Combatting Loneliness and Isolation

Mark Brassell is The Director of The Alnwick Garden:  "The Garden is a community project very much focussed around people.  We enrich the lives of the beneficiaries of our community programmes. Many people don't realise that we have a social mission at our core"

This provides a range of activites for the over-55's featuring yoga, pilates, singing for the brain and the gentlemen's garden along with a drop in service.  There are also seasonal events including opera afternoons, tea dances and christmas parties.

A weekly session that encourages gentlemen to socialise, share traditional skills, and learn new ones, while working on their own allotment plots under the guidance of George Swordy, Senior Gardener.

Here, Roving Robin our 11 yr old reporter is speaking to head gardener George.

George has 14 gents who come along each week.  If they are able bodied, they get a full sized plot - if they can't bend over, they have raised beds built for them.  They grow lots of different vegetable that they tend to and harvest under George's guidance.

When the weather isn't too good, the gentlemen go into a polly tunnel to sow seeds, make crafts and - most recently - brew their own beer.

This year they are hoping to distill their own gin with produce that they have grown themselves.

They each have their own story and by spending time in the company of George and the other gents, they grow more and more comfortable with talking about their lives and experiences.

It is where friendships blossom and time is spent chatting and reminiscing

The Roots and Shoots Garden is also used for schools to visit.

Through practical sessions , children increase their knowledge around healthy eating and the importance of having an active lifestyle, where they develop their own gardening skills to use at school and home. 

This is a twice weekly programme dedicated to improving the quality of life through inclusive activities for those experiencing early stages of dementia. A variety of targeted therapeutic horticultural sessions, craft sessions, informative talks, games and music