A community programme to connect people with nature is being run by Brecon and District Mind.

Green Minds is for anyone wishing to look after their mental and physical health by spending time outdoors.

The charity is offering a range of nature-based activities in and around Brecon, including:

• Weekly drop-in gardening sessions every Tuesday at Brecon Cathedral community garden from 10am - 12:30pm.

• A ‘walk and talk’ programme on scheduled Wednesdays throughout the year, exploring the beautiful local countryside in and around Brecon

• A six-week nature connection programme on scheduled Wednesdays throughout the year which includes activities such as mindfulness, environmental arts and crafts, movement in nature, foraging and more.  

• Weekly allotment sessions on Wednesday afternoons from 2pm - 5pm at the Watton allotments in Brecon. 

Growing vegetables and flowers is an important part of the charity’s gardening and allotment activities. Participants gain practical skills in using regenerative, organic and permaculture principles to produce food.

The six-week nature connection programme enables people to learn simple mindfulness and restorative nature connection tools and practices to take into their everyday life. The ‘walk and talk’ programme enables informal outdoor meet-ups for socialising, exercise and immersion in the beauty of our local landscape.  

The Green Minds programme is popular with participants and the charity has shared some of the feedback on how much it has helped people in different ways in their lives:

"Being in nature makes me feel more calm and less anxious. At Green Minds I have made new friends and the sessions have been so rewarding."

"After every session I always felt soothed… it helped me reflect on what was going on in my life and I can definitely say it helped with my levels of resilience and made me realise how much strength and resilience I have within myself."

"I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that how I connect with people has changed massively while I’ve been on the nature connection programme…I used to feel very isolated before…at first I was a bit nervous and over-whelmed, but I could see we all were. But then you bond and it’s done me a world of good. It’s opened my eyes a lot."

You can refer yourself directly to Green Minds, but the charity also take referrals through GPs, mental health practitioners, support workers or social prescribers.

Brecon and District Mind is keen to welcome new people to the programme - do get in touch if you think this is something you might enjoy.

You can contact Seren Berry, Green Minds Co-ordinator, for more information via e-mail [email protected] or via phone 07949 115724.