OUR WORK

Our aim is to improve mental health and wellbeing through gardening, engaging with our environment, learning new skills and working as part of a team. We accept referrals from mental health professionals, GPs and the NHS Adapt Living Well signposting service, and welcome volunteers to work in the garden and in all areas of day to day running of the project. 

We offer a safe, calm and welcoming environment for our gardeners to benefit from outdoor activity and peer support with supervision from an RHS trained Horticulturist. Volunteers, including referrals, work together to maintain the garden and help grow vegetables that are sold to the community in a box scheme. All money raised from sale of produce goes back into running the project.   

We have a vegetable garden, a public space and a wildflower nursery that, with the help of our volunteers, propagates and sells native wildflowers to be planted by local people in their gardens and verges. We engage with the community to run craft and skills workshops, an after-school club, seasonal events and weekly drop-in sessions to tackle social isolation and raise money for our core costs.

Sam and Jane – on the benefits of gardening

Weekly Timetable

Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 1-3pm Higher Sound music drop in at the Medway
Wednesday CLOSED
Thursday 10:30-12:30 Coffee Den drop in at the Medway
Friday Garden open for volunteers and referrals 9am-12pm/1pm-4pm
Saturday Garden open for plant and produce sales, volunteers and referrals 9am-12pm/1pm-4pm. Wildflower nursery open to volunteers and for sales from 10-12
Sunday CLOSED

Mental health support

Working with the land and engaging with the natural environment has many benefits to mental and physical health. If you feel that joining us would help you or someone you know, please get in touch or drop by to have a look round.

If you register as part of Higher Ground Allendale, you will be part of the small and friendly team that looks after our produce, as well as the wider ornamental and community garden.

To join the project, you will need to have spoken to a healthcare professional about your mental health who may refer or signpost you to the service and be your mental health referee. Your membership will include:

Three-hour sessions with a qualified horticulturist (currently on Fridays or Saturdays) in the project garden and use of equipment

Use of the building, the common room and its facilities, and refreshments during the course of the session

1-1 time with a careers counsellor

Each registered individual will have the opportunity to complete personal development goals, and build confidence and self-esteem through internal workshops

What we require is that you:

Provide us with a referee, This might be your GP or a Care Co-ordinator

Commit to being part of a team in a productive environment

Work safely and responsibly, and treat all other site users with respect

We also provide a weekly drop-in service for coffee and a chat on Thursdays 10am-12pm. Everyone is welcome.

Veg boxes

2024 is our sixth growing year at Higher Ground. We will be selling organically grown produce throughout the season - from salad over Spring/Summer to root vegetables in Autumn. 6-piece boxes with herbs cost £12 and will differ each week depending on what is ready to harvest. Availability is limited so please order in advance, by email: jane@higher-ground.org.uk or on Facebook Messenger. 

Produce changes weekly so keep an eye on our blog to find out what is available and how you can receive your boxes. We can't wait to see what this season brings and look forward to providing the community with tasty fresh veg!

boxesinarow
Apples-2
beetroot onion radish
veg box
autumn box

The Medway Building

We've converted a drab old temporary classroom into a comfortable space with open plan areas for group activities, niches for private conversations and a comfy zone to chill out in when it's raining. We also offer a small library, kitchen facilities and a warm welcome. On Thursdays between 10:30 and 12:30 we have our Coffee Den, a drop-in for coffee and a chat which is open to anyone.

Wildflower Nursery

Spending time in nature brings a range of health and wellbeing benefits, and we are incredibly lucky to have beautiful open countryside and wildlife on our doorstep. Sadly, many plants and the animals that depend on them are in decline. We want to reverse this by enhancing existing habitats and joining them up with wildlife corridors, bringing nature into our communities. In our nursery, we grow native wildflowers and trees from locally collected seeds, which can then be planted out on verges, farmland, school grounds, community spaces and in gardens.

To join our Blue campaign and find out more, check our information leaflet or contact us on pluggingthegaps@yahoo.com.

