Green Health Prescribing with Cyrenians: T
“I have more confidence engaging with different people”
A Green Health Prescription is a new form of prescription. Alongside other treatments your health professional may prescribe spending time outdoors, in nature.
We wanted to shine a spotlight on a service that uses time spent in nature as way of keeping well. We reached out to Cyrenians to hear about the work they and their volunteers do.
T became a Green Activity Buddy in February 2023. He volunteers all day on a Wednesday to support participants, and also many extra hours helping at events and home-baking for community cook ups. In summer 2024 T became a Sessional Worker, covering the Green Activity Groups when necessary. He has also expanded his roles to occasional Patient Engagement Sessions, and recently to Community Payback sessions providing sick/ holiday cover.
He’s a cherished member of the garden community for all his labours and his friendly, warm personality. T has this to say about his roles in the Community Garden:
“I found out about the garden when I got my dog Jerry and began walking through. People were always friendly and it was a lovely environment. I’d been retired from I.T. a few years and was thinking about what I might be able to do to be useful. I have a history of gardening, but I was really interested in the Cyrenians and the people they worked with. I thought this role might be a way I could be more helpful than just doing gardening for my own interest.
Since I’ve been coming to the garden, I’ve noticed I have more confidence engaging with different people. I think more now about where others are coming from rather than where I’m coming from. Buddying has changed my general approach to others, I wonder more about where others’ heads might be at.
In summer 2024 I offered to become a Sessional Worker. I saw that cancelled sessions had a real
impact on the people I was working with – continuity was a big thing for some of them and being able to hold sessions every week (and allow the regular leads to have holidays!) was important.
Expanding the role from Green Activities to Patient Engagement, and just recently Community Payback has widened my contacts with different garden users and their needs. It’s also allowed me to widen my skills in dealing with people of different backgrounds, needs and skillsets. I think what I enjoy about the garden has evolved over the 2 years. When I first started I really enjoyed the labouring; pushing the wheelbarrows, doing the compost, working in the orchard. It’s a different type of exercise than I’d done before.
I still enjoy all of that ‘work’ but what’s grown is the real kick I get out of seeing the development in the folk we work with. Getting to know them and seeing them gain confidence and really thrive. Seeing the thrill or joy they get out of growing their own veg, or seeing the seeds they sowed bloom into flower. I love that. I really enjoy getting to work with all different kinds of people. That’s the best thing really. I only really worked with ‘techy’ people during my career, but I enjoy the company of all kinds of folk now who I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet before”.
Find out more about Cyrenians and the support they offer.
Do you live and/or work in Midlothian and want to share your own experiences of mental health and wellbeing and the different ways keep you well? If you would like us to share your story, please email midspace@health-in-mind.org.uk.