Defence Gardens Scheme

What Defence Gardens Scheme does

Defence Gardens Scheme (DGS) is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) Limited by Guarantee, founded in 2021 and registered in Scotland (Company Number SC681754), that delivers nature-based therapy programmes for the UK Armed Forces community. Its core offering is the 10-week Resilience and Recovery Programme, complemented by one-day Cultivate and Connect workshops, the Grow Your Own leadership pathway, the in-prison Seeds of Change programme (accredited at City & Guilds Levels 1 & 2 Horticulture), regional schemes such as Highland Roots and Healing Roots, and the commemoration initiative Veterans' Oaks. Programmes are delivered through a Hub-and-Spoke model across 11 partner gardens in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including the Eden Project (Vounder Therapy Garden), Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Royal Hospital Chelsea, Ashes to Gold, Woody's Lodge, and HMP Maghaberry.

The underlying intervention is social and therapeutic horticulture grounded in evidence-based programme design and aligned with NHS England Green Social Prescribing frameworks and the Armed Forces Covenant. An independent mixed-methods evaluation (Transformational Nature-based Prescriptions, 2024-2026) by Edinburgh Napier University, Pro Bono Economics, and Neighbourly Lab has reported a statistically significant 0.9-point increase in participant life satisfaction, an average £14,700 of societal value generated per participant, and a benefit-cost ratio of approximately £4.90 for every £1 invested, against average delivery costs of about £24,000 per 10-week course.

DGS is funded primarily through grants from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Veterans' Foundation, Scottish Government Scottish Veterans Fund, Royal Naval and Royal Marines Charity, The Poppy Factory, and Officers' Association Scotland, with supplementary commissioned delivery to NHS bodies, local authorities, and defence charities. Leadership comprises a board chaired by Robin Bacon (32-year Army veteran), with Founder-CEO Sally Coulthard MBE CF FRSA, HR Director Caroline Waters OBE, Fundraising Director Charlie Hobson (former Royal Marines), and National Operations Manager Charlie Marno, supported by a regional practitioner network across all four UK nations. Corporate partners include Airbus and BAE Systems, with academic and accreditation partners including Edinburgh Napier University, the Royal Horticultural Society, and City & Guilds.

Name

Defence Gardens Scheme

Legal name

Defence Gardens Scheme CIC

Website

https://defencegardens.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Defence Gardens Scheme is a Scottish-registered Community Interest Company that delivers 10-week nature-based horticultural therapy programmes for UK Armed Forces veterans, serving personnel, and their families across a Hub-and-Spoke network of 11 partner gardens.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veteran Wellbeing Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Nursery and Floriculture Production (11142)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Adventure Therapy & Therapeutic Wilderness Programs (THAAAOAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainability Engagement, Training & Behavior Change Programs (On-site) (BPABALAK), Plant Replacement, Transplanting & Garden Refresh Services (HSAIAFAG)

Keywords

• Horticultural therapy programmes
• Nature-based therapy
• Veteran wellbeing services
• Social therapeutic horticulture
• Armed forces rehabilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: DGS operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) funded primarily through grants from charitable foundations, government bodies, and defence-sector organisations. Major funders include the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, Veterans' Foundation, Scottish Government's Scottish Veterans Fund, and Royal Naval and Royal Marines Charity.
2. Commissioned Delivery: DGS programmes can be commissioned by NHS services, local authorities, defence charities, and other statutory partners for specific locations or populations. This represents a contracted service revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Defence Gardens Scheme delivers structured nature-based therapy programmes using horticultural therapy for the Armed Forces community (veterans, serving personnel, and their families) through a Hub-and-Spoke model of 11 partner gardens across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The portfolio centres on a flagship 10-week Resilience and Recovery Programme alongside one-day Cultivate and Connect workshops, a 10-week Grow Your Own leadership programme, the Seeds of Change in-prison programme, regional initiatives (Highland Roots, Healing Roots), and a Veterans' Oaks commemoration project. Programmes are designed to evidence-based standards aligned with NHS Green Social Prescribing frameworks and are independently evaluated through the Transformational Nature-based Prescriptions (TNP) study.

