Spring at Forest Farm Peace Garden is bringing a host of new projects to make this corner of Hainault even more welcoming.
Near the centre of the garden, volunteers are laying the final stretches of gravel on our new Sensory Labyrinth, funded by a National Garden Scheme Community Garden Grant, creating a gently winding path where visitors will be able to walk mindfully to a calm centre.
Designed with people facing mental health challenges in mind, the labyrinth will invite slow and reflective walking surrounded by scented plants and changing textures, offering a peaceful counterpoint to busy urban life just a few minutes from Hainault tube.
Alongside this, Forest Farm Peace Garden has just received support from the LNER Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF) for a new Rewilding Workshops project, focused on revitalising some of the garden’s more weather-beaten and underused areas.
Over the coming months, seasonal community workshops will help to rebuild and repair wooden structures such as the compost bays, replant the garden entrance, enhance wildlife corridors and care for the orchard, reducing waste and boosting biodiversity across the site.
These practical, hands-on sessions will bring together people who have recently benefited from the garden’s regular activities with local residents, offering environmental action that supports mental health, builds community connections and makes the site safer, more inclusive and more accessible for everyone.
A further grant from NHS Health Inequalities funding will enable Forest Farm Peace Garden to develop a new programme of nature-based workshops aimed at improving health outcomes for local residents who may face barriers to accessing support.
This programme is still in the planning phase, but ideas include seasonal wellbeing workshops with grounding exercises and simple aromatherapy activities such as creating herbal teas from garden-grown and dried herbs.
Other ideas include herbal first aid, introductory planting for wildlife and botanical clay imprint workshops.
Themes will change through the seasons, focusing on restoration and comfort in winter and on energy and motivation in spring.
All of these activities are rooted in the garden’s belief that regular time outdoors, purposeful tasks and contact with plants and wildlife can help reduce health inequalities and strengthen local community networks.
Full details and dates are still being confirmed, so keep an eye on the events section of the Forest Farm Peace Garden website and subscribe to the newsletter for updates and booking information.
- Pieter Rossouw is director at Forest Farm Peace Garden (forestfarmpeacegarden.org).
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