CAMHS garden designer shares her insights into transformative impact of outdoor space

As NHS Grampian’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) works to develop a new garden space at its Links Unit base in Aberdeen, local garden designer Heather Dale explains why it’s a project she couldn’t turn down.

“Making sure children and young people who face complex emotional and behavioural difficulties have all the support they need to thrive is something that’s close to my heart. When I began to speak to staff about developing the garden, their stories really made an impression on me,” she said.

The garden project, which Heather has designed and the CAMHS team is currently garnering community support for, will provide a safe space for talking therapy, reflection, play, and sensory enjoyment for patients and their families, as well as a wellbeing space for staff.

Heather explained: “I remember one member of staff telling me about how some children with sensory sensitivity find the journey to their appointments draining, especially if they have to travel a long way. And that if they had access to an open, natural space for waiting as well as appointments it would reduce their stress and enable them to engage better with therapy.

“Children and young people often find it easier to talk about difficult subjects whilst they are occupied doing something physical such as weeding or picking fruit, and being surrounded by nature helps to reduce tension too.”

The garden has been recognised as ‘crucial outside space’ by members of the Scottish Parliament in recent weeks. Heather hopes she can share some of her own passion for plants with children who benefit from CAMHS support.

“I love seeing plants grow. Some plants come from almost nothing at the start of the year and grow 6ft tall by the end of summer. Being able to grow that much in a year – it's just amazing.

“A little plant pushing up its first leaf and that peace that you get from being able to see plants growing, or getting your hands in the soil and caring for plants is so therapeutic. I feel really passionate grass around buildings is just so boring and it could be so much more. Public spaces should all have good planting outside – there is loads of evidence about the difference it makes to the wellbeing of staff – improving job satisfaction and retention – and even people walking past benefit from the burst of nature.

“Some kids really struggle with the noise in buildings and they’re the ones I see the garden making a difference to the most. Being able to play in a natural space with found materials such as pine cones, log slices and sticks, with people who can help you, will be a game changer.

“I have also seen the need for staff to be able to get out of the building and enjoy some space and fresh air. I can imagine their job must be so hard on their emotions at times, and helping themselves enables them to better help others.”

Describing the process she goes through with clients, Heather explains: “It usually starts with an initial meeting, a walk round the garden, a discussion about why it’s not working for them at the moment and what they want to use the space for. I take a big pile of pictures of garden styles and ask them to sort them into ones they like and don’t like. It helps me to understand where they’re coming from and what’s important to them.

“The best bit of the process is the moment when the design suddenly falls into place and you can see how each element will fit together to create a cohesive whole. The difficult bit with the CAMHS garden was working out how people would move around the site from one area to another whilst also creating privacy and little pockets where people could be comfortable to have difficult conversations without being interrupted.

“With some clients you go on a real journey with them, creating something beautiful from a blank canvas – it's an amazing thing to do.”

If you are interested in donating time, money or materials to the CAMHS garden project or would like more information, please email siobhan.cowie@nhs.scot.

More information about Heather Dale Garden Design is available at
www.hdgardendesign.co.uk and Heather can be contacted via heather@hdgardendesign.co.uk