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Anyone who’s ever pulled on a pair of wellies and picked up a trowel knows gardening is a great way to reduce stress.
You’ve only to look at Grampa Jack to see that – a couple of hours a day in his allotment and he’s more chilled than his shed’s secret beer cooler.
The healing power of horticulture has long been known to help reduce depression, loneliness, anxiety and stress, as well as boost the wellbeing of patients with cancer, dementia and mental health.
Even GPs are harnessing the power of plants by prescribing gardening sessions as an alternative to medication.
It’s playing a vital role in social care, too, as more and more care homes, charities, welfare services, hospitals, and prisons use gardening therapy for its physical and mental health benefits.
And no wonder. Apparently high-intensity activities like raking and digging are the equivalent to taking a brisk walk. An hour of weeding burns up to 300 calories and an hour behind a hand-push lawn mower can see you shift 500 calories – about the same as an hour playing tennis.
More gentle gardening activities like seed sowing and dead-heading involve complex reaching and pinching movements, balance, dexterity, recognition and hand and eye co-ordination. And that’s before we even start on the positive effects on mood, self-esteem and wellbeing simply being at one with nature can bring.
This kind of green-fingered therapy is carried out by horticultural therapists or horticulture instructors, often on estates, community gardens, in hospital or prison grounds.
Interacting with people on a one-to-one basis or in group sessions, these stars of the soil encourage physical rehabilitation through planting, pruning, growing and clipping. The emotional and mental satisfaction comes from seeing plants and vegetables take root and grow.
Several colleges offer training in horticulture therapy, including Scotland’s Rural College, and Trellis, which supports a network of 400 therapeutic gardening projects in Scotland, is a good place to get advice and support.
Horticultural therapists or instructors often have a botanical background but many come to it through work experience and vocational qualifications. A love of the outdoors is obviously a prerequisite but this kind of work best suits those who have patience, tolerance and understanding in spades.
Being enthusiastic whatever the weather and having the ability to motivate are also preferable qualities.
For these and many other fast-growing careers see the latest Social Services and Housing vacancies on s1jobs.