A new therapy initiative has been announced by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The Prince and Princess of Wales Foundation revealed their plan for new therapy gardens to support mental health in Wales.
The foundation is working with Life at No.27 to create the gardens.
The Cheif Executive Officer at the Royal Foundation, Amanda Berry, said: “Their Royal Highnesses are passionate about creating a lasting impact in the communities they visit, playing an instrumental role in bringing together local stakeholders to amplify the work of organisations, and ensure support reaches those who need it most.
“We are absolutely delighted that the visit to Brynawel Rehabilitation Centre and collaboration with social enterprise, Life at No.27 will mark the second in a series of community impact pilots from The Royal Foundation.
“Their Royal Highnesses continue to prioritise our society’s mental health and spending time in nature is known to have a range of benefits, including reducing depression and anxiety. We are really pleased to be working with Life at No.27 and supporting its mission to help communities across South Wales.”
Annabelle Padwick, founder of Life at No.27, said working with the royals “is so important as their support enables us to collaboratively raise awareness of the work we do, the growing vital need that we aim to meet and how much the experiences and relationships we have can shape our future.”
William and Catherine will mark the beginning of the project with a visit to Brynawel Rehabilitation Centre, near Pontyclun, where the first garden will be developed. The centre is a leading centre in Wales for the treatment of alcohol and drug dependencies.
Kensington Palace said: “The project will form the second in a series of ‘community impact’ pilots from The Royal Foundation, designed to leave a lasting legacy in the communities Their Royal Highnesses visit.”
The first garden will contain “a collection of allotments where individuals can have their own space to learn and grow their own produce” alongside a communal sensory and herbal garden, a mud kitchen and an interactive learning space.
It will be developed over the coming months, and once opened, it will provide free and low-cost gardening therapy coupled with mental health support sessions at the centre. The plan is for the garden to be open to those in the wider community over time with general practitioner referrals.
Mental health has been a central focus of the Prince and Princess since their marriage in 2011; through their foundation, they have created and supported different mental health initiatives to break the stigma surrounding mental health, to raise awareness of the importance of healthy mental health and to encourage those dealing with problems to seek help.
"; n.innerHTML = "window._taboola = window._taboola || [];_taboola.push({mode:'thumbnails-a', container:'taboola-below-article-thumbnails', placement:'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix'});"; insertAfter(t, e); insertAfter(n, t) }injectWidgetByMarker('tbmarker');
