Animal Encounter!

Our Community Market Garden was transformed into a farm as a partner charity, SweetTree Farming For All, visited the Garden with their herd of furry friends. They brought along sheep, goats and rabbits for the service users to engage with. SweetTree Farming For All has been granted funding by Watford Borough Council to run workshops that are designed to inspire and engage participants. Service users had the opportunity to get involved in milking, herding and animal husbandry duties. 

The therapeutic benefits of interaction with animals include relief of anxiety and depression – a common experience for many of our service users - so the animal therapy in the tranquil, outdoor setting was a perfect match. Both ourselves and SweetTree Farming For All share the aim of making a positive difference to the lives of vulnerable individuals. 

Community Market Garden Supervisor, Ian Bond commented, 'We're so grateful to Jude and the team from SweetTree Farming For All for offering this amazing opportunity for our service users. The session was so beneficial and you could see the immediate effects that the animals were having on our service users.'