Therapy Garden Volunteer: Nurture Plants & Wellbeing

Main area Volunteer Grade Volunteer Contract Voluntary Hours Flexible working Job ref 095-VOL

Site Queen Marys Hospital Town Sidcup Salary Voluntary Role Closing 04/08/:59

Job overview

We have a medium size courtyard and are in the process of developing this into a therapeutic space so that service users with long term conditions can use the space to access peer support, and as part of their rehabilitation. We are looking for a volunteer gardener to help with the general upkeep of the Therapy Garden. This could include independent gardening as well as working with service users to support them in the space i.e. seed sowing for summer with a group of service users.

We are really hoping that the garden can be a lovely therapeutic space for service users living with long term pain and that we can support them to live happier and healthier lives by accessing a green space .

Main duties of the job

• Help maintain planted areas and internal courtyards, with regular planting, weeding, and mulching.
• Create wildlife habitats, such as insect hotels, bird boxes.
• Help plant seeds and bulbs and provide aftercare.
• Monitor butterflies, pollinators, plants and other wildlife
• Encourage and inspire others to use the garden space
• Report any concerns, issues to the service manager

Working for our organisation

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We Listen
• We Care

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We have a medium size courtyard and are in the process of developing this into a therapeutic space so that service users with long term conditions can use the space to access peer support, and as part of their rehabilitation. We are looking for a volunteer gardener to help with the general upkeep of the Therapy Garden. This could include independent gardening as well as working with service users to support them in the space i.e. seed sowing for summer with a group of service users.

We are really hoping that the garden can be a lovely therapeutic space for service users living with long term pain and that we can support them to live happier and healthier lives by accessing a green space .

• Help maintain planted areas and internal courtyards, with regular planting, weeding, and mulching.
• Create wildlife habitats, such as insect hotels, bird boxes.
• Help plant seeds and bulbs and provide aftercare.
• Monitor butterflies, pollinators, plants and other wildlife
• Encourage and inspire others to use the garden space
• Report any concerns, issues to the service manager

Person specification Knowledge

• A knowledge of plants and wildlife is required

Experience

• Experience of gardening and general upkeep of gardens is required

Skills

• A calm and patient nature is required due to the nature of the therapy groups

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme - Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request.

If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

We encourage applicants to contact the hiring manager before their interview, if they have any questions about the role or the process. This is a great way to get clarity and prepare effectively for the interview.

If you have declared you are part of the armed forces community, you may be asked to provide evidence during the recruitment process. If you misrepresent this information, your offer may be withdrawn. For Armed Forces specific support, see our webpage:

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you're applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information. AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct.Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.