Our very first blog…First Aid and Frivolity
Hello,
Welcome to the Dundee Therapy Garden Blog! We are a brand new mental health charity, set up to work with military veterans and veterans of the uniformed services, but you can read all about us here. There’s been a lot going on for Annie, Alec, Michael and me recently as we work towards getting everything ready for our first veterans. Having come back from our Christmas holidays (semi) refreshed, we launched ourselves into recruiting volunteers and we can now announce that we have half a dozen willing and able bods to help us. These brilliant new additions to our team bring a range of skills including clinical psychology, horticulture, health care and we even have an ex Royal Navy nurse. A huge welcome to Annie, Richard, Sharon, Maggie and Sarah. Watch this space for the newbies we have yet to bring into the fold.
The newly formed team has spent January clearing the (very neglected) raised beds, topping up compost, weeding, starting our own orchard, meeting the local wildlife and sticking a few hardy seeds in the ground. Michael and I have been lost in a vast sea of paperwork, surfacing occasionally for air, a cup of tea and a general grumble about the weather.
The team has also been lucky enough to receive some excellent First Aid Training from George Lappin at Pinmar 1st Aid, whose professionalism, generosity and wisdom made us fans for life and taught us all how to give potentially life-saving assistance to anyone in need. Here are some entertaining photos to prove it!
We want to thank Dundee City Council, who have agreed to support us and lease us the site. We were even given a surprise delivery of compost - thank you Sandy and Kate for organising it and to Scott, whose excellent driving and military precision meant that all of our gates were left intact. We cannot thank the council enough for all of their support, kindness and hard work, but we promise to make good use of the site.
Another huge thank you to Annie, Alec, Ken and Evan - our trustees, all of whom have worked tirelessly to get this project up and running and to ensure a safe space for veterans in Dudhope park. We can’t wait to be able to get our veterans in and get going.
And now, it is time for a cup of tea and a cookie.
