For Mental Health Awareness Week, Together TV is running a series of documentaries with familiar faces including Vicky McClure and Nadiya Hussain, as they talk about their experiences of mental health.
They are also encouraging the movement ‘Connect With Nature’ via their Sunflower Challenge.
This campaign aims to help people’s mental health and wellbeing by keeping them active beyond the lockdown. With over 10,000 people signing up in the first 12 hours, with many from Yorkshire and the Midlands, viewers can still apply for their seed kits by registering to the broadcaster’s website.
Thousands of viewers from Midlands and Yorkshire have already registered. The charity Ellenor Hospice in Kent have encouraged bereaved families and friends to join the sunflower challenge to remember and honour people who passed away under Ellenor’s care.
National charities like Jo Cox Foundation, Field Studies Council and more are also supporting the initiative.
TV gardener Danny Clarke will inspire viewers and help them make their first steps into the gardening world through tutorial videos available to all the participants.
Alexander Kann, CEO of Together TV said: “As the nation comes out of lockdown we want to spread some happiness through our Together For Good Sunflower Challenge. This campaign will help people feel more positive and motivated, connected to people like them giving it a go with sunflowers, and a focus on a new hobby. Ultimately we’d love people to give sunflowers away to those who’ve supported them over the last year, and take their new passion out into the community, by joining gardening and growing groups that are helping improve their local area.”
Gardening has been found to be one of the most effective mood boosters and meditative hobbies. This is why the television broadcaster are trying to get the UK gardening, as well as running mental health documentaries, to combat the damaging effects a year of isolation has caused many.
