Thrive is the national charity whose aim is to improve the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people through the use of gardening and horticulture. Since 1978 Thrive has been accumulating experience of using gardening and horticulture to enable people to
· increase self-esteem and build confidence · learn basic skills and social skills · gain qualifications and the opportunity to move into employment · rebuild their life after illness or accident.
Thrive runs three garden projects in Reading, Battersea and Hackney, where gardening is used for programmes of training and employment, therapy and health. It offers advice and information to support and inspire both the individual gardener and the specialist horticulture projects across the UK who help over 21,000 people each week.
The specialist services run by Thrive include a scheme to support visually impaired gardeners in partnership with the RNIB, and a volunteer scheme to enable older or disabled individuals to manage their own gardens. Through the research it carries out, Thrive aims to increase understanding of the benefits of social and therapeutic horticulture.
Monty Don, a long-time supporter of Thrive says “The work of Thrive is vital. A huge range of people from children to the very old, some with obvious disabilities and many unseen, can find comfort and real recovery through gardening and horticulture”