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DIRECTORS

Jane Pryde - Project Manager

Jane moved to Allendale as a teenager and studied Psychology and Anthropology at Durham University. She completed a PgDip in Careers Guidance and Counselling, whilst working as a volunteer youth worker with underprivileged teenage girls at the Citadel in Edinburgh. She went on to case-manage adult male offenders from Saughton prison during their transition back into the community, education, training and employment. Throughout her life, Jane has always found a way to use her passion for art and craft. Her skills and experience lend themselves perfectly to Higher Ground Allendale, and to increasing wellbeing, confidence and motivation through teaching new skills and enabling like-minded people to socialise in a beautiful space.

Sam Coulson - Garden Manager

Sam grew up in Wooler and began gardening professionally in 2002, gaining an RHS General Certificate in Horticulture in 2004. He also completed an MA in Journalism at Sunderland University. After nine years of self-employment, he joined the team at Lilburn Tower, working under Head Gardener, David Sinclair, one of the most knowledgeable and respected gardeners in the country. Sam was also Head Gardener at Carntyne Residential Care Home in Hexham for two years. Having experienced mental illness, Sam strongly believes in the benefits to mental health and wellbeing that gardening can bring about. His experience, knowledge, vision and passion for a beautiful therapeutic garden is essential to the success of this project.

Ginny Swaile - Director

Ginny has a BA (Hons) in marine biology from Newcastle University and has worked in the environmental public sector for 25 years, currently as a scientific adviser to Government on topics such as marine biodiversity recovery and climate change mitigation. She moved to Allendale in 2000 and lives on an increasingly wild smallholding outside the village with her husband, three children and a variety of animals. Ginny has been involved in village life through several roles and coaches gymnastics at the primary school. Her passion for rewilding and her personal experience of the connection between mental wellbeing and the outdoors brought her to Higher Ground, where she runs the wild plant nursery, bringing nature into our community.

Andrew Fletcher - Director

Andrew has been a writer, musician, researcher, barman and gardener, and was a director of the Newcastle Community Green Festival. His experiences led to an interest in the connections between creativity and mental health, and he is now a Research Fellow at [various places], working on complex systems evaluation - and stuff. Andrew plays the bass guitar quite badly and has a cat and a dog and a wife.

Mike Kirk - Director

Mike has a background in software development, including accountancy and personal tax systems in the private and public sectors. Mike has lived in Tynedale for many years and has connected to the community as a school governor, village hall trustee and parish councillor.

ADVISERS

Lisa Powell - Mental Health Advisor

Lisa is an experienced Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and Occupational Therapist, and has worked in NHS and private mental health settings. She holds a BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy  and a  PgDip in Advanced CBT. After spending five years providing occupational therapy in Cumbria, Lisa moved to Early Intervention in Psychosis, providing CBT and care co-ordination to young adults. In 2009, Lisa became a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist and runs a private practice for private and corporate clients. She is a preferred provider for Rehabworks and an approved therapist for Anxiety UK. Lisa has personal experience of anxiety, depression and ME/CFS, and lives with her partner and two children in Northumberland.

Craig Atkinson - Volunteer Adviser

Craig has lived in Allendale since early 2016, after moving to Northumberland from London. He is a teacher by profession and taught in primary schools for over 20 years. He now works as a supply teacher and for the children’s charity, Action for Children, where his role involves advocacy and social media promotion. Craig has been involved in volunteering for most of his adult life and actively volunteers for several local groups, including the Deneholme Woods Volunteers and the West Northumberland Food Bank. He also coordinates the volunteers at the Allen Valleys Folk Festival.

GET IN TOUCH

Get in touch via social media or use the contact form below - or better still, come and visit us at the site: Higher Ground Allendale, The Medway Building, Shilburn Road, Allendale, NE47 9PT

To contact the Wildflower Nursery, please email pluggingthegaps@yahoo.com