As we continue to extend our offerings online due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions, we enjoyed our first webinar this week, which forms part of a series of three entitled "From Winter to Spring".

The first of our talks focused on Community Gardening and our collaboration with Brecon Cathedral for the new Heritage & Landscape Trail "1000 Years of Calm", where the Green Minds gardeners will be creating a new heritage vegetable garden.

Our second talk next month will focus on spring foraging and ways to boost your immune system, culminating in our final webinar in April, which will come 'live from the woods' and focus on some mindful offerings amongst the trees!

For more information and to sign up to any of these free webinars just send Jess an email at jess.t@breconmind.org.uk

We hope you'll join us as we welcome in the spring!

We were delighted to announce last month that Brecon Cathedral, in partnership with ourselves, had been successfully awarded a £9000 grant through the Heritage Lottery Fund to create a heritage landscape trail through the cathedral grounds. The project, entitled '1000 Years of Calm' will see the renovation of two notable graves and the creation of an interactive trail, taking in key historical sites in and around the cathedral, which will round off at a newly created heritage vegetable garden, designed and implemented by our group members, and a lovely addition to our already developing community wellbeing garden, which will neighbour the designated site.

As well as the work required to construct the new beds and plant up the selected fruit, veg, herbs and cut flowers, there will be a selection of workshops throughout the coming months to accompany the developing trail and points of interest.

A huge thanks goes out to Dr. Sarah Ward Clavier, who successfully applied for the grant, and to the cathedral team who have allowed us this opportunity to continue our collaboration with them and their grounds, becoming just a small part of the cathedrals long history within the town.

For further details regarding the project click here!

It was great to get further publicity for the project this month after being asked to feature in the Brecon & Radnor Express and Beacons Magazine. Its been vital for us to raise the profile of the project, being one of only very few community groups still allowed to continue offering services to those isolated or struggling with the effects of the pandemic in recent months. Continued thanks to our group members who have participated so enthusiastically to our 1:1 sessions, helping to regenerate our garden space in the cathedral grounds, and walking and sharing together in neighbouring Priory Groves.

We were recently invited by the Hinterlands Wales project 'Ahoi! What Grows Here?' to run a canal side workshop in conjunction with their new floating resource, Storm Kitchen.

The projects main aim is about exploring food, land, community resources and imagination on the Brecon & Monmouthshire Canal, and forms part of a wider arts and environment programme happening on the canal between 2018-2021, and developed in conjunction with the Canal & River Trust and arts organisation Peak, based in Crickhowell.

We were delighted at Green Minds to be given this opportunity, which included a sensory focused mindful wander exploring autumnal themes, rounded up by a creative session using plant based inks and homemade charcoals to sketch, draw and paint collected items from along the canal. Storm Kitchen provided a great base to work from, and the barges owner Ella Gibbs supplied some beautiful restorative herbals teas and snacks to accompany our creativity.

Going forward Storm Kitchen is inviting local growers, producers and makers to add stock to its floating larder, which it will trade on a sale and return basis as it navigates the canal system. As well as a shared resource and community trading outlet and tea bar, Hinterlands Wales are also running a schedule of online talks that will stream live from Storm Kitchen on a variety of dates across October.

For further details and to find out more please visit: www.ahoiwhatgrows.com

Many thanks again to Ella and the Hinterlands Team!

We have lots of opportunities to get involved this Autumn for our Green Minds members and non-members too who'd like to experience one of our sessions. We currently have capacity for 6 participants on each session, all of which are currently based outdoors so lots of space for distancing. Do have a look at our programme of events and if you'd like to share please do so!. For more info regarding any of what's on offer please get in touch, you can find contact details on the posters attached or through the website.... Best wishes to all  :-) ​

We were delighted to be able to feature the project in the September edition of Focus Magazine this month. If you haven't already seen our article, or you don't receive a copy through your door, then you can find it online at ​www.focusmagazinesltd.co.uk 

With autumn approaching we're excited to announce that we will be resuming our Walk & Talk sessions again, exploring seasonal themes and nature connection in a beautiful woodland setting on the outskirts of Brecon.

The sessions will run one Thursday a month starting with our first walk on the 24th September 11am to 1pm. In line with current government guidelines, we will be keeping to small group numbers, so booking is essential.  As before, the sessions are open to both members and non members of Green Minds, and are a great opportunity to meet the team and explore themes of nature, wellbeing and creativity.

For further information and to book a place, please contact Jess on 07487 523991 or email jess.t@breconmind.org.uk

We look forward to you joining us!

Thanks to Thrive for the invitation to feature our project in Growth Point, the Social & Therapeutic Horticulture magazine. Please find our article in the link box below and find out more about how we have adapted our ecotherapy work during lockdown by creating online resources.