Alison Marsden Email & Phone Number

I am a long term advocate of the power of gardening to support wellbeing. As a trained Social & Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner I offer hands-on sessions for a wide range of participants tailoring the activities to the capabilities and objectives of each group. My experience includes working with Dementia Cafés, residents in care homes, hospice day therapy, mental health service users and an acquired brain injury support group. I can also advise organisations wishing to create their own therapeutic gardening programmes, provide workshops, design activities and build outcome measurement models. I am an experienced public speaker, writer and tutor and love sharing my knowledge of gardening for individuals and as a therapy.Gardening is all about mental wellbeing, from unwinding from the stresses of a working week on your allotment to organised projects which support people living with poor mental health and dementia. 'Green care' is increasingly recognised for its contribution to maintaining wellbeing in older and vulnerable groups and gardening is wonderfully flexible and familiar to so many. The corporate IT world, gardening and teaching might seem odd bedfellows for a career, but they have all contributed skills to my progression into therapeutic horticulture. I have been a keen gardener at home all my adult life and always with a strong emphasis on actively supporting the wildlife with which we share our gardens. Royal Horticultural Society qualifications and experience of teaching adults in Further Education underpin my approach to planning activities and explaining the why as well as the how of gardening.Years of experience in IT project and programme management are invaluable as I support organisations in planning therapeutic gardening programmes and the often overlooked need to set goals and measure successful outcomes for the participants. Since 2019 I have focused on learning more about supporting people in mental health recovery - the process of rediscovering a fulfilled and empowered life despite long term mental health difficulties. After completing an introduction to Counselling Skills course I have now finished an MSc in Mental Health Recovery and Social Inclusion where my research project examined outcome measurement methods for STH programmes supporting adults with mental health difficulties.Contact me to talk about any or all of this. I would love to help you.

Listed skills include Pmo, Risk Management, Process Improvement, Business Process Improvement, and 14 others.