The Green Hub

The Green Hub is a not-for-profit community group which helps teens with mild to moderate anxiety issues. It promotes mental wellbeing in teenagers.

How they work: 

At The Green Hub, teenagers can become volunteers and work in the garden alongside experienced adult volunteers. The goal is to get them working together in a calm safe space, allowing the teenagers to step out of the pressures of normal daily life. is a privately run charity. They completely rely on the generosity of others to provide children the space to enjoy activities and to interact with their peers in a relaxing fun environment. They provide activities each week including sports and crafts.

Although the Green Hub can not provide medical care, it does provide a safe haven of peace and calm where anxious teenagers can go. Working outside in nature is proven to raise levels of ‘happiness hormones’ and these teenagers can be part of a worthwhile project which, in turn, gives them a sense of achievement.

Many of the adult volunteers already work with teenagers in some capacity. They are on hand to provide gardening advice and, when needed, non-judgmental, compassionate listening. Being outside in such a lovely environment is therapy in itself and the beautiful walled garden where they work always has lots to offer. Besides growing flowers there are vegetable beds, fruit trees and even a well-established vine growing along one wall.

Whether the teens that attend The Green Hub want to learn gardening, prefer to find out how to grow vegetables, work on a landscaping project or just sit and be present, doesn’t matter. Being outside, away from their technology and worries is the important thing.

Engaging with nature benefits human health and wellbeing. Walking in nature, gardening, sitting on a park bench and even watching nature through a window have all been shown to be beneficial, helping reduce stress and anxiety, improve cognitive functioning, build self-esteem and confidence and improve physical health.