Cumbria mental health charity makes a mark on the Bay

It might be within earshot of the A591 but there’s an air of tranquility around the polytunnels and cabins that make up Growing Well’s site at Sizergh, near Kendal.

A compact six-acre plot, there’s a lot to see and visitors can’t fail to be impressed by the regimented rows of fruit and veg that grows in abundance with care and attention.

In 2004 the fledgling social enterprise was set up to offer support for people experiencing poor mental health. Research shows that activity outside helps raise moods and over the last 20 years thousands of people from Cumbria and North Lancashire have taken part in therapeutic horticultural activities. Participants are referred by their GP or self-referred.

Growing Well became a charity in 2019 and as well as financial donations, over 100 families around South Cumbria have signed up to buy the organic produce and help fund the vital work.

“We grow up to 150 different varieties of fruit and vegetables and around 90% is sold through our crop share scheme with the rest sold through cafes and farm shops,” Rebecca Batstone, partnership manager at Growing Well says.

From rebuilding confidence and resilience to gaining practical and transferable skills, for many the experience here has been a crucial step to going back into employment or education. The charity also welcomes volunteers, some of whom are helping raise money throughout the anniversary year.

Twenty years on and as well as the organic vegetable farm at Sizergh and a new kitchen garden at Tebay Services, a third plot in Egremont has been delivering its first crop-shares and supporting beneficiaries since May.

But the job of raising awareness – and finance – is never-ending.

Last weekend a strong supporter used his stunning artistic skills to help.

Simon Wheatley already lends a hand by creating signs, painstakingly written, around the Sizergh site.

Last Sunday he made a significantly bigger mark on the sands of Morecambe Bay.

As well as being a gifted signwriter, Simon is a self-taught sand artist with a growing reputation for creating amazing mandalas on beaches around Cumbria and beyond.

Simon only began creating sand art during lockdown when he was unable to walk on the fells and was looking for an alternative outdoor activity. The wide-open spaces of the Bay beckoned and armed with a stick, a length of rope and a rake he recalls his early attempts at Humphrey Head. Being able to gain an elevated view helps when it comes to gaining confidence that the art is emerging as he wishes.

More recently a second-hand drone has helped him obtain amazing aerial images that he can keep long after the sea has reclaimed his hard work.

So what’s the secret?

“Once you have a grid you can decorate your patterns on it,” Simon said. “The bigger the mandala, the more the work!  You can rack up 20,000 steps in the space of a couple of tennis courts over four or five hours.”

And far from being stressful, because of the need to focus on creating a specific pattern, Simon says the process is useful in calming a busy mind. He once narrowly missed being caught out by an incoming tide because he was so engrossed in his work.

The creation, on the sands at Bardsea, drew many admiring comments and pictures by documentary photographer Tessa Bunney show the scale of the artwork created on one of the best days of the summer.

“Growing Well are extremely grateful to the supporters who helped on Sunday with the creation of our beautiful beach mandala at Bardsea beach,” Rebecca Batstone of the charity said. “We’d particularly like to thank Simon Wheatley and his wife Amy, who were there early, setting up and sketching out the outline and keeping us on track with the design. It was a great example of teamwork and a fantastic collaboration which resulted in an artwork which we are all very proud of helping to create.”

This event is one in a series of fundraisers during 2024 to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of Growing Well, a charity which continues to bloom.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the Cumbrian mental health charity, Growing Well, an artistic supporter Simon Wheatley created a huge sand mandala on the beach at Bardsea on Sunday, August 11.