Growing Well recently celebrated the official launch of its third site in Egremont, West Cumbria, where around 80 supporters and guests joined the team to cut the ribbon at the new site on Tuesday 1st October.
Guests at the launch event included key funders from The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the National Lottery Community Fund, the Copeland Community Fund, and Cumberland Council, all of whom have made the redevelopment of the Beck Green Nurseries site possible.
The ex-Council nursery site in Egremont’s town centre will support people from Millom to Maryport with our professional, therapeutic model that champions recovery through structured horticultural activity.
Growing Well originated in Kendal 20 years ago and has helped thousands of people in the South and Central Lakes to recover from mental ill health and move forward with their lives.
The second site at Tebay Services opened in 2023 to serve the Carlisle and Eden areas, and the launch of the Egremont site means another significant geographical area in Cumbria will now be covered by the service, which is governed by clinical psychologists and delivered by specialist staff.
Growing Well West Cumbria offers a day service on five days of the week, offering its beneficiaries a holistic package of structured, supervised activity, goal setting, skills development and supported signposting and transitions.
This all takes place in the context of a sustainable, pesticide-free horticultural enterprise and where beneficiaries learn how to grow, nurture and harvest hundreds of fruits and vegetables that will be sold within the local area.
Mary Smith, CEO of Growing Well, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be launching Growing Well West Cumbria and supporting this amazing part of the county that we know and love. We guarantee swift referral into our service and can offer a safe and professional environment to support mental health recovery in a unique, non-clinical setting.
“It’s vital that services like ours are here to respond to the escalating mental health crisis in our population and support people to find help at the point they need it. Our funders recognise the urgency of this and can also see the additional benefits of a model such as ours, to the wider community. We are very thankful for their support.”
David Peattie, CEO at The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, cut the ribbon to officially launch the opening of the Egremont site, and said: “This truly is a fantastic asset to the local Cumbrian community and as someone who places huge value on mental health, I am delighted that the NDA has been able to be part of supporting such an important service.
“It’s a great example of how the NDA is delivering its decommissioning mission with care for the communities and the environment, investing money and resources in projects like this one which will benefit future generations to come.
“We provide annual funding of approximately £15million to support socio-economic activities which leverages millions of pounds of further investment from partners, enabling permanent and sustainable change and a positive legacy once the decommissioning mission has ended.”
Duncan Nicholson, Regional Head of Funding, The National Lottery Community Fund (North East and Cumbria), said: “As the largest funder of community activity in the UK, The National Lottery Community Fund is delighted to support Growing Well to open a third site in Egremont.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, Growing Well will provide vital mental health services to support the wellbeing of communities across West Cumbria, and the newly redeveloped site will also help to address community food issues, health inequality and poverty.”
Emma Moynihan, Fund Manager for the Copeland Community Fund, said: “Copeland Community Fund is delighted to support Growing Well with their new project to deliver mental health support to our local community through a horticultural growing scheme. Improving the health and wellbeing of the community is a priority of Copeland Community Fund and partners.
“The grant of £275,000 is to establish the site in Egremont and to deliver the programme over the next three years. The team and I had the privilege of attending a pre-opening volunteer day. It was fantastic to see the projects progress and have the opportunity to experience first hand how this project will be supporting beneficiaries.”
Growing Well West Cumbria is open to beneficiaries and also offers traditional volunteering opportunities within its horticulture enterprise.
More information about how to refer someone to Growing Well West Cumbria or get involved can be found at egremont@growingwell.co.uk
