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An islander who has spearheaded a smallholding project to promote sustainability while helping people with their wellbeing is encouraging others to get out and growing.
Sheena Brockie is the founder of local sustainability business The Good Jersey Life and the co-founder of Grow, a community smallholding based in a 13-vergée field on the border between St. Helier and St. John.
Raised on a nature country park in Scotland, Sheena grew up gardening, but it’s only when she moved to the island in the late 90s following the birth of her son that she started gardening for herself.
Pictured: Some recent photos from Sheena's garden.
“Back then, there was so much packaging and I used to come home and be frustrated about the amount of packaging,” she explained. “There was an empty field near where I used to walk with my son, and I pestered the gentleman for it.
"He finally said I could have it and I started growing 20-odd years ago. I also wanted my son to learn about gardening and somewhere he could get grubby, so the two married up quite well.”
Between her own gardening experience and her work at Grow, which aims to be Jersey’s most inclusive community horticultural project, Sheena is no stranger to the many benefits of gardening, from a personal and environmental perspective.
“There are so many scientific papers that tell you about the nature connections and the importance of nature connection for mental health and wellbeing,” she said. “Any connection that you can find with nature is good, even just sitting in the garden or looking at a window box.
“Gardening gives you that connection and there’s the physical activity too. It does slow you down across the board and it makes you more aware of the seasons, the sense of space and time. In our lives, we kind of forget about the seasons. We’ve lost our circadian rhythm and everything is quite fixed, so we are feeling disconnected.
Pictured: "You have to work with nature, the seasons, the rain, the sun to be able to grow something."
“Gardening connects you to nature like nothing else because you have to work with nature, the seasons, the rain, the sun to be able to grow something. It connects you back to your place in the living planet, which is a good enough reason to start!”
Sheena says the main benefit she has personally experienced through gardening, and her favourite thing about the activity, is the positive impact it has on her mental health.
“I am quite a busy person, I find it hard to slow down,” she said. “If I am in my garden, I find I can really slow down. It calms the nervous system and help regulate it. It takes all the stresses away and reduces all sense of business. You are busy, but in a different way.
“I get a real sense of serenity from it. It’s me, I’ve got a trowel in my hand and my hands are in the dirt. It’s the only time I ever stop, I am not worrying about anything. When I am doing the shopping or going somewhere, I am always thinking about other stuff, what email I need to send etc… Being in nature is the only time I am completely present and when I am gardening, I am 100% present in that task.”
Pictured: "Everything you grow for yourself will help biodiversity.”
In addition to the personal benefits, gardening is also good for nature and the environment, even at a small scale.
“Everything you grow for yourself will help biodiversity,” Sheena said. “For me, who worries about the state of the world, gardening is like a radical act to make the world a better place. Just by getting into the garden and adding to what’s available, you’re making a difference.
“You don’t need acres and acres of land to enhance your mental wellbeing and the environment. There are square foot gardens, and you would be surprised how much you can grow in that small place, it’s like a biodiversity pocket in just one square metre.”
Allotments are also available from Parishes and if people just want to have a go, they can come to Grow Jersey, where there is a gardening club in the spring and open sessions every week, which currently focus on harvesting.
“Grow is such an amazing facility, it gives people the opportunity to enjoy gardening, nature connection, and community. Community is the quickest way to learn, and the person-to-person raises your wellbeing. We have such a beautiful community of people with shared goals!
“We want to add fully accessible beds at Grow and we are also planning a sensory garden so that people who are visually impaired can enjoy sounds, smells and touches. It calms the nervous system.”
If you are looking to start gardening, Sheena says you can do so in a window box, on your balcony, or in your garden. The activity does not require any previous experience and is fully accessible to everyone, including little hands.
“You can find small sachets of bee-friendly wild lowers seeds at Samarés Garden,” she said. “It’s very easy to do, the packets tell you what to do. You can get pots from Potty Eco Pots and you can get compost from little supermarkets a little pot, with these you can grow so easily.”
“Everyone can go at their own scale, pace and ability,” she added.
“There’s no part of gardening that is not accessible in a form or another. If you have got children, it’s such an inclusive activity, they can help with trowels or with the seeds. It teaches them about the circle of life, where your food comes from and if you grow things they are not used to, it’s part of the experiment to try it. They are more likely to eat them if they have been involved from the outset.”
However, Sheena warned that it’s a dangerous hobby to start, as it can quickly become addictive.
“I have a friend who started with a tomato plant for his balcony, and he ended up with four pounds of tomatoes, now he has a full sized garden,” she explained.
“It’s a satisfying hobby, it gives you that sense of pride. You can spend hours and hours growing just one tomato, but it will be the best tomato you’ve ever had!”
As for her best piece of advice for budding gardeners, Sheena said not to be scared. “You learn from the process. Just start where you are and learn as you go. There are no big mistakes in gardening, there are just learning curves. It’s just worth trying.”
This article first featured on the Bailiwick Wellbeing email – your weekly guide to wellness in work and island life, delivered FREE to your inbox every week. Sign up now here.
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