Soil Sisters is a programme that creates welcoming gardens and growing spaces in women’s refuges across East London. Through gardening, growing food and shared creative activities, the programme supports women to reconnect with nature, recover from trauma, and improve their health and wellbeing.
Create garden spaces with women living in refuges.
Provide safe, welcoming spaces to connect, heal and spend time in nature.
Support women to grow vegetables, herbs and flowers together.
Deliver therapeutic workshops in gardening, food growing, cooking and crafts.
For women who have experienced domestic violence, access to safe, nurturing environments is vital. Soil Sisters uses gardening as a tool to support recovery, build community, and inspire hope. Through hands-on activities and peer support, participants gain practical skills, confidence, and a renewed connection to nature.
Through Soil Sisters, women rediscover their strength, form supportive networks, and learn to care for the environment. Participants report improved mental health, a sense of purpose, and greater social connection. These gardens become thriving hubs of positivity, offering fresh food, green spaces, and hope for a better future.
Read our new toolkit with ideas and tips on creating therapeutic gardens.
Find out how ecofeminism works in practice, through the Soil Sister’s project.
Find out how horticultural therapy is helping women in refuges to recover from trauma.
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