WELLIES Project

WELLIES™ PROJECT WINS AWARDS FOR TRANSFORMING LIVES

The London Awards

Matt Hocking, Carl Slater and Simon MacDonald recieving the national award.

The Midlands Awards

Julie White, Nick Platt, Stefan Guoz, Jason Burrows and Lily Rodberg receiving the Midlands area award.

PRESS RELEASE 

The WELLIES project provides training workshops for those recovering from mental health issues using animals’, plants and the countryside.

The project aims to promote confidence and wellbeing through informal learning opportunities, where appropriate moving participants nearer to the labour market.

Activities involve growing vegetables, horticultural skills, keeping pigs, keeping chickens, rural crafts, floristry, tractor driving, healthy eating and cookery - building a bread oven, bread making etc.

WELLIES stands for:

  • Wellness
  • Education
  • Learning
  • Laughter
  • Inspiration
  • Environment
  • Skills

A range of activities are provided on each day- encouraging participants to try something new and possibly ‘out of their comfort zone’- gently challenging and pushing boundaries.

This project has been a great success with excellent feedback from health care professionals and service users. Service users comment on how much the programme has improved their wellbeing, hope, optimism and general mental heath. Improved confidence is visible to all.

Several participants have gone on to volunteer and employment.

The project won a regional Adult Learners Award in 2010 and national award for Transforming Lives from NIACE.

Growing Rural Enterprise works in partnership with Quest- Day Opportunities for Mental Health and a team of Staffordshire farmers to deliver the WELLIES project. All have CEVAS, PTLLS qualifications and have taken part in an extensive training programme.

Funding for projects has come from various sources including NIACE, Staffordshire County Council Community Wellbeing Fund, ESF, Awards for All and Staffordshire County Council Adult and Community Learning Fund.

"WELLIES has been a fantastic partnership project between Quest, Growing Rural Enterprise, local farmers that have hosted the activities and the participants themselves. We have all learned together and enjoyed seeing how the project has aided individuals and contributed to their wellbeing."

 

Nick Platt, Growing Rural Enterprise Ltd.

"On the WELLIES days I felt more able to try new tasks and I have enjoyed meeting new people ... It has been a difficult time for me recently and WELLIES days have given me something positive to focus on. It has helped me become more aware of past interests that I forgot how much I enjoyed and valued."

 

A Service User, Participant in the WELLIES Project.

Please visit the Gallery and our Youtube page, we have pictures from the WELLIES project events, we also have a promotional information video/DVD that was produced by Jason Burrows from Quest that is on our Youtube page. To visit our Youtube page click on the Youtube logo in the bottom right hand corner of the page or visit http://www.youtube.com/growingruralent