Opposite Earlswood Lakes in Reigate, the Garden gives local families, young people, and adults the chance to take part in nature therapy and wellbeing activities that will help them to learn new skills and improve their health and wellbeing.
Users of the Garden include families, children from local schools, local charities e.g. the Amber Foundation (who support the homeless), young carers, looked after children and former looked after children, the long term unemployed, and people affected by long term mental and physical health conditions.
Activities include skills training such as healthy eating and cooking, budgeting, and craft activities; therapeutic horticultural activities incl. planting flowerbeds, vegetable patches and fruit trees; helping to manage the wildlife pond, taking care of raised beds (for disabled people to comfortably grow plants and vegetables), maintaining the children’s play areas, and the ‘Gateway Garden’ – a space dedicated to mindful wellbeing sessions. Young people from the area also come to Gateway to take part in our new 12 week Outside & Active wellbeing courses.
Through these activities, users make friends and increase their social skills, they increase their confidence by learning about the environment and actively growing their own food and how to be healthier; they help create an integrated community, feel productive and counter mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
For more information on volunteering as a Gateway Gardener or taking part in the activities, contact the team at Gateway@surreycaretrust.org.uk
"Thank you for all of the help with everything and I know that I am still going to Gateway but you have all changed my life."
"I was anxious and found it difficult to communicate...I didn't do very well in interviews"
