New Shoots – The Triangle Community Garden

Want to spend more time in nature, doing meaningful activities in a small group, gently building up your physical activity, boosting your wellbeing and experiencing more mindfulness in the natural world?

New Shoots is a six-week course focused on improving mental wellbeing. Many of those helped by this project have lived experience of common mental health issues such as anxiety or depression. New Shoots has empowered them to take control of their mental wellbeing in a safe and supportive environment. The garden offers a perfect setting for practicing the five ways to wellbeing. Our tutors encourage gardeners to connect, be active, take notice, learn and give. This lays the foundations for self-care and maintained wellbeing in their daily lives.

This year we’re running ‘New Shoots for Carers‘ aimed at benefiting those in a caring role. If you’re not a carer and feel that New Shoots would benefit you, then please do apply anyway.

To book your place: If you or someone you know would like to join us at New Shoots, please book your place via our Bookwhen site. Our next block starts on 12th June. If you have any questions please call Hayley Lanfear on 07887 725962.

I’m a carer – how could New Shoots for Carers sessions help me?

The sessions are in a therapeutic natural setting, proven to reduce stress levels
They focus on the five ways to wellbeing – self-help practices that can improve mental health over time
The sessions are outdoors, providing respite from what is often a predominantly indoor existence – fresh air and a change of surroundings
They bring people together to share experiences, burdens and breakthroughs, reducing social isolation
They revolve around gardening, food growing and nature observation, encouraging feelings of usefulness, mindfulness, and self-worth.
They include varied levels of physical activity depending on the individual’s abilities, with associated physical and mental health benefits
Together, such activities can lead to increased levels of wellbeing and resilience for carers and their loved ones.

The evidence bears this out. In the paper ‘How the natural environment can support health and wellbeing through social prescribing’ by Mughal R., Seers H., Polley M., Sabey A. & Chatterjee H.J. (2022), the authors found that:

“Gardening, when incorporated into therapeutic and mindfulness activities can have a wide range of psychological and physiological health benefits … One systematic review … found significant effects of gardening on mental wellbeing, physical activity and reduced social isolation.
“Caregivers facing mental exhaustion can be supported with therapeutic interventions based in the natural environment. One scoping review by Lehto and colleague which assessed studies over a ten-year period found … that caregiver burden and stress can be relieved through natural environment interventions.
“Loneliness and social isolation can compromise physical and psychological health. Social activities based in nature can improve connectedness and belonging, particularly when they work alongside … community gardens. Such activities can promote nature contact, strengthen social structures, and improve longer term mental and physical health by activating intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental processes.”

What happens at New Shoots?

At New Shoots, each week focuses on a different aspect of the five steps to mental wellbeing – physical activity, learning new skills, connecting with others, giving, and mindfulness. The course culminates in a visit to a local garden or place of interest chosen by the group eg Cambridge Botanical Garden.

What about the person I’m caring for?

If respite care is needed while you’re attending New Shoots, we will put you in touch with Carers in Herts who may be able to help with this depending on availability. If the person you’re caring for is able to attend too then that is also an option.

What happens next?

After the end of the six week course New Shoots participants are offered the opportunity of joining Friday Garden Club if they’re interested and able to carry on community gardening with us on a regular basis (subject to capacity).

For those who can’t make a regular weekday slot, we run a Sunday Garden Club on the second Sunday morning of the month. It’s free to attend but numbers are limited, so we ask that you book your place through our events page.

How do I sign up for ‘New Shoots for Carers’?

If you or someone you know would like to join us at New Shoots, please contact us by email or call Hayley Lanfear on 07887 725962. We aim to run a new course in September/October 2025, March/April and June/July 2026 so if we can’t offer you a place straight away please get in touch anyway and we can add you to our waiting list. Please note that if you have a severe or enduring mental health condition then our Growing Ability project can offer better ongoing support for you.