Becoming a Community Garden volunteer has been a lifesaver for me during this pandemic. Like many people who live in London I don’t have a garden and the Community garden has provided a place to come which is outdoors with little infection rate. It has been enjoyable, friendly, safe, and incredibly beneficial both physically and mentally.

Most medical professionals treat them as separate but most mental health professionals know already that our minds and bodies are completely inseparable and that one has an effect on the other.

So, the exercise of gardening, like other types of exercise (which can be gentle or vigorous) triggers the release of endorphins into the bloodstream, relieving pain and producing a feeling of well-being. Whereas a lack of exercise in the winter months and during lockdown

increases your risk of anxiety and depression. Every modern well-trained psychiatrist would rather prescribe exercise and fresh air before drugs if possible. We associate nature with recreation and relaxation, so again that can help enhance our mood. Growing things has a sense of achievement to it which is different from a business deal or a great presentation, it is growing life. Life that emotionally, physically, and some would say spiritually, sustains us.

Sunlight or even natural daylight triggers the brain to release the hormone serotonin. It helps people to feel calm and focussed, boosts their mood and reduces anxiety and regulates sleep and our circadian rhythm. Coming to the garden, going to the park and the forest has helped me keep my routine and mental health. I had a myriad of things that have helped which included buying the biggest mirror I could afford for my sitting room and positioning it, so it bounces light around the room. And like many of us I gave away furniture so I could have a bit extra space. The pandemic has made us all look at architecture and the design and inadequacies of our homes if we have no outdoor space.

Dealing with COVID-19 has been utterly exhausting for everyone, it has raised your level of cortisol, a stress hormone. The long-term effects of raised cortisol levels created physical problems as well as mental ones. Looking after and schooling children, making sure elderly parents were protected and working from home has been really difficult for the majority of people. The Community garden has been beneficial in that it enabled me to put a clear boundary between my work and home life. When you’re working from home the boundaries become very blurred or permeable causing even more stress!

Growing things has a sense of achievement to it which is different from a business deal, or a great presentation etc. Going back to nature is natural and feeds into a primal need that we all have psychologically. We are connected to the earth whether we have forgotten or whether we don’t have much contact with it. That energy is what gives us all life. Connecting to the planet and connecting to the ecosystem of the planet. The energy of the earth and nature is all around us and if we are to make it sustainable and the life that lives on it flourish then we’d better start paying it much more attention.

The sound of tweedy birds……. very calming.

Any noise taps into our ‘fight or flight’ response. If we perceive a stressful sound it induces an area of the brain called the amygdala to send out distress signals. They’re picked up by another area of the brain, the hypothalamus, which in turn prompts the adrenal glands to pump adrenaline into the blood. (Many animals, birds and sea life are super stressed, as are we, as we are surrounded by constant noise). Your blood pressure goes up. So, listening and watching the birds in the Community garden on the bird feeders was intensely calming and I’d bring my flask of coffee or soup just to watch and listen to the birds.

Looking at natural objects like plants and trees etc can give your brain a break – or a series of ‘micro-breaks’ from focusing. We also associate nature with recreation and relaxation, so again that can help enhance our mood. Even if we have not been consciously aware of it, we have all craved space and nature.

The Community garden has also provided me with some social contact. Again, another mood booster that is super important, especially if you live alone. Most of us have missed chatting with colleagues in the office or at lunch time, in the lift or on the stairs or in the coffee shop. Humans are social animals and wonderful though technology is zoom just doesn’t cut it and the friendliness of the Community garden has helped tremendously. Thank goodness for zoom but also thank goodness for the Community garden.