There are lots of ways to get involved with the garden. Firstly, please come and visit us! The garden is always open and there are lots of lovely spots to have a seat, eat some lunch or meet with friends. We have herbal beds, sensory areas, orchard, poly-tunnel, wildlife area, fruit and vegetables – all surrounded by the beautiful arboretum. If you have never been before, we are just a short walk from Maggie’s – standing with your back to Maggie’s, you can just see the garden over to the right behind the trees.
Volunteering
As a volunteer-led project, volunteers are integral to the ethos, development and maintenance of the therapeutic garden. Volunteers from all walks of life are welcome to participate in this project. We do not expect new volunteers to be experts, or even to have any previous gardening experience.
Our garden volunteers can be involved in a variety of activities, including daily gardening tasks; delivering workshops and activities; designing new areas of garden development; planning and running events; welcoming visitors to the garden and even admin. We are always keen to build on volunteer’s interests, skills and experience and therefore encourage suggestions and ideas – if there is something you would like to be involved in, let us know!
We are keen to hear from people who have an interest in supporting other volunteers who may require extra assistance. Our Garden Buddies provide support and encouragement through working alongside those with physical or mental health problems. If this is something you might be interested in you can find the role descriptor in the link below.
We also have a number of groups to support the development of the garden, including our garden planning group, nature group and events group. We’re always looking for people who can work in these small teams, so if you have interests or skills in these areas, and would like to get involved, please get in touch!
If you would like to know more about our volunteering roles, please take a look at the documents below:
From time to time we may also be looking for someone to join our trustee board. Please contact the chair (chair@ninewellsgarden.org.uk) if this is something you might like to consider.
If you would like to volunteer for any of our roles, then please get in touch with us for an informal chat or you can download our volunteer application form.
Groups
We’re happy to welcome groups to the garden, either as participants in garden activities and events, or simply to enjoy the garden and surrounding woodland. Speak to us if you would like us to host workshop for your group. Sessions can be ongoing or one-off and we can accommodate a range of ages and abilities. Alternatively you may like to use the garden and/or leaf room for your own workshop or activity such as outdoor skills, yoga, or art. Get in touch with us if you would like to visit, take part in some of our activities or would like to use the garden or the leaf room.
We work with a number of organisations including the NHS, DAMH and Employment Support to run regular volunteer sessions and one-off workshops. We also work with schools and nurseries throughout the year, delivering activities in gardening (propagation, composting, vegetable growing etc), craft (mosaic, willow weaving, paper craft etc.) and wildlife (tree walks, bird watching, insect identification etc.). We can also host a tour of the garden – or come to you to give a talk about the work we do.
If you have a group that would like to visit the garden and/or take part in some garden activities, please get in touch.
Have a look at our calendar to see upcoming open workshops. Previous workshops have included drawing, mindfulness, yoga, dowsing, metal detecting, healthy eating, mosaic and many more!
Referrals
We accept referrals (social prescribing) from GP’s, occupational therapists and other organisations. If you know someone who you think might benefit from therapeutic gardening, please get in touch. We can arrange for a friendly visit before making any commitment. We can also provide relevant risk assessments and health and safety information.
From time to time we have volunteers who are happy to support others in their role, if this is something you would like to consider, then please let us know.
Direct from the Garden Gate
The vast majority of garden participants feel an improvement in the areas of health, physical activity, wellbeing and self-esteem.
Comments from our volunteers have included:
“Gets me out of the house and lets me learn new stuff. I enjoy being with my friends”
“It’s a good group, good camaraderie. I enjoy being part of a team.”
“Getting outdoors, in the fresh air, meeting other people. It’s helping me to lose weight for the first time in years”
“Great for de-stressing. Keeps me busy doing things, keeping occupied, takes my mind of the stresses of life.”
Ninewells Community Garden 