HIGHGROUND ROOTS TO RECOVERY - ISSUE SUMMER 2014

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	ISSUE 2 SUMMER 2014


		Welcome to our Summer newsletter and I hope you enjoy reading about HighGround’s progress since our last (and first!) edition. If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything in the Newsletter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch – we can’t do this on our own and your opinion really matters to us.

Anna Baker Cresswell
Founder and Development Director

Contents


HighGround at Headley Court
Carol’s Column
Horseferry Road
Board matters
Fundraising
PR and Media
Research
IT
Clippings

HighGround at Headley Court

No Man’s Land, ABF The Soldiers’ Charity’s show garden at Chelsea Flower Show won a Gold Medal. It was a beautiful garden and Carol and some of her patients visited Chelsea on the Thursday to see where the plants they had grown at Headley Court, ended up.

The Trustees of the Headley Court Trust have generously agreed that No Man’s Land can be given a permanent home at Headley Court and the plants and much of the hard landscaping will be recreated as No Man’s Land Mk II by Carol and her patients (helped by many others) in phases with the completion date set for Chelsea Flower Show 2015 – watch this space!

No Man’s Land at Chelsea Flower Show

The Horticultural Therapy service which HighGround provides at Headley Court is getting lots of new referrals and Carol is beginning to see patients on their next admission which is very promising.

I provided holiday cover for Carol in June when she took a well deserved week’s leave and I never stopped all week – a very valuable insight into the Hort Therapy service and the rapid progress it has made since Carol’s arrival in February.

We are about to start recruiting for an Under Gardener to help Carol in the garden and gratefully acknowledge the support of the Trustees of the Trusthouse Charitable Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers for helping to make this possible.

Gardening for the Disabled Trust have also generously funded the purchase of a heated propagator which will give much pleasure and get a lot of use – Carol is a wonderful teacher and a generous passer-on of her horticultural knowledge and DMRC’s patients (and staff!) are willing learners.

Carol’s Column

Where has the time gone? We have been sowing, growing, weeding and watering, basked in Chelsea Flower Show glory, baked in the hot sun and waged war on marauders in the cabbage patch!

I have now engaged with over 85 patients and with repeat business (many patients have several admissions and like to continue with Horticultural Therapy on their return) not to mention ‘passing traffic’ (those who just pass by on breaks, chilling out from physio and the gym, love growing, want to know about growing, talking plants, hopes and dreams or just want a chat).

All the hard work carried out by patients has made our horticultural empire a green oasis for patients and staff, who also need ‘time out’ and feel the healing of our landscape to do the best they can for their patients. There has been taste testing (also known as eating) of the tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves, edible flowers (yes, flowers!) and fruit harvesting.

The bold and burly lads and lovely ladies have been ‘Jamming’! The patients have used the gooseberries and redcurrants they have picked to make jam with me in our adapted flat at Headley Court. Much fun had by all with some very out of tune singing by me! (I am so sorry Bob Marley). The preserves will take centre stage in the Farm Shop which will open its’ doors on Monday the 14th July.

To my joy and delight a patient has been to Horticultural Therapy and picked the first garlic bulb, purple mange-tout peas, spinach, tomatoes, basil and a chilli, then taking the plunder to his therapy session, cooked a meal with his Occupational Therapist. May he be the first of many.

We have had a scary time in the greenhouse with an aphid attack. We noticed some of the aphid natural predators had made an appearance but they were struggling to keep pace with the little green monsters. Some patients had a search for ladybirds and they were promptly ensconced amongst the aubergines. Very soon their larvae appeared and cleaned up the green ones, pupated and we have more ladybirds repeating the cycle. Thank goodness we held our nerve and resisted weapons of mass destruction.

With the CO’s blessing, the hens arrived on the 7th of July and have wasted no time laying – good girlies! The patients have had the job of egg collection and this has given great cause for delight. We are also going to rear chicks from eggs in our lovely incubator which has been kindly donated.

My role at Headley Court is so much more than I could have ever imagined. There have been many triumphs, laughs a plenty, life changing moments, passions of the horticultural kind ignited, and most of all peace enjoyed for patients with unexpected benefits for the amazing staff at Headley Court – be it produce, horticultural information, new ways to achieve that physio goal, staff wellbeing – not to mention shared watering duties – all making it possible to give the patients excellence in rehab.

What will we get up to next?
Carol

Our lovely eggs, and a blue one too!


	Horseferry Road

	Our Offices at Horseferry Road are developing well, now fully furnished and we are connected to broadband and thus able to communicate better and we now have a firm base from which to operate. We have received a great deal of help from our landlords, the London Scottish Regiment and it is an excellent place to be in the heart of London, and not far from Victoria Station and St James’s Park Underground.



	Board matters
	The Development Board (DB) met for the first time in June and our hosts at Horseferry Road The London Scottish Regiment, allowed us to use their Officers Mess where David gave a powerpoint presentation to familiarise the DB with HighGround’s progress and plans. A full list of DB members who have generously agreed to give HighGround their time and experience is on the website (Who We Are) and we are extremely grateful to them for all they bring to the table.

Fundraising

David ran the London Marathon in under 6 hours and raised in excess of £3,000 to be divided between HighGround and the British Exploring Society – a magnificent gesture and huge congratulations – I know he is planning his next challenge already..!!

We are delighted that the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) has nominated HighGround as one of its chosen charities. Raising funds is crucial to HighGround’s development but this is a unique and precious opportunity for us to also raise awareness about the Charity’s work among people who may one day, when their military careers are behind them, need our services as they re-enter ‘civvy street.’

Another fundraising first for HighGround came via a generous supporter who has set up a monthly standing order – thank you so much and I hope it is the first of many.

PR and media

We shared a press day with The Soldiers’ Charity at Headley Court before Chelsea Flower Show to mark our partnership and both BFBS and Caroline Wyatt BBC Defence Correspondent filmed Carol and her patients in the garden which did much to raise our profile.

Media coverage in publications as diverse as BALI News, the Lancet and Veterans World has ensured that we continue to raise awareness of HighGround‘s work in many and diverse areas and we constantly strive to engage with new audiences who will be our future funders and supporters, and of course beneficiaries.

We have also begun to engage with the City Livery Companies, especially those specific to HighGround’s areas of activity and we were pleased to meet with the Worshipful Company of Gardeners and the Carpenters recently.

You can find all the media coverage in our Press Room on the website.



	Research
	We are working with Dr Zoe Morrison of Aberdeen University to monitor and evaluate the land-based careers service which we are developing and are working with our IT consultants to produce a software programme which will capture all the data we need to keep improving our service.



	IT
	Broadband has now been installed at Horseferry Road and thanks to the generosity of the Wates Foundation, the office will be fully equipped with IT and comms by the end of August.



	Clippings
	The Principal and staff of Plumpton College have been very helpful as we develop our programme for the 2 pilot Rural Weeks which will take place at the College in the autumn. This is a hugely exciting development for HighGround as we start to engage with Service Leavers and those who have already left the military to re-join ‘civvy street’ to help them to find rewarding and fulfilling jobs and careers in the land-based sector.



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