Fromeside and Wickham’s community allotment plot

Fromeside and Wickham’s community allotment plot

Feeling a part of nature

Jess French is an Adult Education Tutor for Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, who is based at Fromeside, the secure unit at Blackberry Hill Hospital. Recently, Jess shared some thoughts on the regular sessions that have recently been run for inpatients at a local allotment, and the benefits these sessions have had.

Fromeside and Wickham’s community allotment plot is only five minutes away from the units on Snowdon Road. During the summer, several groups use the site for horticultural activities and as a place to immerse themselves in the quiet benefits of nature; it is certainly the highlight of my week getting out of the unit to the allotment.

The allotment has always been an important part of the OT team’s interventions and activities; over the years, groups have built new raised beds, dug a wildlife pond and grown all sorts of food, including an abundance of tomatoes, which led to the infamous 'Tomato Fest' one summer with cake, jams and other goodies all made from allotment tomatoes.

It’s a great place for service users to hone their woodwork skills too; building beds and making repairs to the compost bays. Over the past two years, we have been working hard to improve our plot and make it more accessible for all our service users so everyone can benefit. During the winter of 2024, a small group from Wickham braved the weather every Friday morning to dig up some of the grass and create a series of woodchip paths around our site, enabling those who are not so steady on their feet to navigate the area more safely. The paths not only did this, but they made the site look better and more inviting too. After the paths were completed, we set to work on a high raised bed using pallets from the new Kingfisher unit’s building site. One service user with an interest in carpentry even volunteered for addition sessions get the work done.

Over the growing season of 2025, we grew tomatoes, chillies, lettuce, beetroot, courgette, rhubarb and many other vegetables and flowers. The majority of these go back into our therapeutic activities; the chillies, tomatoes and rhubarb were all made into chutney by service users and sold to raise funds at the Xmas fayre. The lettuce, beetroot and courgettes were used by the Rivers café (where service users can work and eat) to make delicious meals, not only providing homegrown nutritious ingredients but also reducing our food miles. We collected and dried lots of flowers to make bunches and wreaths, bringing nature into people’s indoor spaces for the winter months.

We grow all the plants at the allotment from seed in Fromeside’s therapeutic garden. Some service users are unable to access the allotment yet due to leave restrictions, but this a great way for them to feel invested in the space and help to grow food for the café and fayres. Those involved have told us they find it very rewarding to know what they sow will go to the Rivers and be enjoyed by everyone. Once they can come to the allotment, it is a great way to transition from the unit garden to the community and take more responsibility for the produce growing. 

This winter, we have continued to go up weekly on Friday mornings and re-chip the paths as well as making a seating area inside the polytunnel for bad weather; there is something very relaxing about listening to the rain on the polytunnel as we enjoy our tea break. One member of the group said he enjoyed the “fresh air and grafting” during the sessions and felt the benefits of gardening as exercise. With help from our woodwork tech, we will be improving the compost bays, where we also compost food waste from cooking sessions and the café. We also want to improve the seating area, repair the polytunnel and create a herb bed so, we can have tea tasting sessions, alongside introducing some more fruit bushes so, we can pick and enjoy the fruits while wandering around the site.

While the site is primary used for horticulture and garden maintenance, it has been a great resource for service users utilising leave for the first time; the area provides a calm and relaxing environment in the community and away from the wards.

The site is teeming with life, and everyone loves spotting the foxes, frogs and birds who also visit the allotment; we all really enjoying those moments to connect with, and feel part of, nature.

Above: Two of the raised flower beds at the allotment.