Down to Earth

“” I felt enthused and interested the moment I arrived. It’s an extraordinary place. However, what has stuck with me most was the reaction of the children and young people that we were with. They were engaged and clearly having fun.”

“” I leave each day feeling energised rather than drained. I am hoping this will have a big impact and that I can integrate what I have learnt into my practice.”

“” Just to say an enormous thank you for hosting us today. I think the group found it beyond inspiring to overwhelming”

“The level of connection and camaraderie were unexpected and shaped the experience. I really looked forward to time at The Meadow, and always felt so much better mentally and emotionally when attending. Learning new skills in a beautiful setting was restorative. I had not expected to feel so uplifted but simple physical tasks that reminded me of my ‘previous’ life of relatively good health. The tactile nature of the wood and using tools felt very comforting.”

“Being unwell is a lonely experience. Bad health days make you feel less sociable, and withdrawn. The sessions reminded me of the strength/power of time with others especially if you are having a bad day. Being open to making new connections and learning new skills will undoubtedly help my resilience as my health deteriorates.”

“Patients have fed back that Down to Earth has helped them to build skills they didn’t know they were capable of and has supported them to meet new people. Staff have reported the positive impact on their own wellbeing from attending Down to Earth and have found the project has supported building closer therapeutic relationships with patients.”

“Patients are seeing the change and progress made by others in the group and feel involved and responsible for that change. They realise that they are contributing to others’ well-being. This leads to them feeling an increase in their value to others. Everyone wants to live a meaningful life, have purpose and feel values. This project helps achieve that.”

“When you’re here and you’re doing the work and meeting people, it helps you develop and realise that you had skills you didn’t even know you had. It’s a really good learning environment here. I didn’t mind school and actually liked some of it but you’re not sure why you’re learning what they are teaching you. You never know what you’re working towards. Here, from the first day here, we knew what we were doing and what we were going to build because the staff showed us what we were building and how we were going to do it.”