The Montpellier Allotment Project Team celebrated success at the national Design in Mental Health Community Awards when they received a ‘Highly Commended’ in the Outside Space of the Year category.
Hosted at the Coventry Building Society Arena, the ceremony was attended by Victoria Woodruff, Senior Occupational Therapist and EAP Team Lead at Montpellier Secure Recovery Service, and fellow members of the Allotment Project Working Team.
The therapeutic allotment and green site at Horton Road, Gloucester, is regularly accessed for rehabilitation, development and meaningful engagement by our patients at Montpellier Low Secure Unit, and those who access our Trust’s services countywide. It is also a resource which is utilised by our colleagues, community groups, local organisations and education providers in Gloucestershire.
Having secured funding for its redevelopment in 2021, Victoria and her team of service users, occupational therapists and fellow colleagues from the Montpellier Unit, have worked tirelessly to transform the site. You can read more about the project and what has been achieved so far here: https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/news/montpellier-allotment-redevelopment-project/
The project team were honoured to receive a visit from HRH the Princess Royal in January this year, when she officially reopened the therapeutic allotment. Read more here: Royal Visit to Newly Developed Therapeutic Allotment > Glos Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust (ghc.nhs.uk)
The nomination for the Design in Mental Health Awards recognised the allotment project as being “the perfect example of what can be achieved with some creativity, drive and determination. The allotment site has been transformed in the past 12 months – led by an occupational therapist – into a space that is every bit therapeutic. All this has been achieved while working on the hospital wards full-time, and with the support of patients and volunteers”.
In response to receiving the award, Victoria Woodruff said: “The allotment team were extremely honoured to be nominated for this prestigious national award. We all enjoyed an absolutely amazing evening and were overjoyed to receive the Highly Commended award in the Outside Space of the Year category.
“I am so proud of every member of the allotment team – they represent what can be achieved when we work in collaboration. Everyone involved has worked so hard and put so much time and effort into creating and maintaining this fabulous therapeutic allotment.
“This has been an ongoing project for a number of years now – the entire team have gone above and beyond, putting so much of their own time into it, every single day. They’re amazing.”
