News

As spring is upon us, due to the limited green spaces in our local community Sandwell African Caribbean Mental Health Foundation (SACMHF) will adapt to Climate change to improve wellbeing, by securing a small grant to develop a Community Garden at the Kuumba Centre. 

This will allow service users to learn how to grow flowers, vegetables, and herbs, as well as attract local wildlife to the garden. The garden will give service users the ability to learn what flowers and herbs attract wildlife, understand the sowing periods for vegetables, as well as give them the sense of wellbeing and encouragement to grow similar plants in their own gardens.

Many of our service users have experienced, or have relatives, that have mental health issues.  This project will allow our service users to learn about gardening within a therapeutic and calming environment – which will provide them with the sustainable skills to grow various plants and vegetables which they can transfer to their own gardens and environments. Click here to see how gardening can contribute to positive mental health.

The Kuumba Community Garden Project will be user led by our service users, whom are all residents within the Sandwell Borough, giving them the responsibility of managing a garden and the reward and sense of achievement when the garden is in full bloom. The project aims to build friendships and social skills, a long with peer support.

SACMHF and people who use our services is very motivated to tackle issues presented by climate change and want to reduce our carbon footprint by delivering a community garden project where service users and volunteers will grow fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers for sale and their own consumption.  This is also an activity where service users can become volunteers who meet weekly to work together in the Kuumba Community Garden Project.

The Kuumba Community Garden Project will go live in April 2023.