Why working on the park matters

“Gardening can do what medicine only 'tries to mimic' for mental health, Monty Don says” and the same can be said about working on the park as a volunteer.

Gardening can do what medicine "tries to mimic" for mental health, Monty Don has said as he spoke about his own struggles with depression.
The presenter and horticulturist has said that gardening is only just being explored as a treatment for mental health issues.
He said in his column for Gardeners' World magazine: "That first snowdrop, the flowering of the rose you pruned, a lettuce you grew from seed, the robin singing just for you. These are small things but all positive, all healing in a way that medicine tries to mimic."
Mr Don has spoken frequently and publicly about his depression, and cited the natural world – and his dog – as great helps. MORE