The aim of this page is to attract support and funding for Thyme 2 Grow's initial project; to run At this point anxiety grows and time passes very slowly.
Yarl’s Wood is one of twelve Immigration Removal Centres spread throughout the UK. It has the capacity to hold around 350 women, plus some adult family groups and a small number of men. They are held while their immigration cases are decided and plans are made to remove them from UK. Detainees have a broad range of backgrounds, many having experienced severe trauma in their pasts. Having been invo
lved with the centre for over five years, initially as a Yarl’s Wood Befriender, I have frequently been inspired by the strength and determination of women to embrace the future whatever it holds. I have also felt completely helpless visiting women who are gripped by fear and without hope. As a befriender you shared a roller coaster journey with no known end. This result is an inevitable wearing down of spirits as time passes. In particular while there are a number of activities available to detainees, with no clear purpose or measure of achievement they gradually start to feel meaningless. I wanted to do more to improve conditions for the women in immigration detention. Indoors I felt there were clear limitations due to the buildings purpose and appearance. Being a gardener myself, I started asking detainees about the gardens and discovered that they were reasonably extensive but not very interesting. Having just attended a course run by the charity Thrive on Social and Therapeutic Horticulture, I believed that the gardens offer a far more promising environment, offering a sense of freedom and connection with the outside world. I approached SERCO at the end of 2015 and gained their support to explore the setup of a therapeutic gardening scheme, something that proved to be quite a challenge. Weekly gardening sessions started in 2018 following two years of planning. This included a successful Crowdfunding campaign to raise over £5,500 of start-up funding. As expected, the therapeutic value of the scheme was immediately evident. Women reported that gardening made them feel more relaxed, it provided respite and improved hope and motivation. The volunteer led scheme is now entering its third year, the best planned and most promising year so far. During 2019 we extended the area in cultivation and over winter we have added new raised planters to reduce the need for bending and a new composting system. The most exciting development is a new 12 x 8 foot polycarbonate greenhouse, well worth a cold day in January helping to install it. By taking part in the sessions women are introduced to all aspects of garden development; choosing what to grow, sowing seeds and learning other propagation techniques, taking care of plants as they grow, preparing and maintaining healthy soil. For many this brings back fond memories. The therapeutic value of gardening remains as a focus point. A stock of plants and seeds for cultivation and propagation enhances therapeutic activities and reduces the requirement to work at ground level. This helps women who lack physical fitness or are highly stressed, the monthly indoor sessions introduced last year proved to be very popular and, being tool-free, safety consideration were less. Women also visit the garden to harvest produce for cooking in the cultural kitchen and we supply, free of charge, salad leaves, herbs and easy to microwave vegetables via the small shop. The garden is overlooked by many communal areas meaning that it continually viewed and enjoyed. In addition, now that the garden is better developed, I am hoping that other groups supporting detainees will use it for their own wellbeing activities.
