Our 4 pillars of care are centred on a recognisable set of actions which are aligned to the charity’s objectives. 

C – Consideration and right action 

A - Adapting to suit individual needs 

R – Recognition of unique abilities 

E – Encouraging people to reach their full potential 

 

At Mires Beck our aim is to improve the quality of life for our service users. Quality of life in the service we offer means to enable participation for enjoyment in the activities we provide, and improvement of health and wellness being in the natural surroundings of the nursery. Quality of life is a vital consideration in medical care and green therapy is increasingly recognised as a means to maintain a persons health and wellness. The charity has a broad aim to provide benefit from the location and the work experience on offer to adults who attend our day service and to staff and volunteers and customers visiting our site. We also work alongside SEN schools to introduce students pre school leaving age to our service giving them the opportunity get involved in our horticulture, and familiarise them with the site as a future 'place to go'. Our Anniversary Garden team offer more close supervision and activities for people with more complex needs allowing people to find their own pace and sense of enjoyment being involved in less physical horticultural tasks. For those more able to work in various production and conservation teams within the 14 acre grounds of the nursery, the exposure to fresh air and the outdoors is paramount to their health and maintaining physical ability. 

 

We provide a routine and structure within the nursery operation to allow people to engage with all aspects of the horticultural experience on offer. This provides the same opportunity as in the normal work place environment for people to receive the training to learn about their work, achieve successful outcomes and be praised for their achievements. The added benefit for service users being with their peers in a place of safety, allows the freedom to express themselves amongst friends and colleagues and learn from those around them without the scrutiny which many experience outside of a safeguarded environment. For more capable service users, the opportunity exists as in the everyday work place to become a buddy for new people or those who may need a little more help in carrying out their tasks. 

We are able to encourage those with unique skills as a result of their condition, to use them in their task work. The attention to detail which some people with Autism demonstrate, allows them the opportunity engage in precision tasks which brings reward in our plant labelling and plant preparation area for our customer orders. Information share with service users about Mires Beck and its operations are an all-day every day method to encourage communication skills and helps everyone to feel part of the nursery and knowledgeable about our activities on and offsite. The service users are very proud to belong to a community of like-minded people all engaged in the similar task to keep the nursery the beautiful and the successful charity it has become. 

 

Our wonderful staff have much experience of recognising the skill levels of our service users. They are able to adapt the tasks in hand to suit each individual, but with an aim to bring anyone needing this help to reach the same level of proficiency as others in their teams. They are careful to capture the successes as the person progresses and they are also focused to not lose sight of the learnings along the way. For many of our service users repetition is key, but for others newness is equally important and our staff are creative and enterprising in delivering varied and interesting ways to work on their plant production. The teams also regularly experience other therapy including arts, crafts and music. Our volunteers are keen to assist everything we do at the nursery and many have formed close bonds with the service users they care for. We equally recognise the work of our volunteers whose commitment is of paramount importance to the charity. 

 

Due to the close relationships the staff and volunteers develop with their teams, they are able to quickly identify changes in service user behavior and are able to report and monitor this under guidance. This enables our Support Services Manager to engage with the correct person to discuss anything we think adverse to the service user’s usual responses and abilities. Early sighting of change comes with knowledge of the service user and great care is taken to manage each individuals experience at the nursery. Equally we are able to celebrate at reviews all of the positive progress service users are making and we operate a recognition programme for the service users and certifcate their learning. 

 

In line with Social Therapeutic Horticulture Principles delivered through Thrive we agree with the following impacts upon our service users: 

• Better physical health through exercise and learning how to use or strengthen muscles to improve mobility. 

• Improved mental health through a sense of purpose and achievement. 

• The opportunity to connect with others – reducing feelings of isolation or exclusion. 

• Acquiring new skills to improve confidence and for some the chance to live more independently. 

• Just feeling better, and free for being outside, in touch with nature and in the 'great outdoors'