Deborah Mullan is an accredited Counsellor & Psychotherapistleads and heads the DGS team at Ashes to to Gold, Co Londonderry

Ashes to Gold are situated in Coleraine, on a wonderful 10-acre site. The landscaped paths, a lake and forest as well as dedicated polytunnels provide every facility for a wide range of nature based therapy options.

Brett runs the garden and Deborah works with him on the DGS Programmes.

Dougal Dorman and Anja Rosler head the team at Brooke House Health and Wellbeing Centre. Dougal is Head Gardener and Anja is an EcoTherapist and they deliver within a traditional large walled kitchen garden.

Progression from the course is supported by an experienced veteran ensures each client has a clear progression plan. Opportunities range from volunteering to retraining and can lead to PT or FT employment or self- employment

Julia Durbin MSc is the DGS Delivery Team lead at The Eden Project and along with James Clarke deliver the programme at The Vounder Therapy Garden at The Eden Project Cornwall, offering a balance of practical horticultural skills and support in managing mental health and well-being.

The Therapy Garden is located at Eden in the Outer Estate, and is a safe and secure space away from all the noise and business of the main attraction.

Fiona S. J. Brown PhD heads the DHS delivery team at the Linburn Walled Garden , Edinburgh, Scotland

She is a social and therapeutic horticulturist in Scotland, who enjoys sharing her love of nature and gardening to support others with their mental health and wellbeing.

As well as designing and developing a new veterans community garden as a DGS Spoke Garden with Veterans Housing Scotland.

Imogen (R) and Rachel (L) head up the team here at the forest garden, Green Lane Nature Reserve in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, running the nature led therapy programme. Here participants learn how to develop, tend and maintain a forest garden. learning sustainable and affordable food growing, working in tune with nature and the environment.

Imogen Jackson MSc is a highly regarded horticultural therapist with experience as Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden, Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries and at Bethlem psychiatric hospital and Linnaeus nursery. Through experience and research, Imogen passionately believes that access to green spaces and nature-based therapies have an essential role in improving physical, psychological, cognitive, and social wellbeing.

Janice Powel MSc is an Occupational Therapist who heads up the team here along with Kim who assists in delivery.

Funded by Armed Force Covenant Fund Trust (AFCFT.) Woody’s Lodge guides veterans and their families to the help & support they need to re-engage with community life after active service. It also directly provides and signposts to a range of activities and events.

It is based within the grounds of the Amelia Trust Farm, tucked away in a tranquil corner with views over fields and rare breed sheep. The garden is a work in progress, with each cohort of DGS participants taking part in bringing the garden back to life , alongside learning about horticulture and benefiting from a variety of outdoor nature-based activities.

Sue Jeffries MCIHort is a professional horticulturalist with over fourteen years' experience in managing and delivering educational, social and therapeutic horticulture courses and projects across Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

She work as a freelancer offering a range of training, advice and consultancy for private individuals and public horticulture projects across the North West. Her book on 'Design, planting and using a Therapeutic Garden' was released in spring 2023. and she is also a judge for the North West In Bloom gardens competition and a member of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture (CIH).

Amanda MacFarlane MHort (RHS), MCIHort, CMTGG heads up the DGS Delivery Team at RHC, is a former Womens Royal Naval Service (WRNS) as a Radio Operator, who has a love of pottering in the garden since a young age. She is a proud Veteran, a professional Horticulturist and Garden Designer.

Her horticultural journey has given her almost twenty years of hard work and a great deal of pleasure as a self-employed gardener and working for charities. Not forgetting the 9 yrs of part-time study, which gained her a RHS Master of Horticulture in 2020.

Deborah McDonald heads the team here at HMP Maghaberry, NI. In the Autumn of 2023, the DGS delivered its first nature based therapy programme to Veterans within the Criminal Justice System. It took place in HMP Maghaberry which is a Category A prison with inmates who pose the greatest risk to the public. The aim of this programme was to improve employability of prisoners, when released, by enhancing well-being and self-esteem and learning new horticultural skills.