Just how effectively therapeutic horticulture can improve social outcomes for individuals with learning difficulties or mental health issues has been demonstrated in a recent study of Thrive’s STH programmes. A report of the findings is now available here.
Benefits to Client Gardeners, carers and volunteers were assessed over 2 years, and were expressed in monetary terms using a proxy to convert the improvements in social outcomes to a financial gain. The biggest gain was improved mental wellbeing (61% of the social value observed, corresponding to £8.6 million over 3 years), followed by improved social connection (13% of total social value). Importantly, just over half (58%) of the value gained reflected benefits experienced by Client Gardeners, while a quarter of the overall value (24%) was experienced by carers. The latter benefited from respite from care and two-thirds reported improved mental health (65%) and feeling less worried (60%) about the person they cared for.
When compared to the total investment required to run the STH programme for 3 years, the social value gained was almost 8-fold greater than the investment (£14.1 million vs £1.8 million). This suggests funding STH programmes such as Thrive’s are a good use of tax payer money, giving a return on investment of almost £8 for every £1 spent.
For more details see: RGWN resources, or read the full report.