Horticultural Therapy at Headley Court – the first three years

On a dull, grey day in February 2014 HighGround’s 3 year pilot to explore the benefits of Horticulturla Therapy as an intervention for injured service personnel started when Carol arrived to start her job as the first Horticultural Therapist at Headley Court.

The project was funded by ABF The Soldiers Charity, the Westminster Foundation, Clive and Sylvia Richards Charity and several other generous donors, and over the 3 years Carol has delivered 4,072 sessions of Horticultural Therapy to 1,136 patients at Headley Court.

In February 2015 Carol was joined by her Assistant Gina who provides precious back-up and holiday cover, and in 2016 our first Gardening Volunteers who help to keep the therapeutic area in tip top shape joined us in the garden.

Now the pilot has been successfully delivered and the Surgeon General, Defence Authority in the Defence Medical Services Department has recognised that Horticultural Therapy has been fully integrated into the range of treatment options available for patients during their rehab and we fight on to raise the £354,000 it will cost HighGround to continue to deliver the Horticultural Therapy service over the next 3 years.

Read on and see what we have achieved so far..