Growing Together Rochford

Trust Link‘s Growing Together gardens are at the heart of how we help people experiencing mental health problems. We have four therapeutic gardens in Westcliff, Rochford, Shoeburyness and Thundersley, where we bring people positive change through outdoor gardening activities.

Therapeutic gardening uses a specially designed garden to meet the psychological and social needs of users. In addition to its mental benefits, the moderate physical activity needed for therapeutic gardening can help to improve physical health too! To find out more about the benefits of therapeutic gardening, click here.

Members can decide what activities to do in our gardens based on their individual needs and abilities. Each garden is different, and you’ll find unique activities and jobs to do at every site. You can tend the chickens and mind the shop at Westcliff, play with the guinea pigs at Shoeburyness, take part in pottery workshops in Rochford and join DIY projects at Thundersley.

Our Rochford site opened in January 2017, utilising the green space around an environmentally-sustainable building. The Growing Together project runs every Friday from 9am to 4pm and involves tending the gardens, clearing the weeds and maintaining the pathways, planting vegetables and designing new features like raised beds and orchard planters.

Rochford is also the headquarters of REACH Recovery College, where members can enrol in creative workshops and classes designed to help people manage their mental health.

Environmentally friendly and inclusive

The Eco-building is designed to be environmentally friendly and fully accessible, enabling Trust Links to provide classes and workshops to people with physical disabilities. Rochford is notable for our solitary bee habitats, which provide a valuable refuge for pollinating insects.

Rochford is a multi-functioning learning centre for people coping with mental health problems, and physical and learning disabilities. We are proud of our green building and conservation efforts at Rochford; they’re a brilliant example of what communities and individuals can achieve for the future through therapeutic gardening.