Activities

Therapeutic gardening and rural crafts for people who experience mental health difficulties

• Organic horticulture including growing flowers, fruit and vegetables, and all aspects of garden management.
• Rural crafts including woodworking, blacksmithing and bee-keeping
• Art workshops including pottery, glass painting and needlecrafts
• Health, nutrition and cookery sessions
• Computing and administration work
• Social activities and visits including participation at farmers markets

And all this is in the beautiful, restful and friendly atmosphere of Root & Branch.  Your views and wishes are always considered when planning new activities and you will be offered a range of activities to engage with.

Opening times

Root & Branch opens on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 3.30pm.

We suggest that you first attend Root & Branch for one day per week to see how you get on.  You are welcome to increase the number of days later.

Lunch and refreshments

There are a number of tea breaks throughout the day and Root & Branch provides tea and coffee. Some days, gardeners will produce a communal lunch using the produce from our garden.  However, normally you need to bring a packed lunch and any other food you need for the day.

Health and safety

Root and Branch ask everyone involved to observe some basic rules to ensure a safe working environment for everyone involved.  As part of this we ask you to help maintain a tidy site.

We also suggest that you make sure you are up to date with their Tetanus immunisation.

Clothing

We suggest that people buy a pair of steel toe-capped boots for some activities that could result in damage to toes (e.g. using a spade or fork, carrying heavy items or working with machinery). These can be bought fairly cheaply from an ironmonger shop.

Waterproof clothing is useful for wet days. Although we have some spare waterproof clothing, we do not have enough for everyone.

Warm clothing is essential through the winter months. Lots of thin layers are warmer than a few thick layers. Thermal underwear and two or three pairs of socks are advisable.

A sun-hat, sunscreen and long-sleeved tops are essential for avoiding sunburn during the hot summer days.

Transport

Buses: Stagecoach operate regular buses between Oxford, Faringdon, Watchfield, Shrivenham and Swindon.

In many cases we are able to help with transport, or to arrange transport on your behalf.

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