I recently visited Crieff Community garden and was amazed at the hard-work and dedication of the volunteers after seeing first-hand the great progress they have made in creating an amazing space.
Community gardens are real local assets and provide an opportunity to everyone to get involved in the benefits of enjoying the outdoors, meeting other people and growing healthy food. The team of volunteers in Crieff set out to create a safe, relaxed and peaceful space for learning, having fun and socialising for all ages and they have certainly done that.
Obviously gardening is good exercise, but research has shown that gardening can reduce the risk of stroke, improve your immune system, decrease osteoporosis and even reduce the risk of dementia.
But on top of this, it is also amazing for your mental health. Gardening relieves stress and being outdoors in nature has also been shown to improve your metal wellbeing.
Community gardens also provide a great social opportunity, as you are gardening with other people in your community which helps give an opportunity to chat, meet people and make friends.
And if that all wasn’t enough, you also get to eat amazing homegrown fruit and vegetables at the end of it all.
With all these benefits, I hope that we start to see more people taking part in community gardens. The team of volunteers at Crieff have more ambitious plans for expansion and I wish them every success in this amazing adventure.
