ECOLOGY AND GARDEN THERAPY WITH STAR WARD EDIBLE GREEN CORNER

The Life Skills, Activities and Alternative Mental Health Recovery Link at East London NHS Foundation Trust supports my work on ecology and garden therapy, which started with the ‘Joshua Ward psychiatric inpatient experience’ registered as a Capital Growth space in London in May 2011 with funding in 2012 for three raised beds on NHS site.

In March 2012, I travelled abroad on career break to lecture in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the Catholic University Institute of Buea (CUIB) in Cameroon, facilitating ‘Rural/Urban Food Crop Production and Entrepreneurship’- 'Case studies on Moringa oleifera Lam.', inspired undergraduate entrepreneur based groups: 'Emerald group'- producing Emerald moringa soap from moringa trees I planted and bio-processed into added value dried leaf, leaf powder and seeds on campus, winning the most engaged student entrepreneurs, most innovative and most marketable product. Also the 'Green Vision Group' – that provides services in consultancy, research and project realisation. This group won the prize for the most innovative business entrepreneurial idea during the CUIB Entrepreneur Fair in April 2013 gracefully marking the end of my Cameroon Consultancy contract and UK sabbatical leave. Extending my sustainable partnerships abroad, I facilitated a small smallholder value added Moringa oleifera entrepreneur development in the UK (Hackney, London). Anni's Funky Soap online sales-‘ebay’, produces moringa soap, moringa shampoo and moringa cream with dried leaf, leaf powder and seed products supplied directly from rural/urban tree crop production from Akafro 'Moringa oleifera Research Initiative' Nursery and cooperative farms of  'Akafro Moringa Farmer's Association' in Cameroon and Ghana. These evidence based research practices are supporting local farmer's household income generating business and my doctorate study in Applied Biological Sciences at the University of Ghent in Belgium. (Funky Soap-Akafro Moringa Project link

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I am now back in the UK and have started the ‘PICU Bevan Ward Gardening Group experience’ supporting therapeutic group activities, promoting ‘Urban Food Production Nursery and Entrepreneurship’, Recreation and Meaningful Engagement. Evidence based practice (Nursing Times; 104: 45, 28–30) by Page (2008) in “Gardening as a therapeutic intervention in mental health”, is used to encourage participation in the phenomenon of hope, a key factor associated with recovery. Miller (1992) suggests that hope is, the ‘anticipation of a continued good state, or a release from a perceived entrapment' in his paper; “Coping with Chronic Illness: Overcoming Powerlessness”. 'Hope is an anticipation of a future which is good and which is based upon mutuality, a sense of personal competence, coping ability, psychological well-being, purpose and meaning in life, as well as a sense of “the possible”.’ Using these guidelines I hope to support good practice on ecology and garden therapy for the gardening group activity.