Chiddingly farmer helping people with their mental health through gardening

Tom Morphew, who owns Full Circle Farms, has created The Garden Army, inspired by an ex-service friend and a woman he met in hospital.

He said: “I took it for granted how important it was for me to be outside whilst growing vivid, seasonal fruits and vegetables but as time went on I really started to notice a change in myself.

“I was happier and less stressed, and I gained satisfaction from nurturing plants and growing food.

“My mood changed and I felt healthier physically and mentally than I had before.

“During this time, I met Dave Gee, an ex-military policeman, who was trying to help ex-Army suffering with PTSD.

“Knowing that growing produce improved my wellbeing, I asked Dave if horticulture therapy would help.

“We got chatting, and The Garden Army was created.

“It would be a team of ex-military personnel suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues to support me on the farm.

“The aim was to create a farm to grow amazing vegetables but eventually that would be a by-product and its primary purpose was to give people hope, a safe space and a community.

“It would give people purpose, a feeling of part of something, an opportunity to talk and somewhere to go and feel united.”

Tom broke his leg in 2018, and while in hospital met a woman who had tried to take her own life.

She worked as a land girl in World War Two, and the two bonded over their love of working on farms.

Tom said: “I was shocked that at 86 and after all she had been through, that she was so sad and that she thought it was the only way left for her – this made me incredibly heartbroken and angry.

“I felt compelled to do something and to stop this happening to people like her, and while in my hospital bed I watched the NHS staff work tirelessly under stressful circumstances.

“I thought why limit The Garden Army to ex-military, and instead create an army of people who need a place to go, to de-stress and be amongst nature.”

To find out more about Full Circle Farms, visit www.fullcirclefarms.co.uk