CAN’s Community Hero in the Spotlight this month is Your Planet Doctors – helping the planet and supporting people improve their mental health
CAN are thrilled to celebrate and highlight the work of retired GP Anne Hayden MBE from Dorset, who founded Your Planet Doctors in 2020, with an aim to reduce people’s stress and anxiety through communities coming together to become sustainable, self-sufficient, and able to look after each other.
This inspirational local organisation works with communities to organically grow fruit, vegetables, and trees in small neighbourhood hubs of 5 to 7 people, whilst improving wellbeing and providing opportunities to learn ‘no-dig’ growing skills, ways of revitalising soil and how to bring back the birds, butterflies, and bees into gardens helping to repair badly damaged ecosystems and reducing carbon emissions.
‘During lockdown I recognised a unique opportunity to set my plan into motion, with so many communities looking to spend more time outside giving them the opportunity to learn to grow fruit and vegetables gave many people enormous pleasure and satisfaction’ Anne explains.
Anne set up several Facebook groups including BCP Facebook Growers Group, inviting residents to join who had an interest in food growing, but were unsure where to start – even if it’s simply growing from yoghurt pots on their windowsill. ‘The group supports both the education and fun aspect of growing, by utilising their fantastic specialist Plant Doctors to solve member’s often tricky dilemmas and effectively restore dampened enthusiasm and loss of confidence with quizzes, online seed swapping facilities and growing calendars to show what and when to plant and much more.’ Anne told us
Emma part of the BCP Facebook Growers group tells us ‘I had no idea where to start but wanted to grow some food, this group has given me confidence, I feel less alone and I can eat the results!’
Join the BCP Growers group to become part of this wonderful project on https://www.facebook.com/groups/bcpgrowers/. Visit yourplanetdoctors.org for more information.