Our first 'Local Hero' is Fred Dymott for his works on Hafal's horticulture project in St Fagans, Cardiff.

Here Fred shares a few insights into his years of working on the horticulture project.

"Our horticulture project at St Fagans was set up first and foremost as an employment and training project. It's really important that people who have experienced mental illness get the opportunity to learn new skills and take steps towards returning to work. Our project has had great success in getting people back into work and education. The clients get to learn new skills in a professional context: for example, we provide horticultural services to the Museum of Welsh Life. But there are other spin off benefits when it comes to working the soil"

"I've been convinced that getting out in fresh air and working plants has a therapeutic effect on both body and mind. Our clients really get stuck in and they've created some amazing things here at the project. You can see the satisfaction they get from tending the plants and watching them grow."

"The easiest, most effective way of getting people to think about eating more healthy food is to get them to grow it themselves. The veg we grow in our gardens looks so fresh and succulent and it even tempts people who don't normally touch their greens!"

"Of course, horticulture involves physical work. What this training project does is not only get people to learn how to grow food and enjoy the healthy benefits of eating what they produce but also gets them working hard physically in the fresh air. Digging a vegetable patch is an excellent aerobic workout."

"Getting people gardening is good for tackling stigma. We've got our own gardens in the Museum of Welsh Life in St Fagans with a gardening centre selling all sorts of shrubs, bedding plants and baskets to the general public. The customers get chatting to the guys about the plants, it's a good way of crossing that bridge between people."

"Gardening takes you out of yourself. It can be physically hard work, but it's far from mindless work- plants are living things and need a lot of care and attention. The people who come here to the gardens really appreciate the opportunity to focus on creating something."

"Gardening is a combination of body and mind - getting your body working, getting your mind engaged with something creative, even getting some good quality food out of it. You can't get healthier than that!"

 Our thanks go out to Fred for all of his work with the Hafal project and for being the first local hero featured on the website. Thankyou!

What is Hafal? 

Hafal (meaning 'equal') is the principal organisation in Wales working with individuals recovering from severe mental illness and their families. Launched in April 2003, they are a new organisation managed by the people we support - individuals with severe mental illness and their families.

Every day  112 staff and 150 volunteers provide help to over 640 people affected by severe mental illness: this includes schizophrenia, manic depression and other diagnoses which typically involve psychosis or high levels of care, and which may require hospital treatment.

For more information on Hafal click here

If you know anyone else who you feel should be given the praise they deserve and featured here, then please get in contact with us and make a suggestion.

The ‘Local Hero’ can be anyone who goes that extra mile and makes a difference to others in there community, from organising the local football teams to running charities, this is chance for them to get the praise they deserve!