The Stem, London’s new and ethically driven online garden centre, has announced a new partnership with the Mental Health Foundation to raise money for the charity around World Mental Health Day on Saturday 10th October.
This World Mental Health Day, The Stem is spreading awareness of the positive impact that plants and nature have on mental wellbeing. They are encouraging their plant community to share photos that show their own plant happiness and, for the whole month of October, The Stem will donate 50p to the Mental Health Foundation for every Instagram post uploaded that tags @thestem_uk and includes the #planthappiness hashtag*.
As well as this, 100% of the profits that The Stem makes on World Mental Health Day will be donated to the Mental Health Foundation*.
The Stem was founded in October 2019 by 28-year-old ex-banker, James Folger who came up with the idea after struggling to develop healthy coping mechanisms for dealing with stress while working in the City.
He says, “The challenges I faced with my own mental health while working in the City were a key driver behind my idea to launch The Stem. Travelling to remote places of natural beauty helped me to cope with stress and anxiety. I feel privileged to be able to help people access plants and nature through The Stem and benefit from the physical and mental health benefits of plants.”
Researchers have long promoted the mental health benefits of interacting with nature and when access to green space is limited, introducing plants to the home, caring for them and watching them grow has been proven to relieve physiological and psychological stress1.
Speaking on the new partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, James Folger says, “The link between nature and good mental health is well established and I am delighted that we are able to partner with the Mental Health Foundation to help build awareness of this incredibly important issue and raise funds that will help the Mental Health Foundation continue the excellent work they do across the country.”
The Mental Health Foundation is one of the leading mental health charities in the UK and focuses on prevention in mental health – helping all of us do more of what protects and promotes our mental health.
Chris O’Sullivan, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Mental Health Foundation said:
“Each year, World Mental Health Day provides a point of focus and opportunity to make the point that mental health is something we all have and can improve. This year our mental health has been challenged in ways nobody thought possible, and the Foundation will be discussing the things that help us to cope, drawing on the latest findings from our ongoing research programme Coronavirus: Mental Health and the Pandemic.
Spending time in green and blue spaces, and around nature are strongly associated with improved mental health. As more of us spend more time at home, we aren’t always able to enjoy time outside, and having house plants is one way to bring the green indoors. We’re delighted that The Stem are supporting us this October.”
The Stem is focused on ensuring that the business is as sustainable as possible. All orders are hand-delivered by The Stem in electric vans, thus eliminating last-mile emissions and not adding to London’s already toxic air. No plastic packaging is used and all plants are delivered in hand-wrapped recycled kraft paper.
An ongoing partnership with the Eden Reforestation Project also means that The Stem has financed the planting of over 5,000 trees, helping to offset any carbon in the supply chain.
Even The Stem’s colour palette has been selected on the basis that the colours can be printed using vegetable inks with a lower environmental impact. Additionally, every order comes with a seed paper thank-you card that can be planted and will grow into wild flowers.
Find out more and join the movement: www.thestem.co.uk/world-mental-health-day