Flower Pod is a garden full of flowers, surrounded by farmland on the edge of Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst campus. Focused on community, creativity and sustainability, it provides learning within 1.5 acres of green space.
Helping people with learning disabilities connect with both nature and their local community is at the heart of everything we do.
Clients enjoy gardening, wildlife, crafts, floristry, and other transferable skills that help people gain in confidence and to develop towards living more independently.
Flower Pod also is a place to relax, build new friendships and get some exercise in the fresh air, helping to promote positive emotional and physical wellbeing.
We welcome supporters who want to work with our clients or help in the garden.
We host corporate volunteering activities for groups of between 6 – 20 people who can take part in tasks that help us improve and maintain our site. If you're an organisation that is committed to giving something back, why not give us a ring to see if we can help organise something to suit you?
To get involved as a client, carer, volunteer or donor, call 01636 918271.
Find us at: Brackenhurst Lane, Southwell, Nottinghamshire, NG25 0QL
What 3 Words: renders.desktops.twisting
Call us on 01636 918271.
Nicola Bradley
Flower Pod Centre Manager
Hello, I’m Nicola…
I have a wealth of experience in several outdoor educational settings (and I'm a qualified Geography Secondary School Teacher!). But my real passion is gardening and I've previously volunteered in 2 community gardens. I'm also doing RHS Horticulture training to expand my knowledge. I'm looking forward to being able to put it into practice at Flower Pod Southwell.
Watch our short video to see Lucy and John talk about their volunteering experiences at Flower Pod Southwell
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A message from Reach’s Voice & Participation Group:
At the weekend, we talked about health inequalities affecting people with learning disabilities. We discussed Learning Disability England’s open letter asking the Government to make a plan to improve the health of people with learning disabilities — and we signed it.
We shared some of the barriers we face when using health services, including:
• Not always being listened to.
• People speaking to our carers or family members instead of speaking directly to us.
• Difficulty making appointments and getting to them.
• Transport problems, especially when services are far away.
• Digital systems that can make things harder.
• Not having enough choice about appointments or healthcare professionals.
• Worries about access to NHS dentists.
We also talked about how unfair and stressful it is when people are blamed, or risk being removed from lists, for missing appointments. Sometimes this happens because they do not have the support they need, cannot get transport, or face other problems that are not their fault.
Our message is clear: health services need to learn how to listen to people with learning disabilities and involve us in making services better.
As members of Reach’s Voice & Participation Group, we have experience helping organisations improve services through co-production and co-design. We are ready to work with services in Nottinghamshire to help people live happier, healthier lives.
Nothing about us without us.
Join us in signing the open letter here forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=b8cj-G6tqkW0weAyQU6wJUMUMxeyUhJDmpDax8AWRDJUMFZRTzFGV...
- Reach's Voice & Participation group
#LearningDisability #HealthInequalities #AccessibleHealthcare #Nottinghamshire #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
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Our job opportunity is closing soon! Are you hardworking, dynamic and enthusiastic and would like to provide a high standard of support for adults with learning disabilities? We'd love to hear from you 💙
Find out more about the role and apply here: reachuk.org/get-involved/work-for-reach-ld/
The deadline to apply is this Wednesday 8th July 2026 at midday
#Nottinghamshire #Mansfield #Jobs #CharityJobs
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We're proud to see our Learning Disability Safe Space Cafés featured on the NIHR School for Primary Care Research's blog. Our cafés are creating welcoming spaces where adults with learning disabilities can learn about health, share experiences and have their voices heard.
This year's Co-production Week focuses on care equity, ensuring everyone has equal access to high-quality care, regardless of their background or circumstances. Our Safe Space Cafés show how co-production can help achieve this by putting people with learning disabilities at the centre of conversations about their health and wellbeing.
We're also delighted that Westfield Health has kindly made a grant to build on this work and share the learning through new peer-led wellbeing sessions across Reach.
Read the blog here: www.spcr.nihr.ac.uk/news/blog/learning-disability-safe-space-cafes
#LearningDisability #HealthInclusion #Reach #Charity #Research #coproweek2026
www.spcr.nihr.ac.uk
This blog explores the learning from the Learning Disability Safe Space Cafés, a Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) project funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research.0 CommentsComment on Facebook