it was just nice to have more people who are in the same boat to be able to chat with. If you have any problems, there’s absolutely no shame in talking about them here and no judgement, making it a very welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds, no matter their burdens.
4 – Did you think you would enjoy this? Has your mind changed?
There seemed to be a pattern of being apprehensive or nervous about starting, which is to be expected: starting anything new can be uncomfortable. However, it was agreed upon that any doubts or prior hesitation regarding our course disappeared and were replaced by new friendships and looking forward to the next session. There was mention of a very quick easing in to the point where, only a week or so after their first visit, attendees would find themselves sticking around even when they weren’t feeling their best due to the people around them and the friendly atmosphere.
5 – What were your first impressions of Incredible Edible Knowsley?
Aside from their initial nervousness, first impressions stressed a supportive presence amongst staff and volunteers, encouraging new members to speak openly and express themselves, both during and in-between tasks. The closeness of the community and lack of social barriers was also mentioned, praising how easy it felt to talk to people who they had never talked to before.
6 – What has been your favourite part of your time spent here?
One answer to this question involved the enjoyment of working with the public and the feeling of being useful to other people, whilst also doing something positive for themselves: even just the ability to have something different to do every day can be enough to make some peoples’ lives better. In contrast, another answer mentioned the value of the ability to chill out and have a chat, favouring the social benefits and new friendships that had come with their time here.
7 – Do you think you’ve learned anything valuable?
The answers here were definitely very personal and unique to each person, with the example of one member’s discovery of a new side to himself showing that even though horticulture can be viewed as just a hobby, the community around it and the enjoyment of having something to keep yourself occupied can do a lot for the betterment of a person’s health, both physical and mental. Another valuable thing learned was more literal: the actual gardening experience itself. Our tools and knowledge allow people with absolutely no prior knowledge of horticulture to learn new skills and do something different.
Finalities
I’d like to thank our Therapeutic Horticulture members for being so open and willing to discuss their time here without any hesitation; we appreciate the work they do and their contributions to the larger project here at Incredible Edible Knowsley. This insight into the thoughts of our members has given an idea of our strengths, which we may aim to work to in future.