As a doctor with several years of experience working in the NHS, Dan has always been aware of the importance an individual’s mental health has upon their broader physical wellbeing. Last week, he visited the 2 Fields Farm near Debenham, which is a growing project that will promote sustainable living and support more vulnerable local people in our communities by enabling them to carry out activities such as vegetable growing and caring for livestock within a structured routine. Jeannie Buckingham, who runs the 2 Fields Farm, spoke to Dan about her plans to develop the farm, which will include the rebuilding of a timber frame barn, fruit tree planting and the creation of a sustainable forest garden spread over 2 acres of woodland.
Care farms use agricultural and farm-related activities to help some of the most vulnerable people in society, such as those with mental health problems, to improve their health and wellbeing. Dan has written before about the need to deliver more community-focussed and integrated local healthcare services to look after our growing older population in Suffolk, and farms such as 2 Fields will have a vital role to play in working with GPs, hospitals and local adult Social Services to look after people with dementia and other mental health problems in their own communities in future.