The Grow Project (CUPP)

Grow was a Sussex-based charity that ran low-cost nature connection courses for people looking for ways to improve their mental and physical wellbeing. Activities included guided nature walks, conservation tasks, green woodworking, wild food foraging, creative sessions and shepherding.

The Grow Project was a partnership between the local charity and researchers from the University of Brighton, funded by the Community University Partnership Programme.

In the first collaboration, a psychologist and psychotherapist (Dr Matt Adams and Martin Jordan) worked with Grow and this was followed by a consultancy and evaluation by Dr Matt Adams and Dr Julie Morgan.

Grow aimed to provide a range of outdoor green activities for people with experience of mental distress and the main purpose of the project was to work collaboratively to evaluate the outcomes of participating in Grow, and subsequently produce a report.

The collaboration provided our researchers with an opportunity to have first-hand involvement in a project allied with their theoretical, applied and research interests. It provided Grow with a greater academic understanding of why what they do works which in turn, they perceive, has helped them to do it better.

Findings acknowledged that benefits of ecotherapy included: positivity, nature connectedness, autonomy, belonging and social identity.

The final report contributes to the growing evidence base highlighting the effectiveness of ecotherapeutic interventions and supports the recognition of ecotherapy as a clinically valid treatment for people with diverse lived experiences of mental distress.

Being able to establish the clear outcomes in terms of how the project has supported participants in their wellbeing and recovery from psychological distress and illness has helped Grow to secure funding and identify development aims. In addition, we have created volunteering opportunities for students within the University of Brighton.