This summer, Thrive is inviting people to get their daily dose of summer self-care with its new Summer Wellbeing Calendar, connecting them to gardening and nature.
As a gardening for health charity, Thrive is promoting four weeks of active, mindful and creative activities that benefit health and wellbeing.
Gardening and nature offer many elements needed for a happy, healthy lifestyle: time in nature, physical and mental activity, mindfulness, connection with others and healthy behaviours.
A recent government-backed Green Social Prescribing Project, which helps people with mental health needs connect with nature, led to improvements in participants’ wellbeing.
After participating in nature-based activities, a report by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) showed that people’s happiness and life satisfaction increased, while anxiety levels decreased.
People can use the calendar to focus on their wellbeing and make the most of the lighter days this August. There’s a variety of indoor and outdoor activities to choose from that encourage everyone to enjoy some nature-based ‘me time’ or quality time with friends or family.
Thrive’s Summer Wellbeing Calendar activities include:
Take an outdoor walk. Stroll around your garden, a park or a local green space. Enjoy the sensation of the air and take in the natural surroundings around you.
Make edible flower ice cubes. Brighten up your drinks by adding edible flower ice cubes.
Have a 5-minute listen. Listen to the sounds of nature and see if you can tune out the human world for a little bit.
Try nature photography. Capture something you love in nature, be creative and connect with the natural world.
Design your garden. To create your ideal patch, look at what’s growing, what you love, what you wish were there and any gaps.
A Thrive Gardening Club member said, “The best method of clearing out the clutter in my head and restoring a sense of inner peace is to be in the garden.”
Thrive helps people living with ill health, disability or disadvantage to experience the life-changing benefits of gardening and nature. With over 45 years of experience, the charity’s programmes, training, and information services help improve people’s physical, mental, and social health.
Take part in Thrive’s Summer Wellbeing Calendar this August to increase time with nature and feel the benefits! The calendar’s daily dose of summer self-care is available for free at thrive.org.uk/summerwellbeing.
