Nominee Summary
The Seed Box is changing lives across its three outdoor therapy sites in Aberdeenshire, providing horticultural training and skills development to adults and children with additional support needs. We grow vegetables and plants and make craft items which we sell. We provide therapeutic benefits and an opportunity to assist in worthwhile outdoor projects, providing an alternative to traditional Day Care Centres. The service gives the families and carers of the co-workers valuable respite from their demanding support roles. We currently provide around 60 co-worker sessions a week (circa 3,000 sessions annually), working with 19 co-workers and supported by 11 staff.
The preservation of skills
The Seed Box provides a day service for adults and children with additional support needs, who are presently unable to work in mainstream employment. The outdoor therapy centres provide meaningful work-related activities for its co-workers, promoting and encouraging independence and social rehabilitation as well as providing training in life skills. The ambition is that this will enable co-workers to progress to mainstream employment at a point in the future. Co-workers have the chance to turn their hand to a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, from working in the wood workshop and potting shed, to cutting the grass and growing vegetables and plants for sale. The social enterprise gives people purpose and, vitally, a sense of engagement and belonging. The Seed Box operates from three sites: the walled gardens at Ballogie Estate and Glen Tanar Estate, and a purpose-built site at Lochton of Leys on the Leys Estate - opened in 2024 - which includes a shop and car park. The new site will allow The Seed Box to expand, working with more co-workers. We also organise Wellbeing programmes for adults who are struggling with their mental health and in particular are experiencing low mood, loneliness, anxiety, autism or learning disabilities. These adults find it very difficult to get support due to the current shortage of mental health services. Now in its 12th year, the charity has seen huge improvements in the clients’ wellbeing, along with our co-workers showing increased self-confidence and communication and being able to complete new tasks.
Increasing awareness
The Seed Box currently provides around 3,000 outdoor therapy sessions a year, working with 19 co-workers aged from 17 through to 56 across the three sites in Aberdeenshire. This year, the charity will generate a turnover of around £325k (up from £280K in 2024). The addition of the shop at the Lochton of Leys site is a key contributor the increased turnover. The MacRobert Trust has provided funding for additional support staff for mental health and wellbeing support which is also extending the reach of The Seed Box. The Seed Box has received excellent feedback from both the co-workers’ families and carers and from Social Services Departments and received a King’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2024.
Ethical/environmental standards
The Seed Box is very much a part of the local communities where the outdoor therapy centres are located. Community members have the opportunity to get directly involved through volunteering as well as taking advantage of the Wellbeing programmes on offer. The charity also provides support to families with children with additional support needs over the summer school holidays. A new 1.7km multi-user path passes directly in front of the Lochton of Leys centre and shop. Members of the local community can drop in to the shop for a refreshment or well-earned ice cream, or to buy vegetables, plants or the numerous craft items made by the co-workers. The Seed Box has a nature and environmentally friendly approach to gardening and the training delivered to co-workers supports this ethos. A no-dig approach to gardening cuts out the need for cultivation and improves soil health. The new Growth and Development group at Lochton of Leys has been building an amazing environment to attract insects and pollinators – and there are plans afoot to develop a nature friendly area, including a small pond. The new composter will allow the collection of garden waste from nearby houses using an electric vehicle to reduce the carbon footprint of collections and deliveries. A high quality of plants and produce is sold in the shop which reduces the food miles from ‘therapy centre to fork’ as well as supporting other local suppliers.
Noteworthy improvements
The biggest development recently has been the addition of a new, custom-built site at Lochton of Leys. The new site has a larger growing area including a formal garden, a shop and sales area which is open 7 days and week. This represents an opportunity for co-workers to develop new skills – including welcoming and dealing with the public in the shop – and also provides an opportunity for The Seed Box to increase its sales. As a social enterprise all profits of the company are used for the benefit of the users/co-workers. This new site is also important as it offers improved access for co-workers, staff, volunteers, customers and deliveries.
Overcoming Challenges
Most recently, with the development of the new therapy centre, shop and car park at Lochton of Leys, it was a huge effort to secure the £420k of funding required for the project and then get the operation to where it is today, dealing with contractors, the local authority and the estate. The Seed Box operates in an environment where the funding from the local authority for additional support services for adults and children is very tight, and the lack of funding for mental health and wellbeing services across the country is well publicised.
