Joint winners announced for 'Best Health Initiative' 2025

The Green Flag Award is thrilled to announce a rare and well-deserved joint victory in the 'Best of the Best' category for Best Health Initiative in England 2025. 

Faced with two exceptional entries that demonstrate the transformative power of green spaces on mental and physical wellbeing, the judges were unable to separate the outstanding work being done across the country. We are proud to award the accolade to both The Corby Growing Project and Growing Together Basildon. 

Both winners exemplify how community-led horticulture can deliver profound health outcomes, promote inclusion, and build community resilience. 

The Corby Growing Project – growing health and diversity 

The Corby Growing Project, developed as an extension of local woodland conservation efforts, successfully transformed two disused bowling greens into a vibrant hub for health, wellbeing, and sustainability. 

Key achievements and impact: 

Holistic health integration: The project quickly integrated Yoga4Health into its activities, offering regular indoor and outdoor sessions, often incorporating “grow and cook” sessions. This holistic approach supports both physical and nutritional health. 

Targeted community support: The project demonstrated exceptional outreach by successfully collaborating with The Ashadeep Project, an NHS-funded scheme targeting the health and wellbeing of the local elderly Asian Community. These sessions regularly welcome 30–40 attendees and have received the highest survey feedback given in the scheme’s five-year history. 

Inclusion and resilience: The project has evolved from a predominantly white volunteer base to a thriving, multicultural space. It established the Growing Together – Digging Diversity volunteer group and an Ayurvedic Garden, bringing people from diverse backgrounds together. It has also welcomed asylum seekers into a supportive volunteering environment. 

Wider impact: The project’s model has attracted attention from statutory bodies keen to replicate its success. Produce grown onsite is used in communal meals and supplied weekly to local social enterprises, including a café that employs staff with additional needs and the Corby Hope Project soup kitchen. 

This initiative is a powerful example of how parks can be used to grow people, relationships, and opportunities in harder-to-reach communities. 

Growing Together Basildon – therapeutic recovery in nature 

Growing Together Basildon, developed by Trust Links in an area of significant deprivation, provides a vital therapeutic community garden for adults managing mental health problems and learning disabilities. 

Before its transformation, the one-acre site was an underused, derelict, sloped municipal grassland. The team overcame significant obstacles, revitalising the space with terracing to make it accessible and introducing features like log cabins, a wildlife pond, and raised beds. This turnaround was demonstrated when a recent Summer Fayre attracted over 500 local residents. 

Key achievements and impact: 

Evidence-based mental wellbeing: An independent evaluation by the University of Essex found a 7.9% improvement in wellbeing scores after just 15 weeks. Quantitative feedback using the SWEMWBS showed a drop in the proportion of members with low wellbeing from 65% to 39%. 

Life-changing support: Members reported feeling calmer, less isolated, and more purposeful, with some successfully progressing into volunteering and employment. Qualitative feedback consistently describes the garden as a "safe space" where they feel understood and empowered. 

Accessibility and dignity: The project offers structured, person-centred activities that are flexible, accommodating individuals with chronic health conditions, neurodivergence, and mobility issues. This inclusive model fosters dignity and supports recovery. 

Reducing demand on services: By delivering transformative health outcomes and building resilience through nature connection, Growing Together Basildon actively helps to reduce demand on statutory services, making it a model for partnerships with the NHS and local authorities. 

Growing Together Basildon perfectly exemplifies how a previously neglected green space can be transformed into a powerful engine for recovery and community health. 

A shared vision for wellbeing 

Both The Corby Growing Project and Growing Together Basildon demonstrate exceptional ingenuity in leveraging green spaces to address pressing social and health challenges. Their commitment to accessibility, evidence-based outcomes, and genuine community inclusion sets a new benchmark for health initiatives across the Green Flag Award scheme. 

Congratulations to both outstanding teams for their well-deserved joint victory!