Open Garden at Cambridge Access Surgery

This September, Cambridge Access Surgery (CAS) — an NHS GP surgery supporting people experiencing homelessness — invites you to explore our community Open Garden, co-created through Earth & Mind’s gardening, woodwork, and nature-based art project, during the Open Cambridge festival.

In line with this year’s theme of architecture, our garden shows how spaces can be carefully designed and built to nurture wellbeing and connection. Created and maintained by people with experience of homelessness, the garden is a living structure that grows skills, confidence, and community alongside its plants and handcrafted features.

Visitors are welcome to wander through this co-created space, meet the people who help it thrive, and even take part in nature-based art activities, including creating beautiful sun prints inspired by the garden itself. From raised beds and handmade planters to quiet corners for reflection, every element is part of an environment designed to support recovery, belonging, and hope.

Your visit shines a light on the vital networks of care and community that CAS and Earth & Mind foster — showing how thoughtful spaces, creativity, and supportive relationships can transform lives.

Come and celebrate what our participants have built, and discover how nature, woodwork, and art together can create foundations for wellbeing and inclusion.