After its first full year tending an allotment in Sefton Park, the Merseyside branch of SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity has donated its bounty to the Joseph Lappin Centre.
The benefits of gardening – sometimes more formally referred to as “horticultural therapy” – are broad and have been known for generations. The Royal Horticultural Society, among others, has highlighted potential positive impacts on physical activity and mental health, such as improving mental and emotional well-being, reducing anxiety, helping people with socialisation, and helping prevent cognitive decline1.
Aware of its benefits, and considering the added social connection offered through tending an allotment as a group, SSAFA fundraising volunteers Tony Brougham and Dennis Smith secured the SSAFA Merseyside allotment, managing it for just over a year. The allotment gives opportunities to garden while growing a community within the Armed Forces family in Merseyside.
Tended by a cohort of around seven veterans over the year, the allotment has enjoyed the dedicated support of Sarah Adams, the mother of a soldier deployed in Cyprus. She volunteered to help as soon as the allotment was publicised on social media, and has attended nearly every week to help with ground preparation, seed sowing, construction, and watering.
Now that it has produced a cornucopia of vegetables, including beetroot, courgettes, and summer squash, SSAFA has donated the produce to the food pantry of local community organisation the Joseph Lappin Centre, which aims to improve the quality of life for people in Old Swan and surrounding areas.
Tony Brougham, fundraiser at SSAFA’s Merseyside branch, commented:
“Our allotment project has been great fun. We regularly get together with veterans living in Merseyside to tend the garden and have a chat. We were thrilled to see green shoots popping up after months of hard work and are proud to donate the fruits – or rather, veg – of our labour to another organisation that does great work in the community.”
To access support, or to learn more about SSAFA in Merseyside – including to enquire about tending the allotment – visit: ssafa.org.uk/merseyside.
1 Royal Horticultural Society, “Why gardening makes us feel better – and how to make the most of us”. Accessed 30 July 2025. https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/health-and-wellbeing/articles/why-gardening-makes-us-feel-better
