World Mental Health Day 2025 – How saving nature saved our lives

Michelle’s story – How a community garden helped her to find purpose in an anxious world

Before 56-year-old Michelle Markey started volunteering at Belville Community Garden she would barely leave her house due to crippling anxiety. Six years on she volunteers every week welcoming visitors to the garden. Michelle has Generalised Anxiety Disorder and was referred to the community garden project by a local charity. The community garden, supported with National Lottery funding, works to support people’s mental health by getting them out of isolation and into nature-based community work.

“Before coming to Belville I was scared to leave my home and I was constantly paranoid and frightened of what people thought of me. Over the years I’d lost a lot of friends due to always letting them down and not being able to go to birthday parties or weddings. I’ve also become completely alienated from my family.

“Belville has been an absolute lifeline for me. The garden club gave me a sense of purpose. It was something to do and somewhere to go every Monday and eventually I began to feel relaxed and at ease. I found myself enjoying the gardening and the people so much I couldn’t wait to leave the house. Suddenly I had a purpose. Belville Community Garden has given me a new lease of life. I now have friends who are understanding and never judgemental. They have become like a new family.”

During the pandemic, like many people Michelle found herself struggling with her mental health again but Belville gave her a job to do.

“I phoned people who were isolating to check up on them and lend a listening ear. It was incredibly rewarding to be able to give something back. When my mum died two years ago the group was there to support me through this difficult time so I was glad to be able to support others in return. Last week we had an event in the gardens called ‘pots of love’ and I was able to plant a rose bush for my mum.

“I get involved as much as I can, helping out with the gardening club and our weekly community meal. I volunteer as meeter and greeter welcoming everyone to the garden. If you had told me six years ago I would be doing that I would not have believed it.

“When we won the Queen’s award for voluntary service I got to go along with some of the other volunteers to collect it. It was one of the proudest moments of my life and showed me just how far I had come.”

Over the past year, the group has secured more than £167,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to take their beloved community garden to the next level.

With plans to add polytunnels, potato ovens, and fruit cages, the garden will become an even richer hub for local life. They will continue to host weekly community gardening sessions and expand their programme with exciting new events, bringing neighbours together, inspiring creativity, and growing both food and friendships across the community. In three years they plan to support over 500 people in Inverclyde with their mental health as well as tackling food poverty and environmental issues along the way.

Scott’s story - Overcoming addiction with the help of Glasgow's only inner-city nature reserve 

When heroine flooded into his hometown of Possilpark in the 1980s, Scott copied what all his friends were doing and quickly became addicted. 

“I might have been a relatively young man but I felt twice my age. At the time I could barely walk. It was in 1998, at the age of 31 that I finally managed to drag myself to my local rehabilitation centre.” 

Scott was in recovery for about a year and as part of his treatment he took walks through the Glasgow Claypits and along the Forth and Clyde canal. This was  initially a way of avoiding bumping in to friends still caught up in addiction, dealers and other triggers but Scott soon realised that being outside, listening to the birds and feeling the wind on his face was helping him. 

“When you’re in the centre of the Claypits, there’s a peace and tranquillity. I’m not saying all your problems go away, but it lets you think and process what is going on in life and how you can manage and deal with it.” 

Once he had completed his recovery Scott got a job at the centre helping others going through the programme. He ended up working at the rehabilitation centre for the next 15 years, taking groups of people along the same walk he took during his recovery. 

“There aren’t many places in Glasgow where you can walk for hours and feel safe, but the Hamiltonhill Claypits along the Forth and Clyde Canal is one of them. It’s incredible to see how that little spot of nature in a big sprawling city like Glasgow is able to help people. There’s so much we can learn from being outside in nature. Even if the wind is blowing and the rain is hitting your face — you’re still out there, moving forward.” 

During the pandemic, Scott turned again to the canal and claypits for some relief from everyday life but was disappointed to see how much litter had built up. “I decided that I was going to start litter picking. My friends laughed at me at first but eventually they joined in. We tied black bin bags to fences along the canal next to little signs with hopeful messages to lift people’s spirits. People started to use the bins and the canal began to look much cleaner.” 

When work began to transform the Hamiltonhill Claypits into a nature reserve, Scott was first in line to get involved, becoming part of the committee.   

“There’s a good, solid team, with local businesses and primary schools involved in maintaining the area. We are a diverse group all with different backgrounds, and pasts, but what unites us is our love of nature.   

“We held a big recovery event at the Claypits last summer, and I met people I was in rehab with 25 years ago. Some were doing great and some were just restarting their journey—but it was lovely to see old faces. The sad truth is that most of the people I knew struggling with addiction back in the ’90s are no longer with us. I probably wouldn’t be here either if it hadn’t been for the claypits. That place gave me a lifeline—and now, unbelievably, I feel fitter and healthier than I did 30 years ago! 

“Society might judge people caught in addiction, but I try to hold onto hope. A lot of what happens in life is down to circumstances—where you live and what you’re exposed to. If you invest in people, if you focus on their strengths, you’ll see the best in them.  

Scott still struggles with his mental health at times but the claypits nature reserve has helped him stay grounded. 

“Last year hit me hard when I learned that my mother, who I hadn’t seen in 40 years, had died. That was a deep emotional blow but the claypits community were there to support me. Although I’ve found it difficult to maintain relationships throughout my life because of things that happened in my childhood, I feel like I’m truly part of the Hamiltonhill Claypits family.” 

Earlier this year, Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve was awarded £79,000 of National Lottery funding to launch an ambitious three-year project bringing outdoor activities to the heart of the North West Glasgow community. Designed to get people moving, promote healthier lifestyles, boost wellbeing, and foster stronger community connections they aim to inspire more than 3,000 local residents and involve over 70 dedicated volunteers. 

These are just two lives transformed by community-led projects supported with National Lottery funding. Their stories show how coming together with others in nature and engaging in shared activities can boost mental health, reduce stress, and strengthen wellbeing, enabling people to live healthier lives. 

This World Mental Health Day if you have an idea for a project that supports mental health in your community - whether that’s a mindfulness garden, a peer-support hub, or an activity programme, get in touch and find out more about available funding.

Funding programmes