PECT is encouraging the city’s residents to enjoy a better quality of life through a more active lifestyle and through learning how to grow and cook heart healthy meals. Don’t miss the ‘Growing Healthier Communities’ drop-in gardening sessions on Wednesday 5th and 12th June, from 1-3pm.
The charity is offering free gardening workshops using local communal spaces, to teach people how to grow and maintain herbs, salads and vegetables.
Gardening offers all-round exercise for improving strength, endurance and flexibility and can also reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and other medical conditions. This, together with cookery skills and nutritional information to encourage people to eat a healthier diet, will help promote heart health.
“The health benefits of gardening and food growing are well documented,” explains PECT’s Karen Igho. “One of our charitable aims is to help and encourage people to make healthier choices – whether it’s sustainable transport, food, activity, or community involvement. We want to understand and address the barriers to mental and physical health, and contribute towards creating safer, happier and healthier environments.”
Sarah Mirfin, Healthy Heart Coordinator at Heart Research UK adds: “We know that growing activities are an effective way of getting people moving more and eating better and that can only be a good thing when it comes to taking on heart disease together. We’re delighted to support such an inclusive project, which is enabling all members of the Gladstone community to gain the knowledge, skills and enthusiasm to become healthier and happier through growing produce.
Thank you to Subway customers in Peterborough who have donated in store to help make this project possible.”
The project is funded thanks to a Heart Research UK and Subway® Healthy Heart Grant. ‘Growing Healthier Communities’ is run in partnership with Gladstone Connect and Community First.
Workshops are held at the Allama Iqbal Centre, 157 Cromwell Road, Peterborough PE1 2EL, every Wednesday from 1-3pm. For more information, please contact Karen on [email protected] or call 01733 568408. For further details about PECT, visit www.pect.org.uk.
