“Gardening is a great leveller. It does not matter what background you are from - your carrots may turn out to be the best in Bradford.”

Jane Robinson talks passionately about the pastime that is helping to improve the health of people from across the district.

Jane is team leader with Bradford Community Environment Project’s (BCEP) Gardening for Health project, an initiative which aims to reduce local inequalities in health and wellbeing by encouraging food growing and healthy eating, particularly among people from high risk or ‘hard to reach’ groups .

From humble beginnings in 1996, on one allotment, with a small group of women, Gardening for Health - known as G4H - now involves 15 regular groups of men, women and children, reaching more than 2000 people every year.

“We have groups all over Bradford, of all ages and cultural backgrounds,” says Jane. “It does not matter whether you have gardened before - many people come along and are surprised by how easy it is.”

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“Some people are daunted by the idea of taking on an allotment by themselves but in a group it is easily manageable. People encourage each other and learn from each other.”

People pool their skills to tackle different jobs. “We recently had a group with members who were handy with woodwork and helped to build compost bays. We could not have done it without their skills,” says Jane. “We are running some groups weekly and some monthly, and some are single sex.”

Gardening could play a crucial part in living a long and healthy life, say experts. It may even be better for some patients than taking medication.

Doctors are being urged to issue ‘green prescriptions’, telling people to go outdoors and get gardening. It can help with conditions including dementia, stress and depression, says research from the Growing Health project, a national initiative looking at how community food growing can be routinely used to promote health and wellbeing. Gardening can also help people to control weight and lower high blood pressure.

Bradford district exhibits significant health inequalities: life expectancy in Ilkley, just 12 miles from Bradford, is 12 years longer than a male living in certain inner city area. It is this difference that the programme seeks to reduce.

Black and minority ethnic communities face particular health issues and do not always access other services. Clients who are particularly vulnerable are also targeted, for example those in mental health units, refugees and asylum seekers and those who have experienced homelessness or drug/alcohol abuse.

Says Jane: “For us, the project has three aspects: physical health - you are more active doing physical activity every week. If you dig for half an hour you burn 350 calories which is as good as going to the gym.

“Then there is fresh air and learning new skills, and the fresh fruit and vegetables you produce .”

Regular group members and many one-off clients eat home-grown fruit and vegetables, taking some home to share with family and friends. Cookery sessions are incorporated into all regular groups.

In Bradford, G4H - which is free for participants - works on BCEP’s own sites as well as sites owned by other parties, including plots at Ashwell Medical Centre in Manningham and Lynfield Mount Hospital in Bradford. The project also works with schools, who pay a discounted rate towards their weekly groups.

A former council shrub nursery has been transformed into BCEP’s Wibsey Park Community Garden and is the base for two regular groups and where volunteers contribute a vast amount of work..

The district’s largest environmental charity, BCEP’s activities include the environmental projects Forest Schools, Urban Design Team and Scrap Magic - are funded by a range of agencies, from Bradford Council to large and small trusts, as well as through revenue from its services.

Commissioned by Public Health, part of Bradford Council, G4H is funded through the NHS Bradford & Airedale Primary Care Trust.

Mental stress and social isolation is a big factor for groups such as asylum seekers. Forbidden to seek work, they have very little money and very little control over their situation. Those who have attended the allotment sessions have spoken of how much they enjoy them.

One commented: “I wish the allotment sessions were held every day.”

New members of G4H often bring children with them to the allotment before they start school.

“People bring their children to help out in the summer holidays,” says Jane. Family-friendly activities such as butterfly hunts, mini beast spotting and outdoor cooking in these sessions.

*For more information about the project ring 01274 223236 or visit bcep.org.uk.