GROW

Where Permaculture meets Mindfulness

Grow

Grow is a group for women, offering the chance to spend time outside in nature on a Hastings allotment. Using sustainable permaculture methods we grow food together, forage herbs, make medicinal teas and balms and of course take home the produce. We also spend time connecting with our senses through Nature-Based mindfulness meditation.
There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that gardening reduces stress and improves wellbeing. So we grow food for well-being! Our group offers women a space to feel free and secure to open up, learn new skills and importantly to take risks and grow their self-esteem and confidence.

CURRENLTY CLOSED BUT RETURNING SOON

For more information contact polly@projectrewild.co.uk

BOOKING ESSENTIAL AS SPACES ARE LIMITED. ADULT ONLY GROUP, WE ARE UNABLE TO ALLOW CHILDREN, BABIES OR PETS TO ATTEND.

WHAT IS PERMACULTURE

Permaculture uses growing methods that cooperate with nature, to create a harmonious balance, planting vegetables and pollinator attracting flowers together to work symbiotically. This alliance from companion planting provides food, energy, shelter and protection from other organisms without using chemicals or methods that damage and disrupt the environment. It provides a system that we can grow organically, in a less harmful way to the planet and re-educate ourselves to become aligned with our habitat. Less intervention is needed in growing so we can be more productive with less effort. We use no dig methods so as not to disturb organisms within the soil but rather feed and nourish it with organic matter which we can then plant into. Permaculture is a way of watching and listening to nature. It is something you need to see, feel, touch, taste and experience yourself. It is the embodiment of growth, decay and rebirth - within and outwardly! It simply allows nature to lead in its teachings and the effect has a profound impact!

NATURE-BASED MINDFULNESS

Nature-Based mindfulness is about sensitivity and connection. It's about allowing the light to break through into the parts of ourselves we have forgotten and become disconnected from. This sensitivity is wrapped up within our senses and our ability to feel deeply. To feel oneself, each other and the earth breathing beneath us. It is through becoming open to our sensitivity, intuition is borne. Mindfulness in Nature is about learning to become open and receptive.

WHY

The simultaneous process of nurturing and growing a garden as well as bringing attention to how and what we, as individuals, need to grow ourselves strong and resilient has had an incredible effect on the participants we have worked with so far. This group offers a safe space for women to feel connected to others and feel they are a part of something bigger than themselves, a place where they can support each other and grow together.

When we bring mindfulness and permaculture together we begin to see how all life is connected and how nature reflects back our inner and outer experience. Practicing mindfulness in a natural environment can help to enhance our sensory skills through immersion in nature. Gently learning to pay attention to ourselves as well as our environment can help deepen our sense of connectedness with the natural world as well as ourselves.

GROUP FEEDBACK

Joining this group has helped me connect with myself and to nature through meditation and through the sensory experience of working with the soil and plants. It has also helped me to connect with others and I have got to know a neighbour through attending the group. This has had a positive impact on my mental health. Sharing experiences in the group has been very beneficial to my well being. I have learnt how to work the land and to grow and protect plants which has helped me feel that I belong here. Learning about what healthy foods to eat and drink has also been good for my mental and physical health. Being outside all morning brings me peace, enjoyment and when it is sunny, a healthy dose of vitamin D. As in life, working with plants can bring surprises. We planted a wild flower patch which we thought had not taken, A few weeks later we returned after it had been raining a lot. The patch had flourished and was brimming with colour. I felt such delight and learnt that sometimes all you need is patience.

Through growing plants, I have learnt a lot about my needs. I realise that I need the right environment and conditions to grow and to blossom, just as a plant does.

Whilst working on the allotment, I have got to know other allotment holders which has further increased my social circle and a feeling that I am part of a larger community.
MARY 2023

Thank you to Polly and Claire, I really hope this valuable space continues to be available. Claire and Polly create a safe and positive place for diverse women who are muddling through life, to be together and learn in a radically different way to the rest of life seemingly. It's calming and gentle but also very rich and constructive to grow food together and regenerate the land. I think projects like this are quietly transformative and it definitely continues to influence me and the way I spend my time beyond the project.

PARTICIPANT 2023

I really appreciate having a women only space here, it just takes the pressure off, it’s hard to explain but I just feel so much more relaxed. I love the conversations women can have when men aren’t around and we really listen to each other and let each other talk and be heard here. It feels really good to be listened to and supported by other women and get creative and have fun together.

ABI 2022

The Project Rewild sessions are simply wonderful: grounding, nourishing, soothing, educational. We tend the earth together, and each other. Polly and Claire are brilliant, wise, generous facilitators, and I'm incredibly grateful for the time spent with them, and the group, and the allotment.

ROSY 2022

Thank you, Polly and Claire, for facilitating Grow. It was a wonderful experience to be in a safe and peaceful environment, doing such an important thing as connecting with other women, in nature. There is a profound depth to these connections, which is so needed in these busy and challenging times we are in. It is really important to me to learn how to grow my own food, now more than ever, and pass on these skills to my daughter. I learned so much from you and enjoyed every minute of it. I really hope I can get to experience another course with you.

CINDY 2022

Polly and Claire have crafted a really special space with Grow. The project achieves the perfect balance of doing and being, and the sessions are facilitated in a gentle, nurturing way, allowing each member to find their own pace and place within the group. I've only attended two sessions so far, but I can feel the benefits already. When I'm on the allotment I feel calmer, more centred and in tune with my feelings and energy levels, and connected in with the other women in the group. I've really enjoyed our conversations about the importance of rest, learning from the earth and the cycles of the moon, and the complexities of motherhood. It's difficult to express how rare but how vital it is to have a space that's held exclusively for women, and I take strength and joy in the safety, peer support and collaborative energy that's created when we come together. It's a beautiful thing to be able to share our collective learning and experience. This project needs to continue!

EVE 2022

You both do such an amazing job at creating an environment where I have felt I can just come in and be part of a team from the moment I arrived. The space is held with such a light touch but that in itself is such an amazing skill as it allows the people who come to the group to feel a sense of ownership and not just there doing a course. There is no hierarchy, no feelings of this is mine and that is yours – it’s a truly shared space . Thanks for creating such a lovely, open door and safe space feeling to the weekly meet ups. It’s changed my life for the better. I look forward to the next few months as the season changes and learning more about permaculture and soil care in a mindful way.

JANE 2022

It has been wonderful for me to feel part of the community in a physical sense although joining Permaculture meets Mindfulness has seemed at times, ethereal. As a neuro diverse female the gentle albeit cold environment combined with subtle structured tasks and learning outcomes was ideal for me and upon reflection extremely beneficial. I felt that I could be me without masking or adapting to societies constructs. The organic conversations were fulfilling and honest, almost therapeutic. Thank you all for listening without Judgement. I found myself speaking to people more lately and not isolating myself as frequently. I now welcome the weather in thermal undergarments and I have acquired walking boots! Where before when unwell, I’d have felt distressed and hibernated I now know the benefit of forcing myself out for a walk and to submerge myself in nature, I’m often out picking nettles whether that be for soup or adding some vitamin c to my hot beverage. As a gardening novice I’ve learnt a lot and I look forward to harvesting in the near future.

CHARLOTTE 2022

It has been such a blessing to be part of the Rewild experience! From winter to spring and even summer, we have been able to seed, plant, water, harvest and cooked all the vegetables we did put in the soil. What a joyful satisfaction!

LISE 2022

Polly and Claire made me feel at ease straight away and created a safe enjoyable atmosphere. I found that after a session my anxiety and stress levels were lower than at the beginning of the session.

PARTICIPANT DECEMBER 2021