Community Garden Session

Join our Community Garden sessions, spend time in the beautiful surroundings of Howden Walled Garden and help us to keep it looking at its best all year round. The sessions are in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers, and available to support patients, staff and visitors connected to St John’s Hospital in Livingston.

Date & Time: Thursdays 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Meeting place: St John’s Hospital Livingston – Howden Walled Garden

These sessions will:

Highlight innovative conservation strategies, such as sustainable landscaping and biodiversity preservation.
Showcasing examples of how we can effectively preserve and enhance our green spaces

Who is it for?

There are weekly sessions are open to all to build contact with nature and the benefits that this can bring.

Sessions are structured around the internationally recognised ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ and are continuously evolving, running in harmony with the seasons and nature’s cycle. They include health and nature walks, conservation gardening, wildlife surveys, nature art and photography. We are keen that sessions are participant-led wherever possible, responding to the interests of the people who come along.

Example activities include learning about wildlife, how to identify plants and animals, and the traditional stories associated with them. Take part in sensory experiences such as listening to bird songs or smelling and touching plants we have grown in our raised beds. Express yourself creatively by taking photographs or using natural materials like clay and stone to make art. Take practical action for conservation, planting and looking after trees and wildflowers, and conducting Citizen Science projects such as monitoring butterfly and bumblebee populations.

Every session includes time to socialise, chat and share stories and experiences with a hot drink in a safe, supported way.