Mary Seacole Nursing Home resident's garden wins award at NHS Forest's Conference
Lloyd Jones has been a resident at our Mary Seacole Nursing Home for many years and has led the transformation of the garden there into a thriving food growing garden.
There are now horticultural therapy sessions supported by Emma Myers, our Horticultural Therapist, and are open to residents, visitors, and staff.
Lloyd's garden was shortlisted for the 'Active Community Engagement at Healthcare Green Space' award at the NHS Forest's conference and we're delighted to share that he won runner-up. This is an incredible achievement for Lloyd and the whole Mary Seacole community. It shows the value of horticulture for restorative and preventative health and holistic wellbeing.
Lloyd said: "Gardening is the best medicine. It gets us outside in the fresh air and all our worries melt away. I have grown vegetables all my life, it keeps me fit, happy and connected to friends. I'm so proud of this award, it really means a lot"
Emma has been supporting patients recovery and wellbeing with gardening activities across the Trust. It has a positive impact on staff, patients, and visitors alike, whether they've taken part in horticultural therapy sessions or being able to walk through the gardens and enjoy the green spaces.
Emma said: "Joining Lloyd in the garden at Mary Seacole has been amazing. We have connected so many residents to the gardening session and shared meals straight from the vegetable patch.
Growing crops from seed to harvest has been essential in the wellbeing of everyone that spends time in the garden. We've all noticed that we slow down to enjoy nature we breathe and relax, and feel great"
Please do visit Lloyd's garden at Mary Seacole Nursing Home or one of the gardens across the acute site to experience the wonderful work being done.
Our charity, Homerton Hope, supports these Horticultural Therapy sessions to promote holistic patient and staff wellbeing.
Congratulations to Lloyd and everybody in the Mary Seacole community. You can see photos of the garden and Lloyd being presented with the award by Kathy Willis, Professor of Biology at Oxford University, in the gallery below.