Patients who use mental health services at a Surrey hospital are benefitting from the “therapeutic power of nature” through a gardening project, an NHS trust has said.

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS trust said its Green Roots to Recovery programme at Farnham Road Hospital, Guildford, helps patients by giving them plants and tools to tend to gardens in the ward and in nearby outdoor spaces.

The project, supported by the trust’s charitable arm, is asking for donations to help fund materials for patients.

Camina Bowen Czerwiec, who helped develop the programme, said: “Gardening can have a hugely positive impact on mental health, confidence and recovery.”

She added: “We hope this project will create a lasting therapeutic environment that supports the wellbeing of both the people using our services and colleagues.”

A trust spokesperson said the programme is to be offered for patients on two inpatient mental health wards at the hospital.

They added that patients had spoken positively about the scheme and the progress being made.

The trust is fundraising for equipment, and has so far raised £160 of its £500 target.

A UK study, published in 2019 and involving nearly 20,000 people, found that people surveyed who spent at least 120 minutes every week in greenery were significantly more likely to report good health and higher psychological well-being.

In Kent, students on the University of Kent’s Canterbury campus have been offered a garden space which they can be referred to through university support services or mental health charity East Kent Mind.

The university project is set to take over another building and garden space due to demand and after outgrowing its facilities.

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