Product overview

Defence Gardens Scheme offers a portfolio of nature-based therapy programmes centred on horticultural therapy for the Armed Forces community. The core portfolio consists of the 10-week Resilience and Recovery Programme (flagship offering), one-day Cultivate and Connect workshops, the 10-week Grow Your Own Community Growing Champions programme, the in-prison Seeds of Change Criminal Justice System programme, and the Veterans' Oaks commemoration initiative. Regional offerings include Highland Roots (Scotland) and Healing Roots (Edinburgh). The Transformational Nature-Based Prescriptions (TNP) is an ongoing independent research evaluation. All programmes follow a Hub-and-Spoke delivery model across gardens in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with evidence-led design aligned to Green Social Prescribing frameworks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Resilience and Recovery Programme A flagship 10-week nature-based therapy programme for veterans and serving personnel, delivered outdoors in restorative garden settings. Combines practical horticultural activity with peer support and gentle facilitation. Cohorts are kept separate to ensure trusted veteran-only or serving-only shared spaces. Designed to build resilience, peer connection, emotional regulation and coping skills.
• Cultivate and Connect One-day nature-based workshops offering practical horticulture skills and meaningful peer connection for members of the Armed Forces community, serving as an accessible introduction to outdoor therapeutic activity.
• Grow Your Own A 10-week practical gardening and leadership programme supporting military veterans to develop skills, confidence and leadership as Community Growing Champions, directly supporting the Office for Veterans' Affairs Veterans Strategy.
• Seeds of Change (Criminal Justice System) An in-prison 10-week horticulture programme for military veterans within the Criminal Justice System, delivering City & Guilds accredited Levels 1 & 2 Horticulture qualifications at HMP Maghaberry, Northern Ireland, with expansion into Scotland.
• Veterans' Oaks A nationwide, community-led initiative to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, involving planting and dedicating oak trees across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England to unite memory, education, and commemoration with sustainability.
• Highland Roots A nature-based therapy initiative across the Highlands of Scotland, developed with funding from the Scottish Government's Scottish Veterans Fund and Officers' Association Scotland, building a Hub and Spoke model for the Armed Forces community.
• Healing Roots Nature-based therapy programme delivered in partnership with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, offering veterans and their families hands-on gardening, mindfulness and connection within the garden's grounds.
• Transformational Nature-Based Prescriptions (TNP) An independent mixed-methods evaluation of the 10-week Resilience and Recovery Programme, funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund, examining wellbeing outcomes and economic and social value from 2024 to 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• Statistically significant improvement in life satisfaction: average 0.9-point increase
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Ministry of Defence (MOD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGS collaborates with the MOD to deliver social value and community resilience programmes for the Armed Forces community. The organisation supports the Armed Forces Covenant and encourages employment of Service Leavers, Veterans, and Reservists.
• NHScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDGS works with NHS partners to embed nature-based therapy into health and wellbeing systems. The organisation aligns with NHS Long Term Plan priorities for moving care into communities and reducing reliance on clinical settings.
• Edinburgh Napier UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner supporting evaluation, research design and evidence generation in nature-based therapy. Led the literature review component of the TNP independent evaluation 2024-2026.
• Pro Bono Economics (PBE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted economic evaluation and social value analysis as part of the TNP independent evaluation 2024-2026, demonstrating £4.90 benefit-cost ratio.
• Neighbourly LabcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted qualitative evaluation and lived experience research as part of the TNP independent evaluation 2024-2026.
• Invictus Games FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead of Thrive Together South West programme continuing Veterans' Places, Pathways and People programme work (2021-24) focused on mental health and positive transitions from military to civilian life.
• The Poppy FactorycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead of Thrive Together programme in London, uniting partners to strengthen support for the capital's Armed Forces community. DGS collaborates on projects providing wellbeing activities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Greenfingers Charity: UK charity creating therapeutic gardens at children's hospices. Comparable as a therapeutic horticulture provider targeting a specific beneficiary population through grant-funded garden partnerships, though serving children with life-limiting conditions rather than veterans.
• The Poppy Factory: London-based charity supporting wounded, injured, and sick veterans into employment, with active partnership with DGS on the Gordon Messenger Centre project. Highly comparable as a veteran-focused organisation using purposeful activity and partnerships with military funders; differs in employment (vs. therapy) primary mission.
• Thrive: The UK's leading charity in social and therapeutic horticulture, delivering garden-based programmes for people with disabilities, mental health needs, and older adults. Directly comparable to DGS as both deliver evidence-based therapeutic horticulture through trained practitioners, although Thrive serves a broader beneficiary base rather than veterans specifically.
• Horatio's Garden: UK charity that creates and nurtures beautiful gardens in NHS spinal injury centres, providing therapeutic garden environments for patients and families. Directly comparable in therapeutic garden programme design, NHS partnership model, and reliance on grant funding.

Broad incumbents

• Combat Stress: UK's leading veteran mental health charity, providing clinical psychiatric treatment for veterans with PTSD and complex trauma. Overlapping in Armed Forces community target audience and mental health outcomes, but offers clinical (vs. nature-based) interventions and serves a substantially larger established footprint.
• Royal British Legion: The UK's largest Armed Forces charity, providing lifelong support to serving personnel, veterans, and their families. Directly comparable in veteran beneficiary focus and operates as a hub partner through Poppy Factory and other programmes; vastly larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• Walking With The Wounded: UK charity supporting veterans with mental health challenges, employment, and care coordination. Comparable in veteran mental health focus and grant-funded service delivery, though programmes are employment/mental health rather than nature-based.
• Help for Heroes: Large UK veteran welfare charity supporting wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans across recovery, wellbeing, and employment. Comparable beneficiary population and funder ecosystem, but a much broader portfolio of services with significantly larger fundraising infrastructure.

Regional players

• Erskine Veterans: Scottish veteran charity providing care, support, and respite, with hubs including the Erskine Veterans Centre Forres used by DGS as a spoke partner. Comparable in Scottish veteran focus and partnership delivery model, though Erskine is primarily a residential care provider rather than therapy programme operator.

Others

• Cobseo: The Confederation of Service Charities, a UK umbrella organisation representing the Armed Forces charity sector, of which DGS is a member. Comparable as ecosystem participant providing sector coordination, policy voice, and shared funding channels rather than as a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/defence-gardens-scheme

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Defence Gardens Scheme