“Being in nature more has been a bit of an epiphany in terms of the positive impact it has had on my mental and physical health and burnout/fatigue.”
Stories
"I've been reflecting lately and realised how much the group at Stanmer helped me over the last few years to grow as a person and recover." Lula has since started to study Ecology after being inspired at the volunteer group.
Read Lula's story
“I never thought composting would be the thing to get me out of the house. My highlight of the week is chatting to my neighbours whilst we turn compost. It’s also great that we’ve been able to make an impact on reducing climate change!”
Read Composting Volunteers's story
"I'm autistic and I have sensory processing to textures and tastes. The cooking classes have helped me come out of my comfort zone and learn new skills. I also eat a wider variety of textures and flavours now."
Read Emily's story
"I started coming to the community classes & courses because mentally I needed it, getting back into the kitchen, cooking, meeting people & get my confidence back. To go from that to now running my own cookery sessions is amazing."
Read Sam's story
“Everyone relaxed, chatted, laughed, and made something they were proud of. It didn’t matter what level of English people had, we communicated over food.”
Read Welcoming refugees at the Kitchen's story
"Especially early days in recovery, doing something in the community was so helpful at giving me a sense of belonging. Being part of mainstream life. Eating and cooking food was great for connection.”
Read Steven's story
"I can be honest at the Community Kitchen, I don’t have to make an excuse for a bad mental health day, and I can let the team know I am struggling. I have continued to make many of the recipes I learnt at home."
Read Chris's story
"I adored being back to basics with the beautiful fire and delicious food." Participants from our community cookery course visited the Stanmer Wellbeing Gardens.
Read Outdoor cookery at Stanmer Park's story
"A few years ago, I had just become a single parent and I was really struggling... Those six weeks really helped me as a someone with limited disposable income, allowing me to connect with people through food and make delicious homemade meals from scratch."
Read Alex's story
"My daughter Petra was the one who found out about the cookery club – she knows I love cooking, and I wanted to meet some new people. I was so enthusiastic about coming along! I can’t cook much at home anymore."
Read Katie's story
"I’m going to be moving into my own space soon, I’m hoping to prevent myself from ordering food every day so I love the batch cooking here." Find out more about our Life Skills classes for autistic adults in collaboration with ASSERT.