Minster Surgery has raised 90% of a £17,043 goal towards creating the “first therapy garden” in the Ramsgate area.
The site will be based within the surgery grounds and is being led by Stuart Male, who launched a spacehive page last October to raise the funds for the project.
Minster Surgery has now received a £1,000 donation from housebuilder, Barratt Homes to take it even closer to the target amount.
The not-for-profit project, created by the surgery, will centre around promoting wellbeing and improved quality of life for both vulnerable and isolated patients who belong to the surgery, as well as the wider community.
The garden will be an invaluable tool in the bettering of mental health by providing a space for healing to patients in need of some extra support, while allowing locals to have a chat and relax in a nature filled environment. Residents’ physical wellbeing will also benefit with sustained gardening through sowing seeds and growing vegetables, helping to improve health and mobility.
Minster Surgery is now calling for final donations from the community for the garden project.
Garden co-ordinator Stuart Male said: “Our sole aim for this project is ensuring the community is able to come together and reconnect with nature.
“We are thankful for organisations like Barratt Kent for their generous donation and are grateful for all the support we have received from the wider community for our fundraising efforts.
“It really is the last stretch with the fundraising and we hope we can reach our target to ensure this project is delivered as best as it can be, and all our patients can reap its benefits in the near future.”
The garden will include composting, companion planting, hügelkultur and rainwater harvesting. There will also be a polytunnel for year-round growing, a solar powered refreshment shed, a nature sculpture by a local artist, plants, herbs, veg, a pond, bird boxes, bug hotels, wildflower patch and a hedgehog highway.
Natalie Perry, Sales and Marketing Director for Barratt Kent, added: “Our healthcare services are a lifeline within our communities, whose mission is simply the bettering the lives of their patients, and the Minster Surgery’s new proposed therapy garden is a prime example of just that.
“Not-for-profit projects such as these are vital to our communities and can make the world of difference to patients’ health. We are so proud to aid the surgery’s selfless project and we are hoping the goal of £17,043 can be reached!”
Barratt Kent will be launching 133 new homes at its Roman Walk development in Minster later in the year.