Putting Down Roots

Putting Down Roots is a horticultural training project, using gardening as a tool to help people in their recovery.

At PDR we use horticulture as a tool to help people on their recovery journey.

Supporting our clients to nurture a plant or garden can help them to build, or rediscover, their self esteem and dramatically improve their wellbeing.

How Putting Down Roots helps our clients

Gardens can offer people a place to dream, to create, to escape, and learn to recognize the seasonal and cyclical rhythms of a garden can imbue people with both resilience and hope for the future.

Gardening allows people to make – and see – positive changes to the world around them. This gives our clients a sense of purpose and empowerment, as well as a feeling of pride and satisfaction to know that they have made a tangible difference today.

We run our sessions as a group activity and promoting social inclusion, by providing a welcoming, community space, is recognized as one of the most important aims of PDR.

Key aims and outcomes

The main aims and outcomes of PDR could be summarized as:

Introducing routine & a sense of purpose
Reducing social isolation
Encouraging teamwork and developing trust
Improving mental wellbeing (reducing anxiety and stress)
Improving self esteem and building confidence
Connecting people with nature in a therapeutic way
Gaining new skills and qualifications
Preparing people for further training
Preparing people for volunteering
Preparing people to return to work

We offer sessions to clients at both our designated “core” sites and through what we call PDR Inreach.

Inreach sessions take place at hostel sites and aim to try to connect with people that are perhaps not quite ready to make the journey away from their accommodation site to one of our core sites.

We offer training for a Level 1 C & G Award in Practical Horticultural Skills to those that are keen to gain a qualification.

London PDR

We run weekly sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays at Cedars Rd SW4 (10am – 2pm) and deliver PDR Inreach activities across multiple hostel sites each week

Bristol PDR

We run weekly session at our PDR allotment in Wade St (Tuesdays, 10am – 2pm) and The Physic Garden in Castle Park (Wednesdays 10am – 2pm), plus some Inreach activities at various hostel site

More about the service

How does it help?
Key aims and outcomes
London PDR
Bristol PDR
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Putting Down Roots

How Putting Down Roots helps our clients

Key aims and outcomes

London PDR

Bristol PDR

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