The workshop was a short, hands-on session held in UCL East’s People and Nature Lab in July. While the Lab primarily supports research and teaching on biodiversity loss and ecological degradation, it also serves as a wellbeing space—reflecting growing evidence that gardening promotes positive mental health.

Participants were invited to get their hands in the soil by planting chillies in the test beds and harvesting a range of herbs and vegetables. The session included a guided tour of the Garden Lab and an introduction to the Lab’s devices for monitoring plant and insect activity.

Rayo Ariyo, Trainee Clinical Psychologist (DClinPsy) at UCL, reflected:

“The Nature Lab Gardening Workshop was a wonderful experience that brought everyone together to explore plants, insects, and the innovative devices created by Nature Lab to monitor them. Our senses were stimulated by feeling the soil while harvesting potatoes, smelling different types of herbs, and listening to the sounds of insects in the garden, creating a truly immersive experience. Gardening tips and memories were shared among the group, highlighting how nature can connect us across ages and cultures. Everyone who attended left with vegetables and plans to cook and share them with others. As one of the facilitators, I left inspired to grow my own produce and to consider how gardening can be incorporated therapeutically into my practice and used to support people living with dementia.”

The session exemplified how creative, sensory, and community-based activities can support wellbeing and inclusion—core themes of the SPIN-D Network+.

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SPIN-D connects researchers, practitioners, and people with lived experience to explore creative and interdisciplinary approaches to brain health and dementia. To stay informed about upcoming workshops, events, and funding calls, Join the Network to get regular newsletters, or follow us on LinkedIn.