FIFTY four-year-old twins Jo Greenwood and Mandy Eaglestone have always lived in the village of Bushley on the southern-most tip of Worcestershire and they’ve always enjoyed the outdoor life.

So when Jo, a former nurse who had been working with very disabled children at Rose Hill School (a special school) in Worcester, decided she wanted a change of career the pair teamed up to establish Greenwood’s Therapeutic Horticulture.

In fact their not-for-profit organisation is very much a family affair as their nephew Matt Hale is now one of the directors and Mandy’s daughter Harriet is also involved in the business.

The sisters say their mission is to teach basic life skills to disabled children through the medium of horticulture therapy and rural activities. Their motto is “every child matters”.

In many cases this provides respite for parents and carers when children visit the project in Bushley, near Tewkesbury, while outreach workers also offer a service by going into schools.

Mandy explained: “We started in 2009 and it was Jo’s vision to set it up. Jo had been working with very disabled children at Rose Hill in Worcester and had been a nurse as well. She was working with children with complex needs.

“We have always liked being outside - we have always lived on a farm and we have always lived in Bushley. Jo did a course in therapeutic horticulture and we’ve found we get so much more learning done outside. We also do gardening projects with kids who don’t have special needs.”

The scheme is based at Bushley Village Hall where they use the garden and at a 10-acre smallholding nearby. Now, seven years on, the garden appears well-organised and there a number of structures dedicated to various aspects of the activities e.g. greenhouse, changing shed, potting shed and dining/catering room. But it wasn’t always so.

Mandy added: “We were offered the garden here in 2009 and moved in but it was overgrown. It was a bit of a mission.

“We have kids from lots of different schools and also from the Battledown Assessment Unit, Cheltenham. We do a fortnightly gardening club for children with physical disabilities and learning disabilities and we also go to a project in Stroud.

“Everything we do with the children is linked to the National Curriculum and age related. We do planting seeds and grafting and taking cuttings and we have planted some of the trees in the garden. We literally see the children developing.”

The children also get the chance to spend time and work with animals on the smallholding. Battledown deputy head Mary King-Stokes said: “We used to have a child who had a fear of animals. He was handling the lambs last year.”

Mandy added: “Certain ones enjoy the animals and some enjoy the plants.” When the children arrive they usually get the chance to have a run around and then play and do jobs before having a break.

“Then they might go off for a walk and do gardening jobs and they go and see the sheep and they come back at about 12noon to 12.30pm and they might collect seeds.

“We have children who are autistic, with Downs Syndrome, are paralysed, have cerebral palsy, communication difficulties and rare syndromes. There are non-speakers and ones who are deaf. Some have genetic disorders. Some are in wheelchairs. We have quite a few with life limiting disorders. Quite a few won’t make their teenage years.”

Each child is assessed and they are put into groups so they can achieve. The ones who cannot manage being in a group get one-to-one support.

Jo said: “It is about the children and meeting their needs in small groups.” Some of the children develop from no speech to sign language, using picture reference cards and the development of language.

“It is making a difference to a lot of children. Our belief has always been we will get something out of a child if they want to give,” she added.

The effects of the therapy have a major impact on parents as well as children. “Some of the parents cry when they see a child doing something they did not think they could do. One non-speaker now signs and they cannot believe it,” said Mandy.

There are 10 part-time specialist staff working at Greenwood’s Therapeutic Horticulture. Jo explained: “We have a good team of girls at the moment. One comes from Cirencester, one comes from Harwicke because they are specialists in their field.

“There is a very small window of appropriate staff. Some of the staff are one to one. Others do groups of four or five.”

They work in partnership with Bushley Village Hall, Battledown Assessment Centre, Gloucestershire County Council, the Forthampton Estates, Zurich insurance (which does community cohesion at Greenwood’s), Active Impact, Matt Hale Tree Surgery Ltd, Ofsted, Barnwood, Autism Awareness, Webb’s Garden Centres, Mayfield's, Greggs, Ledbury Road Garage and Fresh Starts Business Services.

“We are well known with the social workers and doctors in the area so if they know children who would benefit they can come to us,” said Mandy.

“We also have Saturday groups and holiday group. We have 48 sessions where we have our young growers programme. Some of the children come through the “Of Course You Can” project from Gloucestershire County Council.”

The business is also trying to become sustainable. “We are trying to be as sustainable as possible. We do lambs and turkeys for the freezer. We sell hens and chicks and plants and juices and fruit and juice for cider,” she said.

For more information about Greenwood’s Therapeutic Horticulture visit http://www.greenwoodtherapeutichorticulture.co.uk/, ring the office on 01684 276 786 or Mobile: 07778 286 093, or email greenwoodtherhort@hotmail.co.uk

The not-for-profit organisation also puts on events to raise funds and information about these is available on its Facebook page.