Councillors Ruth Hayes and Rowena Champion with Chanelle Edwards, from the Islington-based gambling-harm organisation Betknowmore

INCREASING access to nature and green space is a vital tool in tackling addiction and isolation, a councillor has said at the launch of a community project.

Councillors and volunteers attended the Islington Hub, where Islington-based gambling-harm organisation Betknowmore launched their new “Legacy” project in partnership with Progress CIC. The community-led initiative invited volunteers, community members and those affected by gambling harm to take part in gardening and planting, where there were informal conversations around wellbeing and access to support. Councillors Ruth Hayes and Rowena Champion, the Town Hall’s health and environment chiefs, also attended to give their support to the project, which is the first of its kind in Islington.

“Giving people the opportunity to do something creative and come together with the community is really important, whether that’s for people battling addiction, young people looking for a job or older people struggling with isolation,” Cllr Hayes said.

“There’s a lot of increasing evidence that accessing nature is really good for people’s mental health and we need to explore a variety of routes to encourage that.

“So it’s important to create these local spaces where people who are struggling with addiction and mental health can do some gardening or something positive that helps them to feel good about themselves.”

Among the Town Hall’s priorities, she said, were to continue “positive” initiatives such as the Legacy Project to combat gambling-related addiction, but also to restrict high-street access to gambling venues.

“We are concerned about the concentration of betting shops in the borough, so we are taking action to try and ensure that our high streets do not have too many. They are often concentrated in areas where a lot of people are on low incomes, and they are backed by big business.”

Chanelle Edwards, from Betknowmore, added: “We’re trying to ensure that the community can engage in local spaces and improve wellbeing. A lot of the time these spaces are quite cold and corporate, so by planting herbs, food and veg we’re making green spaces for the community, that will also feed the community.

“The idea is to have people who are in recovery to come outside and talk about whatever problems they may be facing informally, and just enjoy the green space. We are hoping to regularly host these days to continue the legacy of the project and ensure its upkeep.”