Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
£75k recovery centre for veterans launched
A GARDENING-based charity to aid the recovery of armed forces veterans has sprung up in the city.
Dundee Therapy Garden helps veterans through horticultural therapy.
The organisation is set to take over garden space in Dudhope Park and offer rehabilitative therapy to veterans in and around the city.
Founder Alec Lyell today told the Tele that the group has been fundraising for months in order to get the project on its feet.
Members have managed to raise £75,000 which will allow them to operate for a minimum of three years.
Two full-time horticultural therapists — Zisky Stovell and Mike Snowden — have been employed by the charity and will work with groups of four veterans at a time, two days a week.
This will allow them to treat up to 16 veterans at a time, taking them through courses to aid their recovery from the after-effects of active military service.
Alec said: “Veterans will be referred to us by a number of different organisations — including the NHS and other social groups.
“We will even accept referrals from places like pubs.
“They will then be put in touch with the therapists to see if they think that we can help them.
“The veterans will then start a course which will run two days a week.”
Alec said that treatment can take many different forms.
Some will be working outside in the garden spaces and others inside doing other roles, which will initially include renovation work at the Dudhope space.
In the future, he hopes that veterans who have completed the course can then pass on their knowledge and expertise to newer recruits going through the process.
Dundee Therapy Garden was created after a national scheme called Gardening Leave folded during the advanced stages of setting up a Dundee-based branch.
Alec’s wife Annie Lyall was a trustee for the charity and the pair set about saving the project and set up the new organisation.
Alec said the group is currently obtaining insurance policies and putting other technicalities in place to secure the space at Dudhope.
He added that the group already has the support of Dundee City Council and other agencies within the city.
Dundee Therapy Garden will then be recruiting volunteers to help with the project — which will shortly have an online presence too.
Alec added: “We are very grateful to the public for supporting us and helping us get to this stage. We hope that we will get lots of volunteers coming to help us out when we are established. It has been a busy time and there’s a lot of work ahead.”
Dundee Therapy Garden is expected to be up and running in the next few weeks